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  1. MichaelMerry

    Weekend snowshoe backpacking trip in Pennsylvania

    My wife and I just wrapped a perfectly wonderful snowshoe backpacking trip on the Morrison trail in Allegheny National Forest, PA. It’s a favorite place for us to play in the deep snow because of multiple loop options, plowed parking lots and great camping. We hiked about 14 tough miles. Snow...
  2. MichaelMerry

    Wabakimi solo trip spring 2022

    The lady slipper on the lichen carpet makes for a striking photo!
  3. MichaelMerry

    Great Lakes ice coverage - Winter 2026

    Frozen Lake Erie today off sunny Cleveland.
  4. MichaelMerry

    Photo of the day

    Snowshoe day trip in cuyahoga valley national park with my wife, father in law and Abby just before a snow squall hit yesterday afternoon. Beautiful.
  5. MichaelMerry

    Happens every year

    Grew up on a NE Ohio farm. I’ve eaten many groundhogs. Better to stick with the young ones.
  6. MichaelMerry

    Great Lakes ice coverage - Winter 2026

    I skied in sunshine yesterday and ran in sunshine (and 5 degrees) this morning just south of downtown Cleveland!
  7. MichaelMerry

    Great Lakes ice coverage - Winter 2026

    We’ve been having sunny skies in Cleveland since Lake Erie largely froze and the lake effect stopped.
  8. MichaelMerry

    What got you into canoeing?

    I was in diapers when my dad and grandfather took me on my first overnight canoe trip. Growing up on the banks of the tuscarawas river in Ohio, I spent my childhood in a canoe year round; simple day trips, nighttime frog hunting, trapping forays and occasional overnighters. This fostered an...
  9. MichaelMerry

    Late Jan. 2026: Snow where you are?

    About 16 beautiful inches in Cleveland, Ohio. We usually have to chase it to x country ski, but it’s all right here and looks to be for weeks! Love it!
  10. MichaelMerry

    Food handling while tripping

    This is how I’ve always handled it and have yet to get sick. On a trip last year, we caught a couple of large fish just after lunch that we’d have for dinner. We did the fillet in zip lock thing. Severe storms delayed our travel and it ended up being about 8 hours before we ate those fish. I...
  11. MichaelMerry

    Headlamps. Do you guys use 'em?

    I’ve probably been through a dozen or so headlamps in my wilderness traveling career. My wife just bought me a petzl lamp for Xmas that I really like. It has a rechargeable battery, but also runs on 3 AAA batteries. I always carry spares anyways, so I’ll just have the rechargeable in there with...
  12. MichaelMerry

    Photo of the day

    It is indeed. A group of us hiked from Route 30 to the northern terminus. Rhodo tunnel is still there.
  13. MichaelMerry

    Photo of the day

    A winter weekend backpacking trip on Laurel ridge, PA.
  14. MichaelMerry

    What's your best dehydrated meal?

    Here is the one I use:https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/paneer-pasanda/ You’ll need to find a decent Indian foods store to source some of the ingredients. Once you have the spices, they’ll go a long way. I typically at least double the recipe. We eat some at home and dehydrate the rest on a...
  15. MichaelMerry

    What's your best dehydrated meal?

    This is a good meal as well! Dehydrated our own paneer pasanda for a 10 day trip. It was popular and will certainly be repeated.
  16. MichaelMerry

    What's your best dehydrated meal?

    We make all our own. My current favorite is a spaghetti squash bake with tomato sauce, impossible grounds, whatever veggies we have in the house and plenty of cheese. So good out in the wilderness. We dehydrate all of our own food; basically the many of the same things we eat at home. We...
  17. MichaelMerry

    Winter Swimming?

    A large group of surfers that I occasionally include myself in surfs Lake Erie this time of year until the lake freezes. We’re in full wetsuits, but hair and beards freeze solid. It’s the best time of year for good swells.
  18. MichaelMerry

    Photo of the day

    We often use the Merlin app backpacking and rarely have service on those trips. It works great if you’ve downloaded the birds for the region you’re in. We did a long backpack in the Pennsylvania wilds at peak warbler migration and identified about 25 unique calls. Then on a 10 night trip in...
  19. MichaelMerry

    Fears while paddling or on canoe trips

    I live in the Midwest and understand this concern. We aren’t fans of the heat and subsequently do our river paddling in the shoulder seasons. The “cold” does a solid job of eliminating the riff raff. We do like to beat the heat by sea kayaking on the Great Lakes at the height of summer...
  20. MichaelMerry

    Favo(u)rite Pastries While Wilderness Canoeing

    We tend to prefer traveling light, but my indulgence that might qualify as a pastry is the humble Lorna doone cookie. I can’t have my morning cup of wilderness coffee without finding that packet. As soon as the water is on the stove, I’m off to get the food bags and digging for my cookies.
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