"Winter" Camping at Governor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI, December 19-20, 2015

Staying warm

 Regrettably, despite the unseasonably warm November, we didn't make it out camping once because of family obligations, football season and general laziness. As the warm weather continued into December, I began to become more antsy to get out again. Although the temperature would not get above freezing on Saturday, Sunday was forecast to reach the low to mid 40s (F), so I figured this would be our last chance to get out and to test the limits of our current gear.

High Cliff State Park Halloween Camground Event Weekend, Sherwood, WI, October 23-25, 2015

Every year, the Friends of High Cliff State Park host a Halloween Campground Tour in which campers decorate, sometimes elaborately, their campsites with Halloween decorations and crowds come to trick-or-treat. We camped at the park last year, and it was a fun, unique way to end our camping season, so we again booked a site early this year for the Halloween festivities.

Hartman Creek State Park, Waupaca, WI, September 25-27, 2015

Taking advantage of a beautiful and warm late September weekend, we headed to Hartman Creek State Park where Lorraine could hike some of the ice age trail and where we could paddle and swim the Chain O' Lakes.

Roche-A-Cri State Park, Friendship, WI, July 24-26, 2015

Rock outcropping at Roche-A-Cri

A few weeks ago, my wife asked if I wanted to go camping over the next few weeks, and I responded that I would prefer to go to the backcountry or at least to some places we've never been. Her search found Roche-A-Cri State Park in Friendship, WI. After looking for it on the map, I became a bit concerned because it seemed to just be a tiny spot of green along the highway near a small town, but it turned out to be a pretty nice park.

Roche-A-Cri State Park was basically established to protect a 300-ft rock outcropping and Native American petroglyphs. The park has about 5 miles of hiking trails, 41 campsites and a creek that supposedly has decent fishing. The rock mound supposedly was an island in Glacial Lake Wisconsin about 15,000 years ago. Despite the park's small size, I recommend a visit and would camp there again.

July 10-12, 2015, Wyalusing State Park, Bagley, WI

Wisconsin River

We spent the weekend car camping at Wyalusing State Park, which is at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The park offers beautiful views of both rivers from the bluffs above, has about 14 miles of hiking trails, multiple playgrounds and has a signed canoe trail through the sloughs and down the Mississippi River. The camping accommodations are fairly typical of a state park, and there are two campgrounds. The Wisconsin Ridge Campground overlooks the Wisconsin River and has some nice views, but the campsites are wide open and right on top of each other. The Homestead Campground is, by comparison, more secluded and wooded. However, most of the sites are small and close to the campground road.

April 17-19, 2015, Governor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI

With another gorgeous April weekend forecasted in southern Wisconsin, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for another weekend camping trip. Camping at the state parks in April is probably my favorite time of the year because the crowds have not begun to form, the days are just long enough and there’s no insane heat wave to worry about. It can get chilly, but this weekend’s weather was about as good as any April weekend could be.

We arrived at Governor Dodge shortly before 7pm and was told the ranger station would be closing soon, so we hurried over to the campground to locate a suitable site. The downside to April camping at the state parks is that many do not take reservations, but there were more empty campsites than full ones. We basically let Amber pick the site, which she chose because of proximity to the park. We quickly checked in and got busy setting up before nightfall. Amber wasn’t much help, so Lorraine and I set up the tent, then I began rigging a tarp while she set up the bedding. The site was not ideal for our tarp, but I made it work surprisingly well. Once we were setup, I was able to get a fire going right around dark. I like that Governor Dodge sells kindling, making the need for splitting the firewood unnecessary.

It was a nice night, and the only eventful part was Amber freaking out over a spider that got on her leg. It’s funny (well, not to her), but she has a very unique scream for spiders. I was returning from the restroom when I heard the distinct sound of spider screams. Usually, she just screams and returns to normal, but this night she didn’t even want to let her feet touch the ground, so I found her standing on the picnic table bench begging to be carried around. I guess my little baby isn’t so grown up after all.

