Wisconsin NCT: Day Six

 Thursday, September 11, 2025

Porcupine Lake Wilderness Area to Reynard Lake Rd. Approximately 16 miles

We slept in a little bit on our last day on the trail.  16 miles to hike seemed like a lot less than the 20 per day we had been doing!  Again, it had rained a bit in the night, and our gear was wet.  This weather sure was different than what we had expected!  Our little tent village was packed away, and soon we were ready to get back to the trail.

The spur trail we had taken was nearly a half mile, and we were glad to finally to see that North Country Trail sign!

The threat of rain was still in the air, so our packs were covered, but it was quite comfortable temperature-wise.  I continued to admire the mushrooms as we hiked.

Then it was time to sign another logbook.  It seemed like there were a lot of logs this week!  Sometimes I feel lucky if we see one in a 30-40 mile stretch!

We also came upon this not alive snake, later identified as a Northern Ring-necked Snake.

Today's hike took us past many lakes: Overby Lake, Essox Lake, Mirror Lake and Nelson Lake.  We stopped for a mid-morning break beside a very peaceful lake, thankful the rain was holding off.  This whole area felt like northern lower Michigan, with its pine trees, ferns and berries.

We continued down the trail, my thoughts drifting towards that finish line every now and then.  One thing I love about hiking over running is that I get to see so much more on the trail.  If I was running, I never would have seen this little creature taking a break on a mushroom.

And if you know me, you know I'm going to tell you to stick your hand in there.

For much of the day, we were wading through this very tall grass. It was very wet, making us very wet.  And because it was wet and warm, the mosquitoes wanted to party.  Check out Matt's million bug bites!

There continued to be lakes along our left side all day, and we took one final break before heading for the finish.  I was so glad I had my bug net with me!  The mosquitoes were literally out for blood.

The last few miles were quite eventful.  First, we stopped for a celebratory Fireball shot.  Then, we came across a potential wolf print, although it could have been a large coyote.  Finally, after all those miles, we saw our first bear poop!  So exciting!  Haha! Maybe next time we will get lucky and see a bear!

And then, we were hustling towards the finish.  The mosquitoes were unbelievably bad, and I couldn't wait for the safety of my truck to get away from them!  Finally, we were there.  We had done it!  We had covered half of the North Country Trail in Wisconsin in five days!  

My last order of business was delivering Matt and Tanya back to their car at Copper Falls State Park.  Once there, I used their facilities to clean up and change clothes before hitting the road.  I didn't know where I was going to sleep that night, but I knew I couldn't make it all the way home.  I traveled back through eastern Wisconsin, crossed back into Michigan, through Ironwood, Bessemer and all the towns I had come through just six days ago.  When I came through Ishpeming at at 7:42pm, I snapped this picture of blue skies and the sunset behind me. 

At 7:58pm, as I entered Marquette, I was hit with a wall of white.  At first, I thought something was on fire.  Then I realized it was fog!  I had never seen fog this thick.  Cars slowed to crawling.  

When I got into town, I pulled over for some ice cream.  For some reason, I was not tired at all.  If I could see to drive, I'd like to keep going!  I filled up my gas tank and proceeded with caution.  I had driven this stretch many, many times so I was familiar with the lay of the land.  As soon as I hit the Marquette city limits, the fog immediately cleared!  It was unbelievable!  I had smooth sailing the rest of my trip.  I managed to make it to the cabin in Gaylord by midnight, where I tucked myself into bed and slept.

We plan to return to Wisconsin next fall to complete the state, but in the meantime, we will be doing more sections in Ohio through the winter.  And you know me, there will also be some adventuring on the Appalachian Trail as well!

Wisconsin NCT: Day Five

 Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Beaver Lake Campground to Porcupine Lake Area, 20.4ish miles predicted

We were all up before the sun on Wednesday morning.  If you look closely, you can see all three of our tents glowing!

It had rained most of the night, which meant we'd be packing up wet gear.  Packing up wet gear meant our packs would be even heavier than the day before.  Hopefully things would clear throughout the day, and we'd dry out a bit!

This campground was complete with pit toilets and a water pump.  We all filled our bottles, since a lot of the water sources we had come across were not really water sources we wanted to use if we didn't have to!

While Matt and Tanya finished packing up, I decided to venture down to the lake with my coffee.  It was so quiet here, and I enjoyed the peaceful moment.

Just after hitting the trail, the rain began again.  Where was this coming from?  Our last radar check had shown no rain after Tuesday morning's storm!  This was uncalled for!

The weather did make things mysterious and beautiful, though, and I was comfortably warm, even with my jacket.

We decided that every four miles or so we'd take a pack break.  We discovered that if we stopped, even for just five minutes, we felt re-energized enough to make it the next four miles.  It was an added bonus if there was cell service, as we were in a pretty remote area.

The forest continued to be dark with the overcast skies and rain.  Every time there was an overlook, I just had to take the short trails to see them.  Sometimes I was disappointed, sometimes it was great!  Marengo Valley Overlook didn't have much to offer.

No worries, I had another Rice Krispie Treat to brighten my mood!

FarOut had really hyped up the Swedish Settlement area, and we were looking forward to seeing it.  Upon arrival, though, the entire settlement was completely overgrown.  If there hadn't been a map indicating where the various structures had been, we never would've known!

We continued along, and came through another tall, tall tree area-my favorite!  

Another logbook appeared and Matt signed it.  There was also another overlook: Juniper Rock.  Tanya decided not to come along on this side venture, so it was just Matt and me.  The trail was rocky and a little technical, but it was so worth it. It felt like another world up there!

By lunchtime, the skies began to clear a bit and there were even peeks of sunshine! I think the sunshine got under my skin because I turned a little crazy!

In the afternoon, we entered the Porcupine Lake Wilderness.  Wilderness is an appropriate word for this section as it was quite rural and overgrown.  There were no ticks, but lots of little sticky pickers!

We took one more late-afternoon break beside a lake, and it was sooooo nice.  It was quite an amazing spot and I didn't want to get up and go again!

We didn't know where exactly where we were going to camp for the night, but we were on the lookout.  The forest was very thick here and not very flat anywhere!  We still had a bit of time, though, so we pressed onward.

And then we kept hiking.  And hiking.  And hiking.  Every time we thought a good spot would be just up ahead, it wasn't good.  We needed a spot that had room for three tents, preferably mostly flat.  So, we kept hiking.  And then we started to get a little desperate.  We were tired.  Like, tired tired.  We took a side trail in hopes of finding anywhere at all to set up camp.  Finally, we came to the end of the trail and met a road.  Just across the road there was a makeshift parking spot that we quickly transformed into our campsite.  Our tents were still soaked from the night before, so we set them up to air out a little and set about making dinner.  

As soon as my tent was dry enough to get inside it, I did so.  All I could think about was lying flat and not moving for a really long time. Tomorrow would be the last day of our adventure, but we had miles to go before the finish.