Our hike on the Fallison Lake State Nature Trail, near Boulder Junction, on Saturday October 8th, was colorful, cloudy and cool to start but our small group didn’t seem to notice. We stopped to take pictures and enjoyed the large pines and hiked the somewhat hilly terrain around the lake.
The temps warmed and the sun peeked out partway along the way. We stopped for lunch on a bench by the lake in a protected spot. There seemed to be a record number of people on the trail, after all it was THRIVE OUTDOORS day! Enjoy these couple of photos from the hike.
The paddle this past Wednesday on Harrison Flowage was lots of fun and relaxing. We had beautiful weather as well. Lot of wildlife and aquatic plant observations created variety in our paddle. Swans and a otter family included. We also added a 4x4 pickup truck adventure to check out another lake. That was interesting!!!
On Sunday, July 31, a group of us met at the trailhead off Hwy 32/45 to bike the 3 Eagle Trail. We enjoyed a leisurely ride to the Sundsteen trailhead, stopping at the shelter for snacks and visiting before biking back, about 14 easy miles.
We stopped on the boardwalks to gaze out at the scenic sedge meadows. Sections of the trail have large pine that emit fragrant pine scent. We had a special guest in our group – Dave H’s sister. We hope she’ll join us again. Very nice ride on a summery day.
On Thursday, July 28, a group of us met at Perch Lake, a small 35-acre lake that many of us had seen from the Perch Lake Shelter. We had a leisurely paddle with time to visit and identify aquatic plants. We flushed a blue heron. For some of us this was our first paddle of the season. Very pleasant time.
We had a delightful experience hiking along the Wisconsin river just north of Merrill. The weather was mild and sunny. We didn't even need bug spray. Four of us set out with 3 wildflower identification books. Many of the flowers were familiar to us and some of them were a challenge to identify but, with the help of Ruby Jaecks from the Northwoods Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, we were able to figure out the names of them.
Ice Shuffleboard
Thanks once again to the Mehrings for hosting their fun Squash Lake Winter Games. Weather pushed the event back a day which meant some NPTers weren’t able to attend. A thick slush layer under the snow cover had to be avoided near the slick and clear shuffleboard court. The competition of orange vs yellow teams was “stiff” but friendly. See the photos. The soft grey toned sky made a pleasant backdrop. The warming bonfire was welcome when a slight breeze picked up. Ravens and crows flying over in pairs foretold of coming spring.
Mary B. Jay J. and I went with the 2-hour group which was really long enough on a cold day. This Underdown segment of the Ice Age Trail in Lincoln County is HILLY so up and down we traversed then found some relief crossing bogs. Bogs are always fun to see in the winter with their short tamarack and black spruce trees, like a miniature forest. We didn’t see any wildlife. We were dusted with light snow as we hiked. Cookies and hot chocolate or hot cider awaited us when we finished our hikes.
These Ice Age Hikes draw quite a sizable group, maybe 30-40 people. The hike was divided into groups of 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours.
Heal Creek, a City of Rhinelander property adjoining the Northwoods Golf Course, has become one of our favorite local trail systems for snowshoeing. The animal tracks in the snow, regrowth of aspen, beaver damage, the up and down terrain, and the creek itself provide a lot of interest. Additional trail marking now makes it easier to find your way. Of course, snowshoers had already tracked the trail ahead of us as is often the case. It was a beautiful winter day with some blue skies and sun peeking through the clouds. Nine NPT enthusiasts enjoyed hiking the trail together.
The snowshoe hike on the NORA trail system was super. It was a little cold to start with, but we warmed up quickly with the activity and the sun being out. We “shoed” along on sparkling sugar snow, saw tracks galore but no animals except for two eagles flying overhead that we could presume might be a pair checking out the real estate.
We stopped at Mary Lou Baribeau’s donated bench for a photo and reminisced about her love of snowshoeing on this trail. We had to bushwhack a short distance to return to the main trail when it seemed to have stopped but that wasn’t a problem with Dan E. in the lead. This “short but sweet” trail made for an enjoyable time for us as the smiling faces in the photo shows.
Perch Lake Shelter
Scary and not so scary animals awaited those who attended this Annual Event hosted by Dan and Marj. We searched for 56 or 63 animals in groups of 2-4 doing fun activities like building a log cabin, hiking with mini-backpacks, and roasting marshmallows around a campfire positioned along the Washburn Ski Trails. We were charmed by the thought put into it. All for our enjoyment, thanks to the Mehrings. The weather was perfect for this event. After the Creature Scavenger Hunt, we enjoyed a delicious pot-luck meal at the shelter’s outside “fireplace room”. Lots of good visiting time. As the evening light waned, the fireplace warmth was welcome.
The hike was a really memorable one. Thanks to all who participated.
It was a perfect blue-sky kind of day. That with good company - picturesque lunch spot - interesting fungi, plants and trees along the trail made for a fine time. One of our members even found a geocache without a GPS location!
Smooth Water on the Pelican River
Farewell paddle and bonfire for one of our longest standing members, Catherine Joppa, who had to move out of the area. We will all miss her friendly greetings and all that she contributed to make our organization a success over the years. She has served on the board, lead countless outings, supported events lead by others, authored our website, contributed lots of great ideas, helped bring people together to enjoy our common interest in silent sports and documented much of it with photos.
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