As is typical on spring camping trips, I wanted to try out a new piece of gear I had recently acquired, an Exped Downmat Winterlite. We all use Exped mats, and I really like them, and although I don’t have a ton of experience with different mats, they are more comfortable than any other I have tried camping or in the store. So, I was excited when I heard Exped was coming out with a new line of ultralight tapered mats. Since we plan on doing some backpacking, we all need to squeeze into a smaller tent for those trips. Therefore, I picked the medium size, which is about 20 in. wide. I knew this would be small for me, but hoped I could make due. Unfortunately, I found the mat quite uncomfortable and didn’t sleep so well. I convinced Lorraine to trade with me the second night, so she slept on it on Saturday night while I slept on her Downmat 7 (medium size). She too found the new mat to be uncomfortable and even slept in the car after getting up for a trip to the restroom rather than return to that mat. Meanwhile, I found her 20 in. downmat to be quite comfortable, especially for the small size. I also found that using my Zpacks sleeping bag as a quilt worked really well with the moderate temperatures we had. I ended up returning the Winterlite and ordered a Downmat UL 7. I hope it’s as comfortable as the non-ultralight version.

We had the entire day Saturday for hiking, canoeing and playing in the park. Saturday morning, Amber and I awoke to find Lorraine once again hiking, so we spent some time playing at the park. Once she returned, we had eggs, bacon and bagels for breakfast. We decided to paddle Twin Valley Lake, and Amber was interested in swimming, but the water would turn out to be too cold for that. We stopped at the beach, got out to “swim,” which turned to just be a calf-deep walk in the frigid water, and to build sand castles. We paddled four miles, and I found it refreshing to spend a couple hours on the water. We saw a number of birds and numerous turtles in water and sunning. The only challenge of the paddle was some high winds, which result in the squiggles in our GPS track, especially on the SW portion of the lake. Untrimmed and unloaded, it’s difficult to keep our 17 ft Prospector on course. Nonetheless, it was a nice leisurely paddle.

Paddling Twin Valley Lake

Nice bluffs visible from the lake

Sunday morning we packed up fairly quickly to avoid the rain we heard was forecast. Once we were done packing and with breakfast, we found the weather to still be pleasant with little hint of any storms on the horizon. Interestingly, Amber wanted to go on a “nature hike” to fulfill her requirements for a patch from the Wisconsin Explorer program. Every since she was a toddler, Stephens Falls has been one of her favorite places to hike, so she decided she wanted to go there instead of walking to the beach from our campsite. We packed the final items and drove down to Stephens Falls parking area. We walked to the falls, along the trail and back around the Lost Canyon Trail. Amber had enough walking, so we decided to call it a day and headed back home after picking up her patch from the Ranger Station. 

April 10-12, 2015, Devil’s Lake State Park, Baraboo, WI

Spring is finally here, and we are eager to get out camping again. Although this winter wasn’t particularly harsh, it was difficult to go so long without camping. Maybe we’ll have to take up winter camping one of these years…

Anyway, with the weather forecast for 60s and sunny in Southern Wisconsin, we searched for some place that we could car camp to shake off the cobwebs of what to pack and to try out some new gear. With the state park system still in winter mode, we found the options fairly limited, but we decided to give Devil’s Lake another a try, especially since it’s usually too crowded for us in the summer months. That park gets well over a million visitors a year!

Our two-night trip was not very eventful, so I’ll try to keep this post short. Since I haven’t written in awhile, though, I thought I should update the blog.

I took Friday off to volunteer at my daughter’s school, so I had some time to pack and load the car in the afternoon before Lorraine got home from work. I even squeezed in a 20 minute nap by accident! After a quick stop at Culver’s, we made it to Devil’s Lake in plenty of time to set up camp before dark. Amber was dying to play with us, but we were in camp chore mode and had to keep reminding her that there was work to be done. We got a good fire going just after dark, and Amber got to roast a marshmallow but didn’t manage to talk anyone into playing.

It was a nice but chilly night Friday. I stayed up a little staring at the fire, but I was tired and made it to bed before 10 pm. I was eager to try out my new 10℉ Zpacks sleeping bag, which I found to be pretty nice, especially for the weight. Here is my review of it. It was definitely sufficient for the low of 27 degrees, although it took me a while to warm up after getting chilled sitting out without warm clothes.

