Devils Lake Wisconsin 11-1-15

Emily & I plus her parents stayed the night at Willowood Motel which is the nicest & most modest motel I have ever stayed at. Super classy & cute place. The drive into the park is very scenic and you start seeing the massive rock formations right away. Once we were parked the view of the lake brought into view more boulder filled hillsides. We decided to do the 4 mile walk around the lake. 

Right off the bat this park looks perfect for bike trials. Large smooth boulders that aren't too scary.

The rocks continue on forever. I was in awe. 

Steeper hillsides with lots of rock. I was feeling energetic and Emily & he parents were walking at a slower pace. I say a group of climbers hiking up the hill on a trail so I followed. I made it up to the peak and enjoyed the views. 

Some folks top rope climbing on the hillside. A big climbing scene in this area. 

A view of the hill I hiked up for amazing views. 

I continued around the lake in search of Emily and her Parents. I found them just as they were finishing up a snack...perfect timing. Emily pulled out the map and we scratched our heads at were the trail went. We came to the conclusion that it must climb up the other rocky hill on the other side of the lake. Let the adventure begin. 

The trail involved a lot of climbing on some technical terrain. The path was through and over boulders on the hillside. I was in awe and felt like I was in Colorado with terrain like this. Such a unique place especially for southern Wisconsin. 

I have to give some praise for Emily's Parents making this hike. We has no idea what we were getting into when we started in the morning but they kept on trucking even when things go tough & scary. 

The famous balancing rock

Great views and steep hillsides. Every footstep was placed with precision 

A very small cave

At the entrance/exit of Devils lake there is an abandon amusement park. I am fascinated by it and would have loved to explore it since it is quite large and overgrown. 

In the end we had beautiful weather and saw some new places in the middle/south of Wisconsin

10-3-15 Salsa Bike Demo

Fall weather has come abruptly. 80 deg one week and 55deg the next.  Feeling chilled I knew once I got out of the house I would be happier. I made my way to the OO trailhead where I spotted the Salsa demo truck. I was hoping to ride some of their full squish mtn bikes but they mainly had fat bikes but I wasn't going to turn down a carbon fiber full suspension fat bike. A fun bike that can bull dozier through any rough patch of trail. The cornering traction was amazing and carbon fiber rims make acceleration pretty quick. I rode the Bucksaw for 1 hour and then got on a carbon fiber Beargrease fat bike. Took a spill on that bike when I caught my pedal on a rock and tossed me over the bar in slow motion. I brushed myself off and continued to rip. It is super fun to ride these light weight high end bikes for one hour at a time. 

 The last bike I rode - the Cutthroat. Carbon fiber gravel road bike with disc brakes. Super fast and fun. 

Isle Royale Backpacking August 2015

8-24-15 thru 8-30-15

I was excited to go to a new place for our yearly adventure. I know very few people who have made the journey to Isle Royale, Michigan (yes, Michigan owns this island). Emily's parents came to Duluth on Saturday the 22nd of August and we drove up the North Shore of MN. We had a nice stop in Grand Marais and did some window shopping and exploring in the rainy weather. There was also a quick stop and World's Best Donuts for a treat. We ate dinner that night at the Naniboujou Lodge up the shore from GM. The dining room in this historic place is amazing. 

Artist Point  - Grand Marais

 Waves at the naniboujou lodge

 Larry always had his camera around his neck

It was really windy and a bit gloomy on Monday morning when we made our way to the dock in Grand Portage, MN to board the ferry. Actually the windy was howling and the waves were large. We were all bundled up, wearing long johns and stocking hats like it was the end of October. We kept reminding ourselves it was August. The captain of the boat came down to the dock and announced that the boat would not go today. Too windy and the waves are too big. Everyone looked and each other in disbelief but we had to trust the guy. We made the best of 8-24-15 by exploring the fur trading camp at Grand Portage. I learned a lot that day and was glad we were able to explore Grand Portage. 

 The falls on the Pigeon river

 Back in 1971 Larry and Margaret made their way north on this history trail for their 100 day canoe trip. The voyagers used this trail to get around the large water falls on the Pigeon river. He has the same pack on his pack that he used in 1971. 

 Big storm over Isle Royale while we ate at the Angry Trout

The fur trading post

 You can see Canada and even Thunder Bay from the island

We had a very early morning on Tuesday and got on the ferry at 5am. The ride was rough and we were all glad we didn't do the trip on Monday with the 6' waves. 

Our first day of hiking was exhausting with packs weighing close to 40lbs. Food makes up most of the weight. The trail was beautiful and easy to walk on. We arrived at South Lake Desor in the afternoon after hiking 11 miles. 

Our first campsite. 

We were feeling pooped and ended up going to bed at 7pm and had a good 11 hours of sleep. 

 The trail up the hill from the lake where we filtered water. Steep.

We didn't hurt too much on the second day and had a good day of hiking on the Greenstone trail. 

Views from the trail

Taking a break at Todd Harbor. We decided to hike on the Greenstone Ridge to get to McCargoe Harbor to meet Larry and Margret on Thursday. 

Views from the Minong Trail. We saw a moose this day. 

Near McCargoe Bay there are various mines. Vertical shafts and horizontal. 

Rail road tracks in the mine used for taking out waste rock. 

Piles of waste rock

Vertical Mine shaft that is filled with ground water.

The trail into a mine cave - the deeper one of the bunch

I wish I had my headlamp with me. 

The shelter were we met Larry and Margret at on Thursday. We were hiking down to the harbor for a swim. 

McCargoe Bay

Canada

Our last day of hiking was from Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor. A sea side cave from the past when lake superior was much higher. 

The ferry. Larry and Margret arriving from McCargoe Bay

We had a nice last day walking around Rock Harbor. We were thankful to be able to wash our hands with soap and water. A luxury coming from the wilderness. A nice day with a great sunset and a full moon. We prepared our significantly lighter packs for a long boat ride on Sunday. 

Photo by Larry Stone

On Sunday the seas were angry and we have a long boat ride home along the south side of the island. The waves were large, seas were rough, and the boat was load. We made the best of it and relaxed and walked around to get some fresh air. At the end of the day were all thankful to be on solid ground. Our heads/minds were still rocking back and forth hours after getting off the boat. 

The drive down the shore was enjoyable and we had a pizza party at my house when we got home. It felt really nice to have a real pillow and bed but we were still all happy and satisfied by doing the trip.