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Published: August 28th 2007
A view from the top
High above lovely Wausau on Rib Mountain.Onaxthiel Writes: Our first day of driving took us from home to a few interesting spots in northern and western Wisconsin. Our first stop was made at Rib Mountain, once thought to be the highest point in the state. At 1900 feet above sea level and 1500 above the surrounding country side, one can see why once upon a time folks would make that mistake. It does illustrate how flat Wisconsin is to see that our highest spot doesn’t break 2,000. The view was quite nice anyway, with relatively few clouds, many miles worth of scenery below, and the way Wausau lays out in front of you from the observation tower.
From Rib, we had three choices of places to spend the night. Right there at Rib; Chequamegon National Forest an hour to the west; and a small state park an hour and a half to the west. We opted for the state park, and were treated to views of roving Amish biker gangs going about terrorizing the west Wisconsin country side. We also stopped in to view the Wisconsin veterans’ memorial. It wasn’t bad, particularly considering that it looks like it was all privately funded and run. Any
Another one on top!
Another view from the top of Rib Mountain. sight that memorializes General Vang Pao gets my respect. We drove on to our destination for the night, Burnet Island State Park. The state of Wisconsin charges entirely too much for camping at its parks, but to see the views in the dark was almost worth it. Being on a bridge with a nearly full moon on a cloudless night with perfectly flat water is a great shot, even if I had to become a human tripod for Obfuscator. Eh. It worked out alright, I think. The next day we walked some of the park paths and found an interesting stand of birch trees, some very nice meadows, and the foundation of a cabin long gone from this world. Lessons learned one day one: The ruck sack is not a good place for me to keep stuff like it was in the army. When we make camp, something a bit more accessible is in order for sleeping systems, hygiene kit, and head lamp. Head lamps are a god send, followed one step down by wind up flashlights, and lastly LED squeeze lights. Maglights put out a great deal of light, but eat batteries and take up a hand. If you
Amish Bike Gangs!
Amish Bike Gangs running amok! keep a small fire going, it will go long enough to cook a quick meal and get the dishes done, but with everything wet they are a pain to get started. (Thanks to Obfuscator’s girlfriend for reminding him how to start up a fire before we left on this trip.) Hammocks are like giant heatsinks that you lay in, but are almost tolerable in a bivy sack. Next time, sleep will be on the ground for me, though. The guys that demonstrated to me that a bowline knot can be broken from any line after any tension were working with static lines, not dynamic lines (or 550) and didn’t put the kind of weight on the lines I did setting up a hammock. We need a brillo pad and drying towel for dishes. Wisconsin puts too many people in their parks, and those people are really over packed.
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Araby
non-member comment
awesome
awesome