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Lauree
We went backpacking at Itasca last weekend. It was a bit stressful but I hope the next trip will be better.
First of all, the mosquitoes and ticks were awful. We're both covered in mosquito bites and we stopped counting ticks at 75, and that was in just a few hours. Using the toilet was awful thanks to the stupid mosquitoes. We spent the first night in a backpack site and move to the regular campground for the second night.
Beyond that, the site was great. We were on a nice little lake and it was so peaceful and beautiful. We didn't see anyone else from time time we hit the trail until we got back to our truck the next day. The filtered water tasted great. Once we found a suitable tree, the bear bag wasn't too tough to hang. DH got the rope up on the 2nd try.
I need to get a different backpack because the one I bought is not comfortable at all. I have a bruise where the strap wraps around the front of my shoulder. Thankfully we only hiked in about a mile to our site. I can't imagine going further with it.
I don't know if you remember when I asked you about sleeping bags. I ended up making camping quilts for us which are apparently big in the ultralight backpacking world. I tend to sleep in my stomach and sprawl out so I felt like I was in a straight jacket when I tried the mummy bags at REI. The camp quilts were awesome! They were cheaper and pack lighter and smaller than the sleeping bags we looked at. Best of all, I was able to sprawl out!
I think we're gonna try the SHT next month. 
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Re: Lauree
Sounds like things went pretty well despite the ticks and mosquitos! We got lucky and didn't have any skeeters or ticks on the SHT last weekend, probably because it rained most of the weekend, lol. We were ok with the rain though, we came prepared and it gave us a chance to backpack in new conditions.
I am super interested in your camping quilts, did you follow a tutorial or anything? Where did you get the materials from? I want to do something lighter weight for summer and that's not too expensive, this may be the way to go for me :-)
I'm glad you had a good trip! I would take rain over ticks and mosquitoes any day.
If you google "MYOG quilt" you'll find a ton of info. I looked through all of the posts on the backpacking light message boards and a lot of people had links to their project websites.
I made synthetic quilts because it looked easier than dealing with down. So basically you start with your rectangular fabric and insulation and cut it to the size you want. I tapered the foot area and made a foot box with a drawcord and velcro. My quilt is 15 oz. and it's 5' 8" long and about 55" wide at the top. I can stuff it into an 8" x 8" x 6" box and it would be smaller with a compression sack.
Here's a link to mine. This one is opened but there are 2 pictures with the foot box closed. http://www.flickr.com/photos/28710316@N02/5805534174/
We each used a twin sheet on top of our pads so we didn't have to lay directly on the rentals. It was fine but needless weight. I'm going to make "sheets" out of the taffeta that can zip (or velcro?) onto the sides of the quilt. I know this puts me back to a sleeping bag but it will be roomier and lighter than a mummy bag and I can attach it or use the sheet if it's too warm for the quilt.
I used 5 oz. Climashield Apex from http://thru-hiker.com/materials/insulation.php and 1.9 uncoated ripstop for the top/outside and uncoated taffeta for the inside/bottom from http://www.questoutfitters.com/uncoated_fabrics.htm. The only reason I went with a different company for the fabric was because I liked the colors better.
I'd probably go with the 2.5 oz Climashield for a warm weather bag. If I remember right, that's supposed to be good to 60 degrees. With the 5 oz climashield, we were warm into the low 40's. I had on a short sleeve t-shirt, cotton pj pants and athletic socks. DH just wore boxers. We both had the foot area closed up. I bet we could have gone into the upper 30's as is and probably the 20's if we had warm clothes. DH maybe could go colder than that. We would have been way too warm at 60+ degrees.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.