This has become a travel blog

It hasn't been a day to day blog for some time so lets call a spade a spade.

With that out of the way I bring you the next post in the adventure travel blog

It had been a while since Jim and I had got together for some overnight camping shenanigans. 3 years since we last did our last kayak trip. I told Jim to tell me a weekend in September and we are on. We had off for his birthday and so we settled on that weekend.

Two weeks before that date rolled around, Taylor gets a job in San Francisco, Jim has to help her move in the weekend of our trip. He says not to worry, if I can do the next week, he can make that happen. Its a deal.

Jim helps Taylor in SF the weather here is 80's all weekend. 

The next weekend we get in the car and start the near 6 hour drive to Hayward. It rains a lot on the way up. The temps drop to the 40's. 

We get to the landing in Hayward before noon and unpack. Fresh food, firewood warm clothes. We are ready for anything. I drive to the Log Cabin resort when I leave the car and they shuttle me back to Jim.

Its cold, raining on and off. Perfect.

We are doing the same 30 miles section that Joel and I did in 2016.Read about that here. It just works real well with the shuttle run ending right were the car is.

We paddle a few hours and oddly we stop at the same site Joel and I did. By this time at least the sun has come out and makes setting up a little more enjoyable.  

Time for dinner we cooked Italian Sausages over the fire with some shoestring potatoes and a little triple berry crisp for desert. I know Jim has an old fashioned weakness so I brought up some booze, cherries an orange, bitters and some soda. I whittled a muddler and boom muddled drinks in the middle of national parkland. 

We turn the cooking fire into a campfire, enjoy some cocktails and play some cribbage.

The next morning its a bit chilly and breezy, but again the sun is out. We make a breakfast of bacon, eggs and salsa and brewed coffee. No instant crap here.

Kayak camping can be a little more luxurious as compared to backpacking. Since the water is doing all the carrying you are only limited to the capacity of the boats. We were reaching max capacity. Loaded up with fire wood for two nights, a small soft cooler with all kinds of fresh food. Extra beverages. When we first pushed of Friday afternoon there was very little waterline left on the boats, thank goodness all the rain the week before made the water levels a bit higher so there was no scraping to be had. 

We lollygag and don't get on the water until 10 AM on Saturday. The wind picked up a bit but other than that a great day.  This section has a lot of riffles and small class I rapids including a nice drop and chute that is guaranteed to get you a little wet.

We made a little stop for some apples and snacks and to dry our seats (from that aforementioned chute). So far we have seen only 2 others on the river in over 24 hours. It does feel like we have the place to ourselves.

We paddle a few more hours and pull up to the next on the river campsite. The sun is out, the wind died down and we set up camp. I took a nap until it was time to make dinner.

Tonight we had a half a chicken and baked potatoes (Also more cocktails). with a full belly we stoked the fire, played some more cribbage as we watched a near full moon come over the tree line.

The next morning we stay in bed a little longer as the fog burns off the river. Another breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon and coffee.

The sun burns through the fog and light frost and we get on the river around 10 again. I mean why hurry we only have to drive home and the longer we can postpone that, the better.

The water is slower today as it starts heading into Trego where there is a dam, so we goof around a bit going around small islands and under trees hanging over the river. 

Jim tells me to split a overhang, I do it. He follows, almost. He goes a little off the side and tries to stop by grabbing the tree. Not a good move, it tips his boat and he takes on quite a bit of water.  Its all good, hes wet, bails the boat and we continue on.

Eventually we come into more of the city and pass under a few bridges and finally the beach where the day will end.

We pack up, clean up get a choco-taco from the resort and start the long drive home.  

Until next time....

PHOTOS HERE   

VIDEO HERE

Post 800!

This is going to be another adventure travel post but I see that it is also the 800th post to this blog. Yea it's evolved into a less frequent thing, but no one really wants to read my yammering on about so little.

On to the real meat of this. Another outdoor adventure! This time with an unexpected travel partner. If you remember last year, my brother Jim and I did a weekend kayak trip on the Namekagon River in northern Wisconsin. We tried to do another section of that river this year, but our schedules just did not mesh. When the did it would be in the middle of October. That gets a little dicey with trying to arrange shuttles (most places shut down after 10/2)  and weather up there could be great or cold and snowy.

I was determined to do this with him or solo at this point so I still kept planning. Then from the living room one day I heard, "I'll go with you". Huh? who said that. Joel? Really? "sure I'll go".
I was surprised and tickled at the same time. I can't recall the last time we went camping together, probably when we had the pop up camper? That and the fact that he hasn't been home for the last 4 Septembers so he has not had much opportunity in the last few years either.

Now I was pretty stoked about the trip. We decided on Saturday the 17th through Monday the 19th. I had to be in Arizona for work and was coming home Friday so this worked the best.

I made sure I had everything for him because I would not want to make this experience a bad one with being cold or hungry or whatever, he'd never want to come with me again. I made sure all bases were covered and the weekend before we even hit the little lake,  2 miles from our house to practice in the kayak. Not only had he not camped in a while, he had never used the boats either.

I got home from Arizona around 1:00 am Saturday morning. Not a great decision but I've done more on less sleep. I roll out of bed at 5:30 and Joel and I put the boats on the car and finish packing up. We are on the road by 7:15. Not bad.  About 5 hours later we reach Trego, Wisconsin, where we stop at the log cabin camp and cabins. This is were we transfer our gear to a van, put our boats on the trailer and they shuttle us to the start of the day in Hayward.

We get to the Hayward landing around 1:30. Unpack and take our gear to the little covered picnic area. Because yea, it's raining. Hard. We pack the boats in the rain and wait for it to subside a little.  All this weather change triggers a migraine for Joel. Not a good start. I was really afraid he would be miserable the whole weekend.

The rain relented and we finally got it the water around 2 in the afternoon. The entire trip was to be about 29-30 miles. Originally we intended on doing 9 or so for 3 days. With the migraine issue we did about 6 on Sunday.

Found a nice site and set up camp. Joel was better but still had a lot of pain. The vision and other issues had subsided.  We made a fire cooked some hamburgers over the fire.

The weather was ok, it never rained on us again but it remained cloudy until almost time for the sun to set.

It started to get dark so we decided to go to bed early, hoping Joel would wake up better and the next day would be more fun.

The next morning came and it was sunny and bright. Joel emerged from his tent, Any better? He was better last night then it got worse as the morning came. He didn't sleep very well either.  I had him drink some energy drink mix I had to give home some caffeine. I made some coffee and then I made breakfast of egg, bacon and cheese burritos.

After some food and some caffeine, Joel was a bit better. We took out the map and tried to see where we needed to go today. Since we had a light day yesterday, we would have to put some miles down today. We decided to shoot for campsite 44.8 or 14 miles down river.  

Sun was shining and we set out. Unlike the trip last year we saw next to no one on the river.  Today was quite a few sets of riffles and rapids. The first one was a nice drop and chute with some big rollers. Joel shot right down the middle and took a large wave over the bow! Needless to say he got soaked. So much so he had to use the bailer and sponge to get all the water out of the boat. Also the water was pretty cold too. 59 ° according to my watch which I soaked in the water to measure it.  

We stopped at a landing around noon, to grab a bite to eat, allow Joel to change out his shorts and strech our legs.

His headache all but gone, we jumped back into the boats to finish the day. 

We reached your destination by 2:30. We averaged just over 4 mile per hour which is really quite good. The river levels were a little higher than normal and that helped.  The whole area was shut down earlier this summer due to all the flooding they had because of record rainfall. It seems the whole year has been wetter than normal.

