Memorial Day to Labor Day - A Summer of Camping

As Labor Day weekend winds down, I reflect on what I've done this spring and summer and what I'm looking to do this fall. 

Spring kicked off with my first weekend of camping back in late April.  Since that time til Labor Day weekend, I've camped 8 weekends in WI and taken two trips out west to backpack in Canyonlands National Park in Utah and in the Wind River Range in Wyoming.  If I count all the nights sleeping in a tent since April that equals 33 nights.  Wow more than one month sleeping outside.  Good thing my Thermarest and Cat's Meow sleeping bag are comfortable.

So - where did I all go so far this year?  About half of the time I spent in various Wisconsin State Parks.  That $25 annual sticker sure came in handy (as it usually does).  Here's the list and some of my favorite pictures so far.

• Ottawa Lake Campground in Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest (April 2011).  Don't recommend staying here.  There's a dog kennel on the end of the lake.  Didn't realize how loud a dog kennel really was until I stayed here.  So glad I have friends/family who can watch dogs at home versus having to put them in a kennel.

View of Ottawa Lake at night, April 2011

• Newport State Park (Memorial Day Weekend)  This is a backpacker's park on the tip of Door County.  Awesome and private campsites along Lake Michigan. 

Jasmine and Wailea enjoying the trails at Newport State Park (May 2011)

• Long Lake Campground in Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest (June and July 2011).  I like this campground - 800 loop has nice campsites and the walk in sites are far enough from the road and other sites you'll have privacy. 

Butterfly on the Ice Age Trail - Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest (June 2011)

• Governor Dodge State Park - (June 2011) Wow - this is a nice park.  SW Wisconsin is in part of the area known as the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.  Lots of hills, a waterfall and a canyon.  (Also stopped at Tower Hill State Park on this trip - hoping to camp here before year end yet)

View along Lost Canyon Trail at Governor Dodge (June 2011)

• Bluemound State Park - (July 2011)  - Not far from Governor Dodge another nice area.  Small campground.  I do have to admit I did like Governor Dodge State Park better. 

Mist burning off the stream at the bottom of the trail (July 2011)

• Whitewater Lake Campground in Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest.  (August 2011)  Another nice little campground at the southern end of the forest.  Nice place to kick off a hike on the Ice Age Trail.

View of Whitewater / Rice Lakes from the Ice Age Trail (August 2011)

• Devil's Lake State Park - (September 2011).  Nice park, but do not recommend going their during season (probably Memorial Day to Labor Day).  All my other camping trips there have been in early spring or late fall - much quieter and nicer at that time.  This trip also included side trips to 3 other state parks in the region (Natural Bridge State Park, Mirror Lake State Park and Rocky Arbor State Park)

Natural Bridge State Park (September 2011)

And for longer stays in my tent were two vacations which took me out west:

• Moab, UT area.  Camping in Moab for a few nights while mountain biking and climbing.  Then a 3-night backpacking trip into the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  What a beautiful park. 
• This trip also included a visits to a few other National Parks - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (really cool!  You must hike to the bottom of the canyon) and Arches National Park (went to visit the Klondike's Bluff area of the park since I've only seen it while mountain biking just outside the park.  This was my 3rd trip to Arches)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Yes, I hiked down there. (May 2011)

• Wyoming - Backpacked for 4 nights/5 days into the Wind River Range hitting Backpacker Magazine's "Secret Trail" into the Alpine Lakes Region.  It was secret.  Saw 6 people in 5 days.  Great trip.
• After backpacking here on the way back to Washington State hiked in Teton National Park up to Death Canyon and went to see Yellowstone National Park since we were there (would like to go back to Yellowstone and do a backpacking trip - away from the crowds).

Wind River Range at the pass.  Typical vacation weather for me - rain, snow and cold. 
And wondering if trail falls of a cliff on the other side of the snow field?

And to think it's only the beginning of September.  There's still time to do a lot of camping this year.  Guess I better start planning.

Why I Love Winter

With the extreme temperatures this week in the upper midwest I remember why I love winter.  This "feels like" 100+ degrees in Milwaukee, WI is crazy.  Today (Thursday, July 21, 2011) is day 4 and will still be cranking out the heat.

Reasons to love winter:

• Comfortability -  not feeling miserable in the heat
• Layering - add layers of clothing to warm up
• Hot chocolate
• Sleep - it's much easier to sleep in the winter than in the extreme heat
• Snow - big fluffy snow
• Icicles - and the reflections from the sun
• Fleece
• Going outside without sweating

Just a few of the reasons - but right now I'm wishing it was winter and not a hot / sweaty 84 degrees at 6:30 am.  That only means it's going to get worse as the day goes on.

Heat - go away, let winter come this way!

Unglaciated Wisconsin - The Driftless Area

This year I've been doing a lot of exploring and hiking around the southern half of Wisconsin.  I've become most facinated with the SW corner of the state and the landscape.  This area, known as The Driftless area, has lots of rolling hills and streams thanks to being missed by the glacier's that rolled through this area thousands of years ago. 

The more I explore and drive around the back roads in this section of Wisconsin, the more I don't feel like I'm really in Wisconsin. 

This weekend I did some hiking at Bluemound State Park, Governor Dodge State Park and the Ferry Bluff State Natural Area.  All great hikes with great views and surprisingly - not a lot of people. 