Saturday morning Lorraine got up crazy early as usual, but Amber and I slept in until nearly 8 o’clock. Within minutes of me getting up, she called from the tent asking for her mom. Since Lorraine was still out hiking around the lake, she asked if I would play with her. We agreed on chess and cards, so she was ready to get up even without Mom to snuggle. After about an hour, we decided we would go to the park but half-way there, she complained of a stomach ache and we returned to find Mom back. Mom was hungry from her hike and offered to cook us bacon, eggs and toast!

I hung the hammock I got for Christmas, and I’m worried it might no longer be mine since Amber loved it so much. She probably spent a few hours climbing in and out and even agreed to trade Christmas presents, but since I don’t have a lot of need for Magna Tiles, I wasn’t ready to seal the deal. I did get a chance to take a short nap in it when they were at the park, and I can see the appeal of hammock camping, but I’m not sure I’m quite ready to take the leap.

Amber stole my hammock!

Later in the afternoon, we took a paddle around Devil’s Lake. It’s not exactly an exciting lake to paddle, but it was neat to check out some of the rock formations. We were also able to see some of the climbers doing their thing. Interestingly, there was a loon fishing on the lake. Lorraine said it was vocal when she was hiking but I never heard it while we paddled.

Nice beach for launching

Can you find the climber?

GPS track of our paddle

Later, we managed to drag Amber up to the East bluff to watch the sun set, then we headed back to start a fire and make her a pudgie pie. Even though it was a slow day for the park, there were numerous people coming and going, so I’m glad we got a chance to camp here before the busy season.

Sunset over Devil's Lake

We ended up leaving fairly early on Sunday morning because Amber had stomach problems through the night. It was a good first camping trip of the season.

October 24-26, 2014, High Cliff State Park, Sherwood, WI

  This last weekend we took our final camping trip of the season, and it was the most unique of all of our car camping trips because of Halloween. My wife and daughter trick-or-treated at High Cliff State park last year, but I stayed home. This year, we decided we would camp out if the weather was nice enough, so we made reservations about a month in advance with hopes the weather would be nice. Luckily, Mother Nature cooperated with highs around 60 F and lows of about 40 F, although a steady wind made it feel a bit cooler on top of the cliffs.


We arrived Friday night after dark to find Lorraine's brother and his 8 year old waiting for us. They had planned to surprise us with a fire but were having difficulty since the wood shed (and park office) was already closed and much of the downed wood was wet. Finding wood unavailable at the park, we had previously stopped at a convenient store just outside the park and picked up four bundles of wood. While we set up camp, our guests got the fire going. Amber played really well with her cousin that evening while I sipped on vodka and lemonade and chatted with the adults. I really enjoy having a few drinks while sitting around the fire, but it almost always result in a middle of the night call of nature, which isn't so fun in the fall with cool temperatures. However, it was unusually warm for a late October morning, so it wasn't too bad to crawl out of the tent.
Saturday morning, Lorraine treated us to bacon and eggs while Amber anxiously anticipated the two trick-or-treat events coming for the day. We headed down to her brother's house to join them for their neighborhood trick-or-treat, which felt quite strange in sun glasses and 65 degree weather. We walked around until the kids were too tired to continue, then we headed back to camp for a late lunch. We took some time to look at some decorations on the campsites, but Amber insisted on waiting until dark to be surprised by the decorations at the sites on the electric loop. I'm glad she did because the extent to which these sites were decorated was impressive and surprising. The decorations were far more elaborate than anything seen in our neighborhood. There were makeshift tunnels with creepy display cabinets containing heads and other spooky concoctions. There were lighted mazes full of witches and goblins and skeletons and costumed people handing out candy. Zombies were roaming the campground, mad scientists were creating potions, and frightful creatures were jumping out of dark corners. Quite impressive, especially for a campground.
After trick-or-treating, we returned to our site on the non-electric side and found it a dark contrast to the carnival atmosphere on the electric side. I had prepared the fire pit and started a one spark fire, which was proudly my best fire starting accomplishment of the year. I knew it would be dark and that we would have a crowd, so I put some advanced effort into carefully assembling multiple layers of wood shaving, leaves, tinder and kindling. The kids munched on their candy and roasted marshmallows while everyone chatted and enjoyed the warm autumn night. 

