Lac du Flambeau to Flambeau River State Forest, 64-ish miles.
Grant, Eric, Jon and I left Andy's place at about 10 am, headed west on Chequamegon Forest Trail. We looked for Grant's wallet at the Round Lake trails, but did not find it. Jon split off for home after Moosejaw, missing the most excellent Blockhouse Lake Rd.—a study in sweet, sweet Northwoods gravel.
We stopped for "lunch" at a c-store in Park Falls, a grimy paper mill town on the north fork of the Flambeau River. Then it was westbound again on some rolling pavement until we turned south on ATV trails. The first stretch was good, but then it turned to a glacial till of sand and rock. Somehow we managed to pick our way through and nobody got a flat.
Another brief stint on roads took us to a system of cross-country ski trails running parallel to the river that were, to be kind, difficult.
Late in the afternoon we popped out at Red's Big Bear, where we stopped for pizza and beer. We got to talking with a couple who were canoeing the river, and they told us which campsites were open. Technically only paddlers were supposed to camp there, but there were plenty of open sites and we figured our footprint would be light. The moonlight and sound of the river were wonderful.
Sometime after we went to bed it started to rain (a slow rain perfect for sleeping), with a little bit of lightning, and kept raining until after sunup.
Late in the afternoon we popped out at Red's Big Bear, where we stopped for pizza and beer. We got to talking with a couple who were canoeing the river, and they told us which campsites were open. Technically only paddlers were supposed to camp there, but there were plenty of open sites and we figured our footprint would be light. The moonlight and sound of the river were wonderful.
Sometime after we went to bed it started to rain (a slow rain perfect for sleeping), with a little bit of lightning, and kept raining until after sunup.
No comments:
Post a Comment