With the rain that came in Friday night, the trails at Bluemound State Park were peopleless on Saturday morning.  This left the beauty of an overnight rainfall right where it was when I hiked the trails.  Upon entering the bottom of Pleasant Valley, I followed the stream and saw the mist still lingering.  It was beautiful because just at that time, the sun also started to peep through the clouds and the trees.

Stream at the bottom of Pleasure Valley

Later that day I took my dogs and drove over to Governor Dodge State Park so we could hike the full 3 mile loop of the Lost Canyon Trail.  We had done part of this a few weeks back when we walked down to view Stephen's Falls.  Because it was afternoon and the sun had already come out, there were a few people on this trail, but still for the beauty of this trail, it remained mostly peopleless.  At the bottom of the canyon there were many stream crossings.  The walls of the canyon are full of rock and trees.  Sitting down here you feel no pressure to move fast and can take the time to find artwork in the rocks.

Rock wall - almost looks like the profile of a face

Sunday after doing a little more hiking at Bluemounds State Park - I ventured off to find Ferry Bluff State Natural Area near Sauk City, WI.  I had heard that this area lead to great views overlooking the Wisconsin River and the Driftless Area.  It sure did - even with the oppressive heat (mid-90's & humid), the hike up to the top was worth it. 

Wisconsin River from atop Ferry Bluff

All in all, not a bad weekend visiting the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.  Now to plan to visit some of the unglaciated areas of Wisconsin and see what else I can find. 

Beauty in the City - Milwaukee River Trails (West Bluff)

One of the greatest things about where I live in Milwaukee is we have the Milwaukee River running one block from my house.  And the fact that the urban sprawl of condos that started in downtown Milwaukee will not be allowed to continue its northward movement up the river.  Thus, leaving my area of the river fully natural and forested. 

Milwaukee River's West Bluff Trails

It's great because I can always find peace and tranquility when I need it right behind my house.  And with all the natural surroundings, on some days you may even catch a glimpse of a deer in the early morning hours.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."  This is one of the places I can go and adopt the pace of nature even within the city. 

Natural Tree Arch

I am so glad I found this little pocket of Riverwest to live in and how people have worked hard to keep this area natural.  I think we all need to find places like this - so go find your place of beauty, peace and tranquility and enjoy it.

An Uneventful 4th of July

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July.  As I imagined, it was quiet hiking the Ice Age Trail.  But as usual, hiking with two dogs in the woods is always interesting. 

Jasmine and Wailea exploring the Ice Age Trail

Jasmine decided Saturday was a good day to go squirrel hunting since the squirrels were relatively active and noisy as we walked along the trail. 

Not only did they find many squirrels, but also the biggest mud puddle on the trail.  Wailea must have thought it was pretty cool so she decided to lay down in it.  Of course it was the one time Saturday we saw another human on the trail and I had to grab them out of the mud puddle.  Next thing I knew I was coated in the mud.  Yuck.

Sunday saw a few more people on the trail, but still no one til we had done almost 6 miles of trail. 

Hiked IAT:

Saturday - from Butler Lake north

Sunday - from Mauthe Lake north

Up next - not sure yet.  But I'm sure it will be interesting with two dogs. 

2011's Half Over

Hard to believe 2011 is now officially half over.  Where did the time go? 

Since the year is half over, it's only fitting that I take the dogs hiking for the weekend.  Jasmine and Wailea love the freedom of the woods and open trails.  It's great to be able to give them the freedom to roam and explore when and where I can.  I know it makes them happy and makes me feel good at night to know I've done something for my dogs that not a lot of other dogs get to do.  They are spoiled, but well worth spoiling.

Jasmine and Wailea hiking at Newport State Park, Door County, WI

This weekend they'll be lucky enough to be able to hike on the Ice Age Trail again.  One of my favorite places to hike.  Even though this will be a busy weekend at the lakes and parks - the Ice Age Trail will remain fairly quiet and uneventful as the crowds of people will be elsewhere.  I'll still be able to hear the birds chirp, see the squirrels run and who knows maybe catch a glimpse of a deer drinking at one of the streams. 

Thankfully we live in a country where we have the freedom to do all this.

Happy 4th of July everyone. 



Summer of Mini Vacations

Summer has finally started in WI, but the summer of mini vacations started before summer.  This year I have decided to take full advantage of the weekends and make them mini vacations.  Wisconsin has a lot of State Parks and Forests and I've decided to take advantage of them.  I'm attempting to visit as many as I can for the weekend and try not to hit the same one twice. 

So far this year I've hit up for camping, backpacking and/or hiking:

• Newport State Park (backpacking and hiking)
• Northern Kettle Moraine (camping and hiking)
• Southern Kettle Moraine (camping and hiking)
• Bluemound State Park (hiking only)
• Governor Dodge State Park (camping and hiking)
• Tower Hill State Park (hiking only)

and a trip to Northern Wisconsin to visit the parents.  That was exciting since there was a bear family that kept visiting their yard. 

For the remainder of the summer / fall so far planned are visits to Black River and Devils Lake State Parks.  The rest are still under consideration and planning. 

And then this fall may make a second trip down to the Moab, UT region if time and vacation permits and this time take the dogs (November - it will be cooler).

So what are you doing this summer?  I'm looking forward to my summer of mini vacations.

Newport State Park



Stephen's Falls, Governor Dodge State Park

Bear family visiting my parents place in Northern WI. (Mom and 3 cubs in the background)

So whatever you do this summer - make sure you have fun and enjoy it.  While winter may be my favorite season of the year - I also like to make the most of the cooler summer days.