By my count that made 30 nights we slept in a tent this year, including our first family backpacking and canoe camping trips, so I consider this season a great success. I look forward to next season, but I admit I am ready to put away the camping gear, rake some leaves and watch some football! Go GATORS!

October 17-19, 2014, Lake Kegonsa State Park, Stoughton, WI

October weather in Wisconsin can vary considerably, and since we don't currently camp below about 30 F, I keep thinking we might be done for the season. However, a decent weather forecast had us looking for a spot to camp. My wife insists that we don't camp or hike where hunting is allowed, so our options were limited. She found that Kegonsa State Park was having a candlelight hike on Saturday, so she booked a couple nights for us. With high winds and cool temperatures, I decided we would not paddle since our open water recovery skills are unexplored. Instead, I planned to take it easy and maybe walk a few miles, so I packed my 22 lb zero gravity chair, which is essentially a campground lazy boy recliner.

We hustled on Friday afternoon and set up camp before dark. I bought four bundles of firewood from the vendor, who drives around in an old pickup truck, and built a fire. It was certainly nice to have a fire on the cool windy night. I don't think the temperatures dropped below 40 F, but the wind was strong, and I got a chill if I moved too far from the fire. Instead of adding layers, I just pulled my "lazy boy" right next to the fire pit. 

As usual, Amber and I slept in on Saturday. I still wonder why she sleeps so well when we camp as opposed to home. Lorraine had already eaten some breakfast and hiked a few miles before we even got up. I built another fire and lounged around while they went to the park. When they returned, Lorraine and I had tortilla pizzas and Amber ate some oatment, then I was coaxed into walking down to the lake. Amber rode her bike and played on the playground for awhile. The campsite was covered in leaves, so I helped Amber pile them up for play and even buried her a few times. Afterwards, we

had an early supper of Mountain House chicken noodle, which Amber begged and begged us to cook it, although it turned out none of us were crazy about it. I wanted to wait until dark to take the hike, but Amber was extremely excited to do it, so we held out as long as possible and started right around dusk. The weather was nice, and it wasn't as crowded as I remember in the past. The 1.2 mile hike was over quickly, and we returned to camp for a fire and roasted marshmallows. I stayed up a couple hours after Amber and Lorraine. The forecast was for 33 F, so I actually slept in my clothes and stayed completely toasty and even had to unzip my bag a bit.
Sunday morning Amber woke up to a nearly shut eye from the stye she refused to let us cover with a warm washcloth, so we made an appointment to get her to the doctor later that afternoon. After breakfast, we hurried to break camp so we could get home and cleaned up before Amber's doctor appointment. The only treatment the doctor recommended was a warm washcloth applied numerous times a day with Children's Tylenol for any pain. Several days later her eye is almost back to normal.

September 26-28, 2014, Hartman Creek State Park, Waupaca, WI

Lorraine wanted to return to paddle the Chain O' Lakes near Waupaca, WI, because she didn't really get a chance to do so on our last trip this summer. Since Hartman Creek State Park is conveniently located on the edge of the lake chain, we decided to camp there. We rushed out a little earlier than usual on Friday afternoon because of the shortened days. We made it to the park and set up camp just as it began getting dark. We were a little disappointed in our site selection as we thought we had reserved a site along Allen Lake, but it turns out we had a site inside the loop. The site wasn't bad, but camping next to strangers is starting to wear on me, and I'm craving a bigger adventure. The campground was probably only half full on Friday, so we had a little bit of quiet and privacy. We had a nice fire, and I enjoyed some quite reading by headlamp after Lorraine and Amber went to bed.

Lorraine was hoping to get started early on Saturday, but Amber and I just seem to sleep so well in the morning hours. We finally got up sometime after 8 am and enjoyed a bacon and egg breakfast. I think Amber ate two oatmeal packages, half a banana, five pieces of bacon and more than one egg with cheese. Wow! She's not a baby anymore. I really enjoyed my bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. After breakfast we headed to the Marl Lake landing and were surprised to be the only ones there, although more people arrived before we got launched. Still, compared to the last time we put in there, it was extremely quiet. I got Amber a pair of NEOS Adventurers, and we were disappointed to find out they leaked. After addressing her wet feet, we finally got on the water around 10:30 am. We paddled for about three hours, visiting twelve small lakes. The fall colors were wonderful, and the lakes were not very crowded. The highlight for Amber was pulling the boat through Beasley Creek. I admit it was a nice diversion. I think we had a first after the paddle was over. Amber let it slip that she wished it wasn't over. We had offered to take her to the swimming platform on Marl Lake, but she seemed intimidated for some reason. Since there were a couple people hanging around the platform, I didn't push it and offered that we could drive around to that side of the lake after lunch.

We had home-made dehydrated chili with Fritos for lunch, although I think Amber ended up eating oatmeal. Afterward, we walked over to the fishing peer on Allen Lake to let Amber fish. We didn't have any live bait, so Lorraine made some bait from our sandwich bread. Amazingly, the fish loved it, but she wasn't able to hook anything. Before supper, we decided to head to the beach to check out the sunset and play with the remote controlled boat. Amber and I played a little in the water with the boat, then we threw a frisbee around before watching the sun set behind the tree line.

We headed back to have dehydrated fajitas for supper. As Lorraine was preparing dinner, I started a fire. As we were eating the fajitas, I made Amber a cherry pudgie pie.Unfortunately, the campground became more crowded as the day wore on, and our relative quiet and privacy was overcome by loud conversation and bright camp lanterns. I watched the fire before becoming too annoyed with the neighbors and crashing around ten.  

I slept in Sunday morning and found that Lorraine and Amber had gone a hike around Allen Lake. I enjoyed some quiet and ate a little breakfast before they returned. We decided to pack up before lunch, then we let Amber dip a line at the fishing pier before heading home. For some reason, I seem to be drawn to Subway steak sandwiches after camping, so we made a stop for lunch. The weekend weather was absolutely beautiful, but it was probably the last such weekend we will have this year. I enjoyed the paddle, and although it's a bit disappointing to think it might be one of the last of the year, I know that we had a really great summer of paddling and camping.

September 5-7, 2014, Buckhorn State Park, Necedah, WI

It's nice to have a long Labor Day weekend, and I like to take advantage of the extra day, but it's just usually way too busy and hectic to camp or canoe at the state parks. So, this Labor Day we took care of chores and the home front with the expectation of a two-night-post Labor Day camping trip somewhere nearby. The parks didn't seem to clear out as I had remembered after Labor Day as most of the more desirable campsites within a couple hours of Madison were taken. Lorraine decided to book a site at Buckhorn State Park, which is a fairly good-sized park with lots of shoreline. Some of the sites are even on the lake, but we were not able to secure one. Nonetheless, we planned on getting some paddling and hiking in this weekend.

I took off work a couple hours early on Friday afternoon to get a jump on the weekend and to help us get to camp before dark. After picking up the kid, packing the car, watering the garden and feeding the cat, we were on the road around 5 pm. We decided to hit a Wendy's drive-thru on the way, and I paid for it later that evening with nausea. Anyway, the drive was uneventful, and we made it to our campsite, A4 by 7 pm and quickly setup the tent and tarp. Right before leaving, the forecast looked to suggest we might get some rain just as we were setting up camp, but fortunately, we only got a couple drops and a nice rainbow. The site appeared to once have been part of a group camp area, as evident by the signs and a communal fire pit. The site was not bad, but we've definitely had nicer. It's on a loop with four other sites, and would be ideal for a multi-family group. We built a fire and got a little time to relax before heading to bed. Bedtime was not entirely peaceful as we were "blessed" with the jubilation of a Christian group's kumbaya celebration on one side and a drunken party on the other along with numerous train whistles throughout the night. Nonetheless, I slept pretty well.

