Cabin Fever

Well here it is 2017. The weather is typical.  Snow, melted snow, ice, and rain.  As if it weren't grey enough.

The dogs were getting feisty with each other and I had a touch of cabin fever. Sunday I grabbed one of them and we did the Culver's out and back hike here in West Bend. Thats starting at Hwy D, traversing the Ice Age trail for about 2 and half miles where it pops out on Hwy 33 behind Culvers. Its ok if you want Culver's and with hunting season going on for another few days, this section hunting is prohibited, so that is a plus.

Where are we going!?!

Trail crossing at Beaver Dam road

This time though because I had a furry companion, there would be no Culver's,  We just stopped had some water shared a few pretzels and headed back.  Although I am sure Beamer would have loved a burger or 3.

Frozen marsh

Where does he get the energy?

Obligatory selfie.

Being out in the sort of snow made me want for a snow storm. I think it would be perfect to snowshoe this trail after a good snow. Also since I bought Tracy snowshoes and poles for Christmas, (Am I an awesome husband or what?) As is sat, it was half melted, then frozen with foot prints and icy ruts. I did not take my trekking poles and wish I did. I didn't fall but it may have helped my balance. With snowshoes and more snow pack it would have been fun. Then I thought about an overnight in a snowstorm.... Now I am planning one night in the Kettle Moraine when snow is forecast. probably needs to be perfect timing,  but snowshoe/backpack in, camp the night and hike out the next morning. Just think of the quietness of the forest while snowing. Yea I am a weirdo.

Keep on Truckin'

After the trip to Arizona left me with some feelings of unfinished business, I started planning another backpacking trip for the late summer.  The Superior Hiking Trail is calling my name for a 3 night 35 mile jaunt.  Mike is even coming up from Texas to join me.

It had been 3 months since I last put the pack on and hiked any distance, so it was time to do a bit of training before we head up to Minnesota in 2 weeks. I bought a new pack as well, nothing was really wrong with my old one, but this one is more 'bare bones' and because of that it's also 2 pounds lighter. I thought it would be wise to try it before I take it on an extended trip to make sure it was going to be comfortable.

Friday after work, Tracy dropped me off on a trail head of the Ice Age Trail in the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. About 3 miles north of Mauthe Lake.  In a little over an hour I had hiked 4 miles and where I would stop for the night. Primitive shelter #2.  You can only camp at designated shelters in the forest and there are only 5 in this 30 mile section. Oh yea and I paid $26.00 for the privilege. 

I hung my hammock, my pack and my sweaty clothes. Perfect weather, not too hot, a bit of sun and the bugs weren't too bad.  I started a fire, because why not. I also started dinner. A dehydrated meal called Texas State Fair Chili. It was pretty tasty. It even had a side packet of cheese and corn chips to put on top. I will definitely bring this one a long again. 

This is the part of solo camping that's a little hard to get used to. Now what? I had my kindle, I have a fire but its strange sitting there by yourself. Not that I don't have good conversations with myself.  Once it got dark I went to bed, tried to read but just wasn't happening. I laid there listening to every bird and insect in the forest. Eventually I dozed off, only to be awoken by some noise by the shelter. I shined my flashlight in the area and went back to sleep.  In the morning something was messing with my stuff. A sock (that was on my shoe) and a small bottle of hand sanitizer had been knocked off the bench where I left them that night. Probably a raccoon.

I made a little coffee,had a little breakfast, packed up my gear and was back on the trail by 8:30. 

 

Lots of people on the trail today, yesterday I passed a boy scout group from Chicago and today I passed no less that 12 people. Most with large packs like mine. 

Today I had eight miles to go and I did that in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Got back to my car and was home before noon. A nice trip if I say so myself.

The pack was a hit, more comfortable than I expected and sat real well on my back. I also used my inreach communicator for an extended test. No more cell signal issues and you can track my progress- where I am by this site here. It updates my position every 10 minutes. Should have had this in April, could have saved us time and possibly extended our trip, I will have this set up in two weeks to track Mike and I as we travel on the western shore of lake Superior. 

A week from now I will be deep in the high desert of Saguaro National Park.

Not sure if anyone is aware of this but 2016 is the 100th Anniversary of the creation of the National Park System. So get out and use them if you get a chance. There are a few National Park areas in Wisconsin.

I used one on Saturday. I figure I better get one more run in to make sure everything is good, toughen my feet and stretch my legs.

Started pretty early and left the car at 9 in the morning near the Greenbush group camp area.  This is the farthest north I got on the Ice Age Trail last year. I started here looking to take it to the end of the Kettle Moraine State forest northern unit.

April 9th....Yea who knew there would be so much snow on the ground or trail. Made it interesting. I trip when I can see the roots and rocks, this should be interesting.

