Wisconsin NCT: Day Four

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Copper Falls State Park to Lake Three Trailhead, approximately 18 miles

Matt is so fortunate to have Tanya and me there to move him along.  I think he must be the king of the slowpokes in the mornings!  

We got him out the door, along with all of our earthly belongings.  We had decided to drop my truck where we'd be finishing in three days last night, so that meant that Matt and Tanya's car would have to hold all of our regular gear, a cooler, our three backpacking packs, and us!  It was a tight fit!  We were happy to have stayed at the motel, though, because the storms that came through were pretty severe!

We stopped at Kwik Trip one final time, and I think maybe I'm in love!  While I was waiting for Matt and Tanya, I overheard a true Yooper conversation:

Guy 1: We got a lot of rain last night, eh?

Guy 2: We had so much rain I thought about turning around and going to get my dip net and going smelting!

Haha!  Only in the U.P. 

With our final provisions acquired, we drove back to Copper Falls State Park, where Matt and Tanya would be leaving their car for the next three days, and where we would be starting.

It seemed that the only way out of this park was up, so up we went.  Up the stairs, through the campground, and then up and away from the main park.  This place was huge!

When we passed one final bathroom, Matt and Tanya jumped at the chance while I played around near the lake.

And then, just as we were leaving the park, surrounded by wildflowers, a jerk bee stung me right in the thumb.  Ouch!  That's not how I wanted to start my day!

For quite some time, the trail rain parallel to the road.  It was wide and grassy and a bit overgrown in places, but still better than road walking!

Oops, I guess I spoke too soon because then we were back on a road.  We passed a little roadside park, and played some Cornhole, not even bothering to take our packs off!

We came through one of Wisconsin's only true trail towns, Mellen.  If you're ever in this area, don't blink or you'll miss it!

Leaving Mellen, there was a looooooong uphill road walk.  Did I mention it was long?  Let's get back to the trails!  Soon we came to the sign indicating we were leaving the road and entering the Chequamegon National Forest.  According to the locals, this is pronounced "Schwa-meh-gon".  Did I get that right, Tanya?

Matt stopped to sign the logbook, and I admired my swelling hand.  

The next few miles were pretty rugged and overgrown, but it was beautiful, too.  I mean, I have rarely been in a forest where I couldn't find beauty!

Carrying heavy packs meant more frequent breaks, and I was always looking forward to the next chance to take that weight off my back, if only for a few minutes.

We passed the Penokee Ski Trail Shelter and just gave it a nod and a smile before we were on our way.  We had many miles to go before we'd be stopping for the day!

The next section of trail seemed a bit more maintained, and we were able to click off some good miles.

We stopped briefly at Sara's Overlook, but there was not much to see this time of year with the leaves in full foliage!

And then, just because there was a chance of rain, the rain came.  We all had rain gear and took a moment to cover up.

Over the next couple of hours, the rain came and went, sticking around just long enough for us to not ever really dry out. Hey, at least it was warm!  I'll take warm, wet feet over cold, wet feet any day.  We were also thankful for every bridge, large and small!

By 5pm, we were getting pretty darn tired and needed to find a place to camp for the night.  The forest was dark and lovely, though, and we'd hadn't seen another soul all day.

We arrived at Beaver Lake Campground, and finding it all but empty, we quickly chose a campsite and began setting up our tents.  We had a break in the weather, and it was nice to be able to set up camp without getting rained on.

First came tents, then came dinner.  We were exhausted.  Over twenty miles with full backpacks is no joke!

My favorite part of long days is when I finally just get to lay flat in my tent and completely relax.  This campground was so peaceful, and the rain from the day had put a hush over everything.  It was just about perfect.

I was hoping to get some really good sleep tonight because I knew another full day was awaiting us tomorrow.