We unpacked and set up in the sun to dry out a bit. I had Joel try out my hammock to take a nap if he could.  He was asking me how could that be comfortable as when I set up my hammock as the head end is always a little lower then the foot end.  I said get in an try it. He did and once I showed him how to lay in it, he said " I get it" and he stayed there for at least an hour.

Unfortunately the clouds started rolling in later at night and so did the mosquitoes. We had dinner and a fire a few beers and played cards until after dark.

The weather forecast did not look good for tonight 50% chance of rain and more tomorrow.  We both Went to bed before 9:00.

The next morning we woke up to clouds at around 7:00 am. We both slept through the night, which is unusual for me and camping, Normally I would wake up at least 1 to 2 times and fall back asleep. 

We started packing up and making breakfast. Didn't matter it started raining. Pancakes in the rain! After eating we put the rest of our gear in the boats, put the spray skirts on so we would not get  soaked sitting in the boat and took off.

Only 8 miles today so it would be less effort that yesterday. However this part of the river was wider and flatter and the water did not move nearly as fast as yesterday.  The water did come out of the sky for the next 2 hours though. As we neared the end we could see blue sky peeking through but we never seemed to catch up to it.

About a mile from the end, the sun came out and started warming us as we drifted into the Log Cabin beach area.  

We slowly unpacked and then loaded up the car. Changed into some dry clothes and started our 5 hour drive home.  Although not before stopping at an A&W on the way home for lunch!  

I have been lucky enough to enjoy two outdoor adventures with my kids this year. I hope they continue to want to come with me as long as they can.

All the pictures - Here

I have lots of video clips and put a movie together too.

On the River

Two weekends ago we had a crew hit the Milwaukee river in West Bend.  Tracy, Mackenzie, Ryan and I all put in after the Barton millpond dam and did a 4 mile trip.  This is pretty neat because it takes you through (behind) downtown West Bend, under several bridges and through 2 nice parks. The water was a little low that day and we ended up with a bit of scraping at the beginning.  I ran video the whole time and then took to editing it down to a manageable 18 minutes or so.  Som funny spots and nice scenery. Its the first time Tracy had been in her boat in over 2 years because of her hip surgery. She shook the rust off and had a good time.

Another weekend another adventure?

Last year around this time I was planning a weekend kayak camping trip. Due to other commitments and then the weather turning cold, it never happened. All the planning for this trip would not be wasted though.

I talked Jim into doing this trip with me back on our mini camp out back in July.

The time had come, Jim rode his motorcycle up to my house at 6:00 AM on Friday where I had the car loaded and ready to go. Another road trip, this one about 5 hours to Trego, Wisconsin.

The trip itself was a Friday to Sunday deal. Consisting of overnight stays on the river and miles of kayaking the Namakagon and St.Croix rivers.  I was a little apprehensive as I dusted off the plan and map from last year. What I thought was 30 miles was actually closer to 35 miles. That’s a lot in 3 days. Especially for Jim, who had not had a ton of time in the kayak. Now I was asking for 3-5 hours a day.

We finally arrived at the lading a little before noon.  the landing was empty, we were the only people here. We began unpacking the car. No sooner than 5 minutes goes by and a small bus pulling a trailer of canoes pulls up. About 10 guys pile out and start unloading. I mean unloading. Each canoe had at least 2 coolers, a bundle of fire wood and all the gear you could think of.  One even set up the canoe with a trolling motor. The canoes were loaded to the max with so little waterline visible, they didn’t look too safe. These dudes were here to party. That much was evident with all the whooping and hollering they were doing. Over the course of 10 more minutes 2 more groups show up.  Going to be crowded this weekend.

Fully unpacked, I left Jim with the boats. I had to meet the shuttle driver Scott, at Pappy’s Leatherneck Tavern.

I met Scott and instantly sent Jim a picture of the abduction van that would be shuttling me. You know, just in case getting in an old van with a stranger didn’t work out. Scott turned out to be an ok guy, lots of stories and willing to help if we needed.  Beer, Firewood, Food, Extraction? Scott was our man, just call him and he would do his best to get what we needed as close to a landing as possible, all for a few dollars and gas money of course.

