Post by indianabob on Sept 7, 2015 13:26:01 GMT -8
I thought I would share a few photos and notes from our semi-annual Northwoods trip. My wife and sister and I started out spending four nights at Fanny Lake in the Nicolet National Forest. Our favorite established campsite is only ¾ of a mile from the parking area, so we carried in camp chairs, a big tent and lots of heavy food. The lake is gorgeous and we shared it with a loon family. Other sites on the lake were occupied on two of the nights but everyone was remarkably respectful and quiet.
The cool thing about the easily accessible backcountry campsites at Fanny Lake is that they offer access to a nice system of trails that offer varied terrain and forest. The photo below is looking down into the upper Jones Spring drainage.
After leaving Fanny Lake, we spent a night car camping at the Dells of the Eau Clair –a very picturesque and nicely maintained county park.
On the second leg of our trip we hiked the Chippewa Lobe Interpretive Loop in the Ice Age Primitive Area. The hike is described as difficult with a world class established backcountry campsite and it did not disappoint.
One of the bog/swamp crossings was pretty outrageous. It was appeared to be waist deep (with no telling how deep into the mud one would sink). In Eric H’s book he said there might be some crumbling board over the crossing. The only board left was a few feet long, rotted, with a couple of nails sticking out of it. There were a few slippery moss covered logs and a couple of stumps. We made it across but did not stop to take photos. A wilderness therapy group has been operating in the area and they have made a few improvements in some of the other wetland trail crossings. Nonetheless, the first half of the loop was memorable. The trail was well marked and easy to follow with the exception of an open meadow of blackberry bushes with no blazes. Brears had been busy foraging so there were several social trails. After a little exploring and berry eating, we found the correct trail and pressed on. The improved back country campsite was magnificent.
View of lake from camp.
Breakfast
The tent pad was well away from the cooking area, but loated right on the trail.
The second half of the loop was much more forgiving. The guide suggested two beaver dam crossings but the trail appears to have been rerouted over a bridge. The dam we did cross was pretty straightforward
Blynn crosses the beaver dam.
Hiking through the ferns on the Chippewa Lobe Interpretive Loop.
We closed out our vacation with an evening at the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival – a nice casual little event at the ski hill in the park. We planned on doing an overnight in the Trap Hills but the weather did not look promising and we opted for a night to clean up and regroup in a motel. The day of the festival we hiked up to the Hack Site overlook in the Trap Hills. The trail is still easy to find and well maintained. The view was magnificent as always.
Bottom line: another great visit to the North Country. Kudos to Eric H. for great recommendations in his books.
The cool thing about the easily accessible backcountry campsites at Fanny Lake is that they offer access to a nice system of trails that offer varied terrain and forest. The photo below is looking down into the upper Jones Spring drainage.
After leaving Fanny Lake, we spent a night car camping at the Dells of the Eau Clair –a very picturesque and nicely maintained county park.
On the second leg of our trip we hiked the Chippewa Lobe Interpretive Loop in the Ice Age Primitive Area. The hike is described as difficult with a world class established backcountry campsite and it did not disappoint.
One of the bog/swamp crossings was pretty outrageous. It was appeared to be waist deep (with no telling how deep into the mud one would sink). In Eric H’s book he said there might be some crumbling board over the crossing. The only board left was a few feet long, rotted, with a couple of nails sticking out of it. There were a few slippery moss covered logs and a couple of stumps. We made it across but did not stop to take photos. A wilderness therapy group has been operating in the area and they have made a few improvements in some of the other wetland trail crossings. Nonetheless, the first half of the loop was memorable. The trail was well marked and easy to follow with the exception of an open meadow of blackberry bushes with no blazes. Brears had been busy foraging so there were several social trails. After a little exploring and berry eating, we found the correct trail and pressed on. The improved back country campsite was magnificent.
View of lake from camp.
Breakfast
The tent pad was well away from the cooking area, but loated right on the trail.
The second half of the loop was much more forgiving. The guide suggested two beaver dam crossings but the trail appears to have been rerouted over a bridge. The dam we did cross was pretty straightforward
Blynn crosses the beaver dam.
Hiking through the ferns on the Chippewa Lobe Interpretive Loop.
We closed out our vacation with an evening at the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival – a nice casual little event at the ski hill in the park. We planned on doing an overnight in the Trap Hills but the weather did not look promising and we opted for a night to clean up and regroup in a motel. The day of the festival we hiked up to the Hack Site overlook in the Trap Hills. The trail is still easy to find and well maintained. The view was magnificent as always.
Bottom line: another great visit to the North Country. Kudos to Eric H. for great recommendations in his books.