I had to be home at 2:30 so the plan was to go as far as I could until 11. Have some lunch and then come back.  Well that was almost 6 miles on 2 hours. I even had 20 pounds of gear in my pack trying to get close to what I would have next week.

At 11 I stopped, about 1/2 mile short of finishing it all. I broke out some lunch. Some chicken broccoli ramen thing and some coffee.

Other than the sold and the snow it was a really nice hike and I got a good bit of exercise in.

Photos Here

Test of some video I took as well.  Not real happy with this so I hope I can tweak it.

Most people now know of my hiking and backpacking exploits this year.  As I talk about the trips and show the pictures it's amazing the number of people who have commented on how much they would enjoy doing this same thing and to include them when I do more of these things.

Saturday was just that day.  Earlier in the week I spoke with my long time friend Jim and asked if he was busy and if he wanted to do a section of the Ice Age Trail with me. 

Jim is no longer my neighbor and lives in Muskego now. So I chose a section of the Southern Kettle Moraine Forest. That is closer for him and since I have done all of Washington, Fond du Lac and most of Sheboygan county, it would be a great opportunity to see some trail I have not done yet.

Around 9:15 I headed down (after my 8 AM workout, humble brag). Got to Jim's around 10:30 and by the time we shuttled the cars we were on the trail at 11:30.  

The weather was perfect, low 60's sunny, light breeze.  The trees are about 25% changed color so it was nice, but not spectacular yet.  

The section we did was the Scuppernong segment.  A bit north of Eagle. This trail was almost all woods except for the trail connector which ran along some farm fields for a quarter mile.  The trail also cut through Pinewoods State campground and skirted Ottawa Lake Campground.  

I didn't take a ton of pictures this time.  I think Jim and I were just talking way too much and pointing out the 20 different mushrooms and him pointing out the wild asparagus and hickory nuts and general botany that I kind of forgot to take many pictures.  It won't happen again. 

Jim held up great and we got back to the car around 2:10. About an 2 hours an 45 minutes to do almost 6 miles.  

At this time we were both quite hungry. I had thought I put some snack in my bag but apparently they were on the kitchen table instead.  Jim knows the area well from a lot of his Harley rides and we head to a biker bar in Eagle for lunch.  Knuckleheads. Yep, definitely a biker bar, I feel a little out of place but at least Jim has a HD shirt on.  We chow on burgers, fries and a beer. Then it's time to head back to his house where we partake in one more pint of beer he made. It was my recipe, I was honored that someone liked my beer so much that they now make it themselves.  

That was a good day. I left Jim my Ice age trail trail book and told him to pick out some new sections we can hit in the future.

Just one other note. With this day under my belt I have now gone over 100 miles hiking or backpacking this year! 

Who's next?

The elevation graph of the hike.

The big one

I finally did it.

Everything was right for this trip.  Got my campsite, got my gear, got good weather.

A full backpacking adventure. Loaded up my pack with hammock, food, water, clothes, camera, sleeping gear and other stuff.  My pack was about 35 pounds when I left. A little heavier than I would like but it would be a good test.

Slipped out of work around 3:30. Tracy and Mackenzie dropped my car off in Greenbush and then took me back to Mauthe Lake.  Where the last bit of hiking and camping took place.

Hit the trail at 4:20 (yea 4:20) and off I went to get to the shelter # 3 which I had a permit for the night. This section of trail was mostly forest and the climbs weren't too bad.  Found the connector trail to the campsite Jim and I had.  

I expected about 6 miles to the shelter.  When I got to the shelter I found there was a 3/4 mile connector from the actual trail to the shelter.  That added some extra time to my hike.  When I did arrive it was about 6:30.  Sun was still shining, so I unpacked and started looking for a suitable hanging site.

Got the hammock hung.  Yes hammock camping is huge now and so much better than a tent for solo trips.  Light, extremely comfortable. Doubles as a chair (fully enclosed w bug net etc.).

Anyway time to grub.  I have been buying all kinds of dehydrated and camp type food when it’s on sale.  Trying all kinds of things so I know what to get and what to avoid in the future.  Tonight was Chicken Gumbo by Backpackers Pantry.  

Mini food review:

Large chunks of okra, corn and peppers.  2 1/2 cups of boiling water and 12 minutes later it was done. Good consistency, could be a tad spicier.  Rice is cooked well and chicken is also tasty.  4/5 would buy again.

I ate the whole (2 servings) package and had some of a large artisanal candy bar I brought.  

