Spring 1997 - Cincinnati to Yukon
Journals - 16 May 1997
Day 46 - Near Watersmeet, MI
16 May 1997 (very cold night [ice in bottles]; snow! lots of snow! then
clearing; mileage = 10.9) -- X - We had an uneventful (yet chilly) night;
no wolverines. We started sleeping well late, so we slept in a bit. We
packed up and left by 9:00. We were soon greeted by some snowfall. Then,
very soon, it turned into a fullblown blizzard. It was very close to 22
degrees. The snow was coming down in great, big fluffy wet flakes. It was
really neat at first. We took pictures and were feeling pretty good. We
rode for about an hour in the near whiteout conditions. We couldn't look up
or forward without getting snow blasted into our eyes. The road was still
OK, but it was clear that there was going to be some accumulation. My arms
and hands were getting wet and April's hands and legs. We didn't think to
really suit up for that since snow seemed so much more tame than rain. And
it was. But after an hour in it, we were soaked like we would have been in
15 seconds of rain. At 32 degrees, that's bad. We were talking about
stopping when a roadside rest area appeared and answered our question. We
stopped and immediately got VERY cold and uncomfortable. I thanked God for
the fantastic weather and the wisdom to bring real bad-ass arctic gear. We
broke out the down jackets and the finest gloves you can get your hands in
(OR!). April was starting to cheer up with these items in use and I was
ecstatic. These heavy, impractical items were not in vain! As we stood
there in the blizzard, we realized that it was accumulating fast! I
envisioned huge drifts of impassable snow and getting run over or buried by
a snow plow. So we decided to pop the tent and get out of the worst of it.
We had the tent up and I was very interested in how the tent would do with
a snow loading. It had a pretty thick covering which I shook off just
before jumping in. It turns out that was the end of the accumulation. I
measured 1.6 inches on a picnic table which fell in about 90 minutes! We
rode in the first 60 and put up the tent in the last 30. We were inside the
tent getting nice and warm. We wanted to wait to see what else would
happen. We made hot choloate, then had a good lunch of spaghetti. Then we
had tea and later coffee. The first 2 from snow melted by the MSR. After
lunch, we reliazed that the snow was all done. We caused this to be so, for
if we had gone ahead, surely our worst fears would be realized. When we
realized that the snow was done and the streets would be clear, it was too
late to make worthwhile progress that included another camp take down and
setup. So we decided to relax and rest up for a good day tomorrow. April
did some reading and I made a snow fort on one of the picnic tables using
the MSR cups. There is a sign here that says no overnight camping, but
we're just overnight resting. At least today we crossed into the last
county we'll be in in Michigan! Interesting day. The lesson learned for
today is that snow is better than rain, but you still have to treat it as
rain -- cape, lobster claws (Chris and April), rain pants (April). Another
couple of gear notes learned today: the vestibule can be a good cooking
area. How's an icy, soaking wet tent going to burst into flames? Also, the
door zips from the top to vent the CO. Note 2: I LOVE my boots. I never got
to test them in the snow in Cincy (even though I wore them all fall and
winter). They are great!
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