Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I finally booked a flight to the US. I'll land in Chicago on the 14th of august 2019, head toward Isle royale along the michigan side of the eponymous lake. I'll hike on the island for a few days and take the boat to grand portage, minnessota. Then it's mostly open. Depending how much time I have left and if I have access to a car, I'll go west to the blackhills, or spend time in northern minnessota and wisconsin. I'll fly back from chicago on the 7th of september.

Is anyone interested in meeting?
Is anyone interested in sharing a trip to the black hills from minnessota? Or to Isle royale?
Has anyone tips about things I should visit in this area(northern midwest and great plains, southern prairies)?
My only fixed point for this trip is Isle Royale, so I'm quite open to any proposal.

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Sounds like a great trip. PM sent.

@classical liberal
I'll contact you again later. We can set a meet up, If you're in the area. Would be nice to meet some fellow ereers.

One of my best vacations (small set of samples though) was a several day kayak trip in the Boundary Waters canoe area in northern MN. Spring or fall avoid the flies and mosquitoes. In the fall you can fall in the water and not die from hypothermia.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan is well worth exploring and would be roughly on the path of your travels. Campgrounds on South-West shore of Lake Michigan tend to fill up fairly quickly in season, so you may want to make some reservations prior. OTOH, I have never had difficulty finding a spot in the U.P.

As noted by others, the black flies and mosquitoes are not like you have likely experienced elsewhere, so plan ahead for that problem. Also, maps do not adequately convey the fact that the human population density of the region near Isle Royale is so low that there is no clear boundary between preserved wilderness and almost everything else. IOW, "all alone in nature" is very easily achieved in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but "next place you can buy a pack of gum" might be very far away in human hiking perspective. When I was attending school up there, I can remember conversations that took place along the lines of:

Q: Have you seen Eric lately?
A: Eh (with intonation towards the negative)
Q: Did he go out before the storm two days ago?
A: Eh (with intonation towards the positive)
Q: Do you think he is okay?
A: Eh (with intonation towards the deep neutral)

Is it worse than quebec regarding flies? Regarding Hiking, i'll either be with locals (which I hope to get in contact with here), or with a good map. It looks like there is a lot to do here, so I might spend my three weeks just touring around lake michigan.
I've read that hitch hiking is legally challenging in the lower peninsula. Is it true? What are youre experiences with public transportation?

If the bugs in Quebec are monstrously large than it might be about the same.

Nobody hitchhikes anymore. It went out of style in the late 70s. Last time I did it was roughly 1983. However, I doubt that you would get hassled very much by the police if you made the attempt, and it is fairly likely that some other man might give you a lift, if you go to some trouble to not look like an opioid addict. Also, more likely you will get hassled if you try to catch rides right by expressway on ramps, so if you stick to rural 55 mph highway routes you will likely be more successful getting rides, and it will make for a more interesting trip, because you will go through more literally off-the-beaten-track small towns. The western coast of Michigan is known for its orchards, so you might also be better able to pick up some "free" snacks on route. However, you will also increase your risk of loose dog encounters.

One of the ways in which google maps sucks is that it does not include routes serviced by Indian Trails Bus line in northern lower Michigan which is only provider to many cities, so the app will just say "Sorry we could not calculate transit directions."



Also, it sometimes includes "ghost" roads in more rural areas. For instance, google maps shows a road theoretically located at the rear of my BF's acreage which was maybe last used to load timber on to a train in 1932, and no longer exists except as a sand-pit dead ending to a 3 ft wide trail.

Also, if you wish to have the possibility of encountering many attractive young women who will likely be charmed by your accent, you might want to stop at more of the resort and university towns.

I bought a cancellation insurance for my flight in case my gf would be pregnant at the time so I'm currently not willing encoutering attractive young women, but I normally would. Thanks for the infos. Are the buses usually full and require to book? Or can I just show up at the bus stop?

Rarely full, but they don't run very often, and I believe they are sometimes used by tour groups, so could happen.

The North shore of Minnesota down to Duluth is nice. Duluth has some things going for it. Northern waters smokehaus there has good sandwiches.

Devil's Lake in Wisconsin is nice but probably not worth going out of your way for. The Black Hills and the Badlands are more exciting but a relatively long drive from northern Minnesota.

Megabus tickets, bought a few month in advance, are a very cheap way to travel, if you want to go someplace on their routes.

Amtrak is a great way to see the country for relatively little money as well. Coach is pretty comfortable, much better than a bus or plane.

In the urban or suburban areas, Uber is a much better option than the local taxis. Half the price, more pleasant drivers.

Duluth also has the Aerostich company Riders' Warehouse, if you want some buy-it-for-life motorcycle riding gear.

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Is the area around ORD safe? bus connections seems shity, and I'de like to try hitchiking toward Iowa or Madison.

I don't know if it is safe around O'Hare or not but you should look into the van galder bus. It is fine, though probably nothing like what you are used to in Europe.

I already found them, they seem fine, but they won't take me to the countryside where I can sleep in the bush. Is it safe to sleep in parks in madisson?

If you're looking for hiking I highly recommend North Manitou Island, no where near as big as Isle Royal but beautiful. Depending on when you might get over there you could have the whole island to yourself. Theres been a couple time I've heard the welcome speech from the ranger on the mainland because the half dozen of us going over would be the only ones there. It has become more popular the last few years especially during the ferries summer operating schedule.

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Jean wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 09, 2018 8:35 am

I already found them, they seem fine, but they won't take me to the countryside where I can sleep in the bush. Is it safe to sleep in parks in madisson?

Probably pretty safe as far as not getting killed. Not remotely safe with regard to not getting hassled by the cops or potentially arrested loitering.