| I was backpacking in the Sleeping Bear Dunes. | | | | that only because I threw in some canned |
| It was March, so when I made it through the | | | | food. I was going light, but I knew the |
| woods and over the dunes, I'd have miles of | | | | forests here and felt comfortable with my |
| beach to myself. It was an over-nighter, a | | | | abilities.My down sleeping bag was a 17-ounce |
| chance to test new ultralight backpacking | | | | Western Mountaineering HighLite. It was the |
| equipment. I hiked the wooded hills quickly, | | | | first time I would use it below freezing (It |
| enjoying the cold air.Halfway through the | | | | hit 25 degrees fahrenheit that night). |
| forest, I stopped to cook noodles. The cheap | | | | Fortunately, it wasn't too windy.At the edge |
| 3-ounce pot was from a dollar store, and it | | | | of the forest, behind the dunes, I set up my |
| worked fine. I was happy, because from the | | | | small tarp. I piled pine needles and dead |
| catalog descriptions, the expensive titanium | | | | bracken ferns under it, finishing just as it |
| pots are all heavier, probably because | | | | became dark. This made a warm mattress, and I |
| they're too thick and with too many gadgets.I | | | | slept well, listening to the coyotes, and to |
| had to use a small twig-fire when my homemade | | | | the waves pushing ice around in the lake.In |
| alcohol stove didn't provide enough heat. I | | | | the morning I was happy to see only a dusting |
| later learned that isopropyl alcohol doesn't | | | | of snow. My one-pound sleeping bag had been |
| burn as hot as the alcohol used for a gas | | | | warmer than my three-pounder - and I thought |
| additive, but the twigs worked in any | | | | that was light. I poured alcohol in the |
| case.Backpacking On The BeachAfter eating, I | | | | cut-off bottom of a pepsi can (my 1/2-ounce |
| hiked to Lake Michigan, and sat up on a large | | | | backpacking stove) and made tea. After some |
| sand dune. I watched the waves push ice up | | | | crackers I was soon hiking in my mostly-dry |
| onto the empty beach. Coyotes began to howl | | | | shoes, along the Lake Michigan |
| in the distance, and the clouds rolled in. I | | | | shoreline.Backpacking Lessons LearnedI ended |
| was on the beach looking for petoskey stones | | | | my trip that afternoon, with a hike to the |
| when the snow began. Backpacking in March has | | | | village of Empire, seven miles away. I was |
| its risks.I was in running shoes, and it | | | | mostly satisfied. Only two problems: My tarp |
| would be below freezing that night. In | | | | was too small, and the alcohol I brought was |
| northern Michigan, March is definitely part | | | | the wrong type.After backpacking in Michigan |
| of winter. My feet stayed warm while I hiked, | | | | for years, I know it well. I know where to |
| but I hadn't planned on them getting wet. At | | | | find dead grass and bracken ferns, for |
| least I had a pair of warm, dry socks for | | | | example, to make a warm mattress in a few |
| sleeping.Ultralight Backpacking EquipmentIt | | | | minutes. Knowledge, obviously, can be as |
| was the first time I used my GoLite Breeze | | | | valuable as expensive backpacking gear.Steve |
| backpack, which weighed only 13 ounces. I was | | | | Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and |
| hiking with about nine pounds on my back, and | | | | advocate of ultralight backpacking. |