We dropped my car at our finishing spot for Sunday and Scott took me back to Jim and the boats. All but one group had departed while I was gone.

We finally got on the water around 1:00 and it started our slowly.  The kayaks, fully loaded down with gear scraped the first 100 yards due to the low water in the area. Jim got stuck, I almost got stuck. I hope the whole weekend doesn’t go like this.

The weather at this time was completely overcast and low 60’s. Not the best but at least the chance of rain was only 20 percent.

We get going and outside of the overcast skies it’s a decent day.  We catch up to an eventually pass the party group. We really wanted to get as much distance between us and them as possible. We didn't want to hear that all night.  We take break here and there, and plan to get off the river around 4:30 or 5 so we can set up camp before it gets too dark to gather wood and cook dinner. 

On the map we decide we would stop at site 19.8 (the numbers are mile makers on the river).  We come around the corner and see the site is already taken. Damn it. There are more up ahead though.  The next one is also occupied. To make matters worse we come up on 2 ladies in a canoe who are also looking for a campsite. Jim and I talk to them for a while then let them have the next site.  They looked even more tired than us.

The next site is 16.5. More than 3 miles further than we originally planned.  Almost 15 miles for the day. My longest solo paddle ever has only been 17 miles, so this is a long day.

It’s a decent campsite but it has very little firewood to scrounge for. We find some and with my hand axe chop up some more deadfall, but it’s way too wet for the most part.  We set up camp. Jim in his tent he uses for motorcycle tripping, me with my camping hammock. We are right on the river and it’s pretty cool.  The sun comes out for a few minutes, just before its time to set.

The fire is going and the menu is calling for fire grilled steaks and baked potatoes. So this fire has to be somewhat decent (at least to cook dinner).  I pull out my minimalistic camp grill and get cooking.  It’s getting dark and hard to see what is going on, but the steaks are pulled off, cooked perfectly. That’s not just me saying that, ask Jim.  The potatoes are in the coals (in foil) and they are nor too bad either. I had butter, cheese and bacon for toppings.  We eat by fire light and from a little lantern I brought.

We clean up, hang the bags for bears and other critters and sit around for the fire to die out.  Fine by me, we are both tired and ready for bed.  It’s really clear out, the stars are nice and bright and the temperatures are getting crisp. So much so we are forcasted for patchy frost tonight. 

However, we did not get too far away from the party.  We could hear a lot of whooping and loud laughter. Along with the occasional air horn?! Really.

The morning rolls around and so does the fog. All the cold temperatures and the warm river water created a thick blanket of fog.  Everything is soaked. It might as well have rained. We both lay in bed for a long time. I eventually send Jim a text to ask if he wants coffee. Yep too lazy to get out of bed and did not feel like yelling across the campsite.

Breakfast is burritos! Scrambled eggs, bacon and roasted red bell pepper in a tortilla. Camping does not mean roughing it. Cups of fresh brewed coffee as well.

Eventually the sun starts to burn off the fog and we pack up, unfortunately still wet because we need to get going. It’s getting late and we have already seen folks paddle past our site this morning.

We set off a bit after eleven and it’s going to be a lazy day.  The river is moving pretty fast so there is a little paddling, a little floating, a little drinking... repeat as needed. The sun is out in full today and it is glorious. The plan is to do another 10 or so miles and find a site with a picnic table.

We pass a few folks and decide that we want to get off the river earlier than yesterday and dry our stuff out, find some good fire wood and just relax. Around 2:30 we start looking for a campsite. A lot of people have the same idea and we again have to go a bit further than we wanted,  We grab a group campsite because it has a picnic table and the fact the ‘group’ ahead of us took a “non group” site.