I started looking for some firewood, but there was not much around. A lot was picked over or punky/rotten.  I managed to get a small fire going for about an hour or so. Being a full moon I really hoped it would be nice to see.  However it was rising in the East and never made it to the clearing I had before I went to bed.  It did eventually come up and lit my bed up so much I could read by moonlight. By then I was too tired to care. I just listened to the owls calling back and forth and the occasional scurrying noises in the forest.  You have to understand these are remote shelters.  Not large public campsites.  I had the entire forest, as it seemed, to myself.

The next morning I woke up at 5:40 and said "oh hell no!" flipped around and promptly fell asleep for 2 more hours!

I got up and thought about how to repack for the day.  Brought my pack down to the shelter.  By the way that shelter by the way is not very nice.  Dirt floor, graffiti a general sketchy vibe in general.  Then I packed up the hammock.  When done with that I set up for breakfast.  A little Medaglia D'oro instant espresso and some airline cookies. I then busted out some ho-made instant oatmeal. This contained; freeze dried strawberries, chia seeds and oatmeal with a bit o brown sugar and powdered milk. Jim had some of this concoction a few weeks ago and I even tweaked it more.  Pretty good and hearty for sure.

My intent was to be on the trail by 9.  Not being in any hurry I finally broke camp at 9:30.  No issues with contacts or soap or anything.

I humped it back to the trail connector and headed for the next waypoint - Butler Lake.  This section of trail was rather mild and made it easier to warm up under load. Like an old car.

I reached Butler Lake.  Nice vista of the lake below.  I need to check this out to kayak and fish someday. I filled up with water at the hand pump at Butler Lake.  I was carrying over a gallon when I started this trip. Keeping hydrated on the trail and having water for meals it goes quickly.  It’s also one of the heaviest items in my pack. You have to walk a fine line between heavy and not having enough.  I did not bring a filter with me so I had to use the sources like pumps, instead of the streams for my water. It is one of the main things to plan around when doing these long distance hikes.

Back on the trail, the next stop would be lunch at shelter 4.  I did not have a permit, but I wasn't staying overnight either.

In the almost 80 miles of hiking this trail this year I have seen 1 deer.  Well in this section, I spooked a few this time and only saw tails and heard the crashing, running away from me.  About 3 seconds later, a huge bird jumps off the forest floor and flies out of the canopy.  It all happened so fast, I was looking for deer and then this out the corner of my eye.  Not a turkey, because I had never seen one take flight almost vertical like this. It was big enough to be an eagle, but I saw no white plumage.  Perhaps a large owl? My guess is a turkey vulture. 

I reached shelter 4 around 12:15.  This is a much nicer place. Concrete floor and less ‘sketch’. These places also have outhouses so it’s not completely roughing it.  Not that I need one.

I bust off the pack, the shirt, the shoes and get down to grubbing on some jerky, trail mix and that candy bar.  I had a penne pasta dehydrated meal if I wanted to make it, but the temps were in the mid 80's and I really did not want to make a hot lunch. I just needed to cool off a bit. 7 miles down and the trail had picked up quite a bit.  Largest climb was on my way here.  Less than 5 miles to go.  

I head out before 1:00 and now it's getting warm.  The trail is less forest and a lot of field.  I'm sweating, the mosquitos woke up and really like my elbows for some reason.  I spray some bug juice on and have to pull my buff up over my ears in some places.  

I pass shelter 5, not going to look at it because at this point they are all about the same. Seems woodsier, and it has a deep kettle near it. Maybe explore more next time? At this point I am tired and hot and beginning to think that I was a bit ambitious in my first run like this.

Another trail head and another well pump to fill up.  This one is not nearly as nice as the last. Looks like rust, tastes like rust. But it’s wet so I drink and I am able to re soak my buff, which is now a neck gaiter. Aids in cooling and bug fighting.  The sign says I am close. 10.4 miles down, only one mile to go.

Next up is the Greenbush picnic area.  I come here to ride the mountain bike trails here occasionally.  These trails are brutal compared to others I ride.  I get to walk around the bike trails as they don't share paths.  I hear them taunting me. “I will be back for you” I whisper. Actually, it’s more like a talking to. I found myself talking out loud to no one in particular on both days. Sometimes even surprising me. Am I talking (or is it thinking?) out loud?  Ha, yes I am. As long as I don't talk in the third person or have full conversations with myself, I guess. 

A few more small hills and I can see the parking lot in sight. My step may have picked up a bit. The car never looked so good.  I dump my pack, get my boots off, take my socks off, change shirts and take a deep breath. I did it. Almost 12 miles in a bit over 5 hours including a few rest spots.  Including the day before 18 mile in total. Feeling confident.

Click Here for the full Picture Album.

The brothers camp out

I had been planning some backpack trips now that I have my new pack, so I can train with a full load and see if I feel up to the California hike in August.

At the fireworks last week I conspired with Jim to come with me and do a little camping and boating.  For once it all fell into place.  He had the time I had the time, the weather was nothing short of perfect.

I loaded up the car with the tent and kayaks and gear.  We texted like little kids on how cool this was going to be and how excited we were.

Thursday came and I hit the trail at New Fane with my full pack around 3:30 and started my 4 and a half mile hike to Mauthe Lake campground.  It was the only place I could get a site that wasn't booked.

The drop off committe.  Thanks Ladies!

Trail selfie

This section of the Ice Age Trail was really nice.  Everything is full grown and over grown and green. What fields we had in the early spring were high with prairie grass and flowers.  It was waist high and more.

This eventually gave way to a lot of forest too.

Finally, the park entrance is in site.  I look over to the check in and Jim is getting his vehicle pass.  Perfect timing!  I go in and get our camp permit.

Its not quite 6 and we set up camp.  Grab some firewood and cook some brats.

We eat and then just sit by the fire.  A few adult beverages, all the wood and a lot of talk and its after 12.  Pretty much a perfect night.  That is until as we are laying in the tent, we hear rustling.  Whats that, bottles clinking. Something is in our garbage by the picnic table.  I shine a light and scare it away.  5 minutes it's back.  Jim and I get out put the garbage in the car and make sure nothing else is out to attract them.  Not sure if it was a racoon or a skunk. It did tear the bag pretty quickly but got nothing for it's efforts.

We sleep to about 6:30, again it is another perfect weather day.  We didn't even bother with the rain fly on the tent.

We get up stretch and make coffee and some oatmeal.   You know, to get ready for the real breakfast.

We may be camping but we ain't slumming it.

After a good breakfast we start to break camp.  One thing, I forgot my glasses and on my hike in my contact case gets flooded with soap (in the same baggie) I rinse it off an thing no big deal.  Until the next morning when I put contacts in my eyes.  That have been marinating in contact solution/soap for 8 hours.  The burn.  I take me out and try again a while later, same, rinse and repeat.  Finally they are bearable.  Not comfortable but doable. 

Time for some water fun.

Perfectly calm lake

We decide to go upstream pf the East Branch of the Milwaukee river.

Until we can't go any more

Grabbed some wild raspberries that were growing on the bank and we turned around. Saw herons and bald eagles.

We did some fishing but nothing was biting. So we just cruised around the lake some more and eventually came in for the afternoon.  3 hours on the lake was nice and relaxing.  

Here is where I was supposed to say goodbye and hit the trail for another 5-10 miles of backpacking. However, my eyes hurt so bad and my sight was hazy, I decided it was best I get home and give my eyes a rest.  Before that though, we had lunch at the Hamburger Haus in Dundee.

From there Jim and I said goodbye and we both headed home.  

It was a great time and I think it's been too long for this to happen.  We are already making plans for the next adventure getaway.  I can't wait.

Full Picture Album HERE

Major Award

So all the hiking I did in the last few months has paid off.  I sent my details to the Washington County IAT 'branch' and they awarded me thusly:

Man just after complaining about not doing much last week. I did it all this week.

Wednesday, Kiki had driver's ed at the high school so dropped her off and I hit the New Fane biking trails and got almost 10 miles of trail riding in.  It was perfect, no bugs a little breeze and not too hot.  Two laps - loop 1-3 and then 1-4.  My time on 1-3 was almost 8 minutes better than my best time last year.  All this exercise is paying off?

On Saturday I hit the gym, then the trail.  Finally knocked out the last section of the Ice Age trail in Washington County.  Starting at the Slinger House and ending at the trail parking on Paradise, where I started this back in March.

I wish I could say this was a great hike, but honestly, it was the part I was looking forward to the least.  Over eight and a half miles and most of that on county highways.  Talk about long, boring and a little dangerous.

HWY 41 Overpass

There was about a 2 mile section in the woods. One thing I had not had to deal with prior to this trip....Mosquitoes!  As soon as I entered the woods, it got still and the bugs were all over me.  I did not bring any repellant so I just hunkered down and got through.

The trail also goes through this farmers field.  How cool will this be when the corn gets taller?

After this is was all roadway.  Some 6 miles of asphalt.  Keeping my head on a swivel watching for traffic coming at me.  Amazing how few people look more than just a few feet in front of them while driving.  

About 6 miles in a nice little park with tables and a hand operated well pump.  Took a breather had some snacks before I finished the last 2 miles or so.

Got to my car in 3 hours.  Not bad with 30 minutes of break time. 3.5 MPH when moving and with 15 pounds of gear in my pack (Cameras, food, water, rain gear etc).  

So in 7 days I went from Waukesha County all the was through Washington and into Fond du lac. Over 51 miles!  Now to get that backpack get some heavier loads and do some more training for California.....

Elevation plot

LACKLUSTER PICTURES HERE