 Surprisingly, I was up around 7 am with the expectation that we would do some fishing and paddling in the morning. However, Amber just could not wake up, so Lorraine and I enjoyed a rare opportunity to chat without being interrupted by whining or demands. After an hour or so, I started craving the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich Lorraine had promised me for breakfast, so I started waking Amber. It's amazing how much better she sleeps in the woods compared to home. She finally became responsive around 9 am, then we ate a delicious breakfast. By the time we got cleaned up and ready to head out, it was approaching 11 o'clock. Time for lunch! Just kidding. Amber really wanted to try her hand at the kid's fishing pond, which sounded good to me. We picked up a couple dozen nightcrawlers and park at the trailhead to the pond. There were plenty of biting fish, but they were all really small. Despite feeding them more than a dozen worms, we weren't able to hook a single fish. Man, I really am a lousy fisherman. I have a lot of excuses and theories, but I guess it boils down to me not knowing what the heck I'm doing. The closest thing we came to catching was a turtle that Amber half-way reeled in before it shook loose. She was thrilled, so it was worth the couple hours we spent. Lorraine wasn't interested in fishing, so she walked the trail around the pond with camera in hand to photograph the scenery and wildlife.

I figured we better eat something before heading out for a paddle, so we went back to camp and had lunch. I made grilled cheese for Amber and grilled ham and cheese for me, while Lorraine made herself a cheese quesadilla. I started to make Lorraine's lunch, but I guess she saw the uncertainty I had about how much cheese to add, and she jumped in and made it the way she likes. I added some Fritos (which were supposed to 
go with the chili we forgot at home) to
my plate and had a pretty tasty lunch. After cleaning up, we headed to the canoe launch despite Amber's protests, which we subdued by offering her a bribe of a trip to the playground afterwards in return for good behavior. We started in the section that is supposed to be an interpretive trail accompanied with a brochure, but we paddled that section last year and were underwhelmed with the guide. For example, the place labeled #4 on the map begins as "Underwater life: Underwater lurk thousands of fierce predators" Uh, ok. How's that different than every other place we've canoed?

Anyway, it's not a bad paddle, but the loop is short, so we decided to head for the day use island marked on the park map. Amber did not like paddling out onto the lake as it was slightly choppy, but it was nothing dangerous or anything our boat couldn't glide over. Besides, most of the way there was shallow enough for us to stand, and much of it was only a couple feet deep. The island seemed pretty nice, but there must have been 50 people enjoying the lake from boats or by playing in the shallow water around the island. We circled around it, and headed back toward the cove toward our starting point. There were some ducks and geese to view but nothing too exciting, although the lake seemed like a decent recreation area. Later when exploring the shoreline around the park, it became clear to me that part of the reason so many people choose that island is that the beach and campsites along the mainland have water quality issues, sometimes with the pea-soup-like growth that is common in late summer. Uggh! Our paddle ended up being 3.7 miles and took just under 2 hours. If Amber enjoyed herself a little more in the canoe, I would have liked explored some of the waterfront campsites, but our trip was a decent compromise. Upon returning to the parking lot, we noticed a fresh scratch on the passenger side of our van and suspect some bewildered paddlers we encountered may have been responsible.As promised, we spent some time at the playground and explored some of the shoreline near it. Amber swang a little, negotiated a make-shift obstacle course, fleetingly wrote her name in the shoreline sand laughing as it was washed away by the waves and played some pretend until she decided she would rather be back at camp. It was already evening, and I think we had a fairly full day of outdoor recreation, so I was ready to wind downBack at camp, I built a fire, and Lorraine boiled water for a Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, which Amber and I shared. Of course, Amber continued her gentle demands, asking for minute rice and a pudgie pie. After catering to Amber, Lorraine finally got a chance to eat, and she opted for a cherry pudgie pie cooked on the fire. Amber eventually got a couple marshmallows over the fire before being ready for bed. I stayed up a few more hours enjoying moments of peace between drunken howls and screams of our neighbors and unsettling campfire songs from the church group. I finally had enough around 11 and fell asleep quite quickly, although somehow my mat was shove in the corner, and I kept waking up feeling claustrophobic. I finally crawled out of my bag and moved my pad to a more comfortable location. I was awakened many more times throughout the night and could never quite be sure what woke me, but every time I woke up I could still hear the drunken neighbors, even at 3 or 4 am. I sure hope the crowds thin out this fall.

Sunday morning my alarm went off at 6:30, but I just couldn't do it. We had plans for a morning hike and to try to get back home for a birthday party, so I felt pressure to get moving. Still, I slept another 45 minutes before forcing myself to wake up and start putting away sleeping bags and mats and trying to get Amber started for the day. She kept asking if we could stay one more day, but we both needed to get back to work on Monday. Still, it's great to hear her asking for more camping and outdoor activities. I took a break from packing for oatmeal and bacon. Thanks honey! The tent was wet with condensation, but we decided to pack it up anyway. We were packed and ready to hike by around 9:30 or so. We decided to hike the trails leading to the waterfront campsites on the west side of the park. We've been talking about easing our way into backpacking as a family and are also looking for some local canoe camping locations, so we wanted to scout out these sites, which are accessible by foot or by boat. Some of the sites were pretty nice, but a few had almost no shade, so I'm glad we took the time to look at these. We ended up hiking almost exactly as much as we paddled in just about the same amount of time. Interesting. Our GPS track is shown below. We probably would have hiked out of there a little faster, but Amber decided she no longer was interested in the birthday party. Since we weren't rushing back, Amber wanted to stop at the observation tower, which I did not find very exciting, but she seemed to have a good time.

We were all hungry, so we decided to have a sit down lunch at Buckhorn Cafe. Wow, they have some big burgers. We stuffed ourselves with an appetizer, burgers and dessert. Shortly after leaving, Amber changed her mind and wanted to attend the party. Although we wouldn't be back in time, the hosting family already told us it was fine if we wanted to stop by after the party hours to play in the bounce house, so Amber and Lorraine did just that as I unpacked the van. Wow, I was exhausted, but didn't feel like I should be. I guess I can't give up my trips to the gym if I want to have the energy for some real adventures. The weather was great, and I look forward to some more trips this fall, although I have mixed emotions about missing college football.

July 31 - August 3, 2014, Hartman Creek State Park, Waupaca, WI

Once again, it was time for a chaotic family camping trip with Lorraine's siblings and their children. In all, there were nine kids and five adults, which is fewer than some of the previous years. I took a half day vacation on Thursday to finish packing and taking care of some chores before we took the two hour trip to Hartman Creek State Park. We arrived around 7 pm on Thursday evening to find two of the four families were already there and setup. We reserved four campsites - #s 35, 88, 90 and 92. I had seen these campsites before and didn't think I would want to camp in them because they are fairly open, but having our group in the 35, 90 and 92 area made it feel like a group campsite. After walking around, we decided we liked sites 22 and 25, both of which have lake views. Anyway, we quickly setup our camp just in time for it to get dark. I didn't want to deal with a mess, so I grabbed a cold ham and cheese sandwich. As a rule I don't eat after 8 pm, but I think I cheated a little that night with the justification that I was "on vacation." I'm not positive, but I think it's a safe bet that Amber had a cherry pudgie pie. Since one of the other families already had a fire and since it was late, I didn't start one. I tried being social by joining them around the fire but had a hard time enjoying myself around screaming, fighting teenagers and tweens. I called it a night around ten or so, looking forward to some relaxed paddling the following morning.

I must have been tired, because I didn't roll out of bed until 8 am. Well, I did wake up around 4 or so to a full bladder and to Lorraine getting up. I figured I would sleep better if I made a bathroom trip, and I guess I was right because I had another good three hours or so of sleep. It felt good to sleep, but my body complained with stiffness. Having eaten later than usual the night before I wasn't very hungry, so I just grabbed a banana and a granola bar. Well, honestly, I call them granola bars, but I don't think they have any granola. My favorite is the Nature Valley Peanut Crunch...mmmmm. Anyway, we spent a couple hours trying to rally the troops and decide where we were going to paddle. I urged everyone to head to the beach because there would be a little bit of something for everyone. Having so many people with so many different priorities and different waking times and eating habits makes planning a group outing extremely challenging, but we managed to get everyone on board to head to the beach.