It’s a little more difficult to ‘dock’ at this site but that’s a small price to pay for the nice site. Plenty of firewood, a picnic table, great views and my hammock site is on the ridge overlooking the river.

We get the tents, tarps and clothes up and drying in the sun.  Split some wood, start a fire for dinner and play some cribbage. Dad would be happy with this.

Dinner was some foil pack potatoes, carrots and onions roasted in the fire and some dehydrated chicken risotto.  Not as gourmet as the night before but you can only carry so much fresh food without a cooler
.

The night starts to fall and we stoke the fire. This site was flush with dead fall and leftover firewood from previous campers. With the axe it’s even better because we can split it and get to the inside dry wood.

I pull out my camera and take a few pictures. Then I have a few ideas. We start goofing around with fire, then a flashlight and take some long exposures. We are playing like we are 12 year olds again. It’s awesome.

Eventually we let the fire die down and hit the sack. At least tonight won’t be as cold as the previous one.

The next morning its overcast but the sun is trying to peek out. Breakfast is some hot muesli cereal and pancakes. Full complement with real butter, syrup and some re-hydrated milk.

Luckily there was no issues with moisture today, so we pack up and get on the river by 9:30.  Another almost 9 miles to get to the car.

Today there are also a few more rapids to liven up the trip.  About a half hour down we start to encounter the first little set.  Except they kind of sneak up on us. Jim hits a rock and gets turned sideways. Almost dumping it. I circle back against the current to give him some help.  More along the lines of yelling at him what he can try to do to get off this rock and not get too wet.  With some deft maneuvering he gets unstuck and only slightly wet to show for it. Good job.

The next few sets are fun we hit a max of about 7 miles per hour in some spots, Jim decides to follow me and my line.  A few bumps and scrapes but we make it through. We hit the confluence of the Namakagon and the St Croix River.  Eventually the St Croix will merge with the Mississippi around Hastings, Minnesota.  One more set of long rapids and then the takeout.

We take the boats and gear out load up the car and head out. I want to drive up to Superior to eat at the Thirsty Pagan Brewing Co. It’s a bit out of the way but Jim is a great passenger and concedes to my extra road time.  We get there and eat pizza and a calzone (and beer of course). The calzone was what I was jonesing for and it does not disappoint.

After lunch it’s a long 6 hour drive home. Made longer with gas stops and me getting pulled over for speeding. Yes, I was busted speeding as I entered a slowdown zone before a construction zone. Had a few conversations with the trooper about the boats and my license plate. He thinks it’s some plate that I put a sticker on, because he has never seen that type before (Donate Life). He comes back we chat it up a bit more and gives me a warning. Whew.

We finally get home, unpack and Jim gets on his bike. I feel bad, I drag him all over, have him paddle 35 miles, make him sleep on the ground (while I sleep in a hammock) and now he still has to drive home almost an hour in the dark. I hope he had a good time. At least I fed him well.

It was a great weekend.  I can’t wait for the next expedition.

See the full photo album here

Fathers Day

Well in my last post I mentioned how I got all kinds of activities in the last few days.

Fathers Day was no exception.  Bob, now ex neighbor asked if I wanted to go boating on Sunday. By boating we mean kayaking.  I said Sure!  The I realized it was Fathers Day on Sunday.

I know I asked for a nice huge breakfast of eggs waffles and bacon, but I guess Tracy will just have to cook it some other time?

She's still not ready to jump in a long distance trip and this was kind of a long one, even for the first trip of the year.  However, that did not stop Mackenzie from jumping in to be my paddle partner for the day!

The trip started at Grafton's Lime Kiln Park, actually a interesting historical site. They also have disc golf and fishing.  Quite a nice park.  The weather looked kind of cloudy to start the day but it turned out to be great.

We launched before 11 AM and headed on the Milwaukee River to the Thiensville Dam.

Go Kiki

The dragon flies were thick!  I had no fewer than 5 land directly on me at one time, say nothing of how many were on the boats.

We ran across a pair of bald eagles.  Were they nesting?  We couldn't tell but the swooped down enough to get a much better view that this picture I took.

We Surprised some deer around the bend

Lazy and hot was the day.  Dangle your feet in the water to keep cool.

Flotilla

Natural Bridge?

It was a tale of two rivers.  The first 4 miles were really nice.  The water was shallow (some scraping and getting stuck) but it was fast so we made really good time without a lot of effort.  Then the river got wide and slow.  You could tell we were getting into the urban environment.  Houses all along the banks, docks and boats lined up.  You know it was so bad for boat traffic they had slow no wake buoys for almost 2 miles.

The houses ranged from huge mansion type homes to shacks with blue tarp roofs.  I guess it depended on who was still holding onto the property.

Some of the boats were also shall I say, unique?

That is a homemade party pontoon with a porta potty on the back.  Can't get much more redneck that that can you?

The last 1 1/2 miles was all paddling west.  Into a moderate breeze.  Our little party was getting pooped. The river became more of a lake to paddle and at the end near the take out, people had ski boats running for water skiing and wake boarding. Yea it's like a lake at that point.

We got to the boat launch and did the shuttle runs to get the cars and boats all back together.

It was great and exhausting 9 plus miles of boating.  Kiki and I had a great time.  Now I really want to do this but then when done with the paddling, unpack the boat set up camp, relax, fish, swim or whatever.  Pull up the next day and do it again.

When I got home Joel had tended to the grill just as I had asked him.  Fathers day feast fit for a king.

Baby back ribs, baked potatoes and asparagus. 

We ate dinner, I had a few beverages and sat on the deck reading a book until almost 9:00 PM  What an awesome day! I do have a great family, to give me such a perfect day.  I am a lucky man.

Getting Antsy

Don't know how else to put this but I am going some what stir crazy these last 2 weeks.  Too many graduation and weddings and parties that are breaking up my weekends.

I have not got one trail ride in - too much rain closes the trails.  Had not got much paddling in because I have not had the time to devote to a trip of more than 2 hours. The only thing I have done is hiking, but I want to expand that to some overnight hiking trips in the area.  I really want to test myself with that.  I still think that Pacific Crest Trail hike at the end of August it in sight.  Yea I still need a backpack (part of the test and training). You can bet I have researched everything else and then some (airfare, car etc.)

Physically, I can't recall when I was in any better shape. 3 days a week of Crossfit, followed by 90 minutes of basketball on Sunday and the occasional hikes for the last 4+ months has really made a difference.  I can actually pick up my boat and place it on top of my car, no extra supports or help needed. I don't get winded doing light activities. I don't get nearly as sore as I did when I do anything strenuous. Not to say anything of how this improves my mood more often than not.

I am pushing myself to set some goals for activities.

Finish the Ice Age Trail in Washington County Slinger segment
1-2 Overnight backpacking trips, locally (any Friday/Saturday night)
1-2 Overnight Weekend Kayak trips (St Croix in September and the Lower Wisconsin July)
4 Days of mountain bike trail rides (lunch time during the week for local runs)
4 River trips of 8 miles or more. (Milwaukee, Horicon/Rock River, Cedar Creek)
1 Car camping weekend  - Long/Mirror?Devils Lake?
5 Day PCT trip end of August?

Throw in the the weekend for the Great Taste of the Midwest and a week of back to school in Arizona (for the last time) and my dance card is full.

I am looking for anyone interested in coming along on any of these activities.  I am not adverse to being a lone wolf, but hey I will take the company.  Currently all these overnight activities (minus car camping) are pretty much pushing the envelope for Tracy and her hip. My daughter being a 15 year old girl, can't stand the thought of going 1-2 days without a shower and Joel hasn't sounded too interested either.  I have an extra boat for the overnighters if interested.  Camping on the sand bars of the Wisconsin River, sleeping under  the stars....