Spent last weekend at Big Island Lake Wilderness Area, in Michigan's UP. Just my son-in-law and me. It rained all Friday night, and half the day Saturday. The wind blew like a hurricane the whole time we were there.

But......we still had a wonderful time, and saw no other human beings. Man, does a hot cup of coffee taste good when the weather sucks.

I can't say enough about how well all my CCS gear held up in that type of wind. I had concerns about my Lean Plus in high winds, but it shed the wind with no problems, and stayed nice and dry. Ditto for my CCS tarp. The tarp provided us with a kitchen/dining room. Kept us dry and out of the wind.

This weather was a real good test of all my gear. The other thing I was very happy with, was my Trangia stove system. The windscreen works great, and the heat output was good, even with 40 mile an hour winds.

If you like a small canoe friendly wilderness area with small intimate lakes, and beautiful stands of white birch, give Big Island a look see. Because of the wind and rain, we didn't get to explore quite as much as we would have liked, but now we have an excuse for future visits!

I'll second that. I spent 4 days there the first week of October. Camped on Townline Lake.

Where'd you stay?

Oldgentleman....We also stayed on Townline Lake. The campsite that is farthest out on the point. I was thinking about you having been there just a few days before. I assumed that you had used the same campsite. Thanks for leaving us some firewood. We did the same for those who may follow.

We were hoping to have less monsoon weather in order to explore the park more thoroughly, but it wasn't to be.

However, I had a very nice time fighting the elements with my favorite son-in-law. Sometimes the best memories are made when the conditions are less than perfect.

P.S. He is my favorite son-in-law because he is my only son-in-law. However, he is a really nice guy, and we get along greatly!! I can't think of anyone I would rather spend my time with if I was storm bound.