Still, it must have been nearly 11 am before we finally got down to Hartman Lake. My family and I left the campsite first and unloaded the canoe and portaged it a few hundred feet down to the beach from the parking lot. Then, I inflated this 300 lb capacity raft I've had since college but haven't used in a dozen years. I had tested it out before the trip, but I was still surprised to find it had some life in it. It turned out to be a big hit with the kids. The group had four kayaks that we all helped get down to the beach. Everyone, especially the older kids, were pretty excited to get out and paddle. It was the first time for some of them, so I was really glad we all decided to bring our boats and convert some of the next generation into paddlers. It was a decent morning to paddle, but Hartman Lake is pretty small (I'm guessing 10-20 acres, practically a pond) and not very exciting to paddle. Lorraine and I made a couple trips around in the canoe, then I decided to kick back and relax. If I was in charge, the beach and picnic area would be renamed Chipmunk Beach because of all the chipmunk activity. Those guys hardly have any fear of people, and crumbs and handouts must be their main staple. Thunder moved in early in the afternoon, so we decided to pack up, but I took a quick spin in a kayak before we headed back to camp.

 

After getting back to camp, we had brats for lunch, then buttoned up camp as the thunder kept rolling in. The last time we got heavy rain, I had water pooling in my tarp, so I decided to work on my rigging and think I had a good rain proof setup. Despite all the storms around us, we only got some sprinkles, so I never got to test out my tarp setup. Once it was obvious the storms had passed, all but a couple of us walked over to the amphitheater to goof around. Rumor has it that Amber was doing the chicken dance, but she won't let me post any videos (if there actually are any ;) ). I took that opportunity to enjoy some alone time and even dozed off for a few minutes. I had just gotten into my nap when everyone returned. I decided to build a fire at our site to avoid the flaming pokers and sharp marshmallow sticks being wielded by nine kids. Lorraine and I also decided to try our dehydrated chili. To our delight, it turned out just like it was made at home. I bought a pot with a lid and made a cozy out of some reflectix to help with the rehydration. It worked like a charm. I just mixed the water with the dehydrate chili, brought it to a boil for a minute, then let it sit in the cozy for ten minutes and voila! We're planning on dehydrating a bunch of meals for our boundary waters trip now that we now how great the food can turn out.

On Saturday morning, Lorraine took an early morning hike around Allen Lake. She saw some deer, ducks, and a heron. Afterward, she cooked us eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. Once again, we were having trouble getting started and planning what to do with all the people. Part of the challenge was having 5 boats (capable of carrying about 7 people) and 14 people. I and a few others were adamant about not returning to the beach as we wanted to paddle new water. After my brother-in-law and I scouted out the put-ins and picnic areas of the Chain O' Lakes, we decided on the Marl Lake boat ramp and picnic areas. It required some logistics to launch on one side of the lake and get cars to the other side, but we managed. The area is really nice, and the water is clear and pretty. However, the area had an amusement park feel because  of the crowds. I solo paddled my unloaded canoe across several lakes, and the passages between the lakes were jammed. We spent a good part of the day there taking turns in the boats and picnicking. We made it back to camp in time to have "walking tacos" for supper and make it the naturalist's program on bats at 7 pm at the amphitheater. After walking back to camp, I built a fire, and Amber ate the last pudgie pie. She reports to have eaten six pudgie pies this weekend, and I have no reason to doubt her as the can of cherry pie filling was completely eaten. The night ended after one of the families made an early departure.

After some socializing and a short hike around Allen Lake on Sunday morning, we broke camp and were ready to head home by about 11 am. Once again, we stopped for lunch on the way home, and chowed down on some Subway.

Final thoughts: I think we would like to come back to Hartman Creek and paddle the Chain O' Lakes when it isn't so crowded since the water is so nice and clear and since the lakes are all small, manageable and no-wake. The weather on the trip was basically perfect. It was hot enough to swim during the day and cool enough at night to want to climb in the sleeping bag. I like visiting with Lorraine's siblings, but some of the kids can get out of control and induce stress to an otherwise peaceful camping experience. It also makes me grateful for the family I have.