This past week, my wife and I rented a cabin on a lake in northern WI. The camp is in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and is therefore under the U.S Forestry Service jurisdiction. Here is a link to the USFS site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/cnnf/rec/camping/nic_23.html. This was our second visit to Lost Lake.
The camp is made up of 8 cabins, a rec hall, a lecture hall, separate men and women's bath houses with showers and flush toilets, a first-aid building (always closed), and a few staff cabins. The camp has been used as a summer camp by various groups over the years, but I could not find detailed info as to who used the camp, when they were there, and when the camp came to be in USFS possession. Each cabin has 3 sets of bunks, 6 cubby/locker thingies, a large table and 2 benches, 3 foot lockers, and 2 step stools to facilitate entering/exiting of top bunks. There isnt any running water or kitchen gear in the cabins, but they do have electricity.
It rained every day we were there. Fortunately, it did not rain all day each day. On our first night, it absolutely POURED, setting the stage for making dry wood hard to come by all week. We were fortunate to only get caught out in the rain a few times; once while hiking to waterfalls, and once during a day trip to Eagle River (town). Otherwise, we were usually close to camp, and could head to the cabin when poor weather arose.
This year we were in Cabin 6. Here are a few pics:
You can sort of see the lake through the trees. It is maybe 100' away. The trail leads to the camp 'beach' area where we stored our kayak. It is a grassy beach; not sandy. There is a sandy beach across the lake at the tent/RV campground.
Interior shots with all of our junk strewn around:
And our protective Liger that stood watch night and day:
Here I am floating around. I rigged up a set of detachable leg loops for my PFD. The leg loops allow me to float comfortably in a seated position. The position also added a degree of stability while floating, capitalizing on the frontal buoyancy bias of the PFD.
My lovely wifey at La Salle Falls:
Me at Washburn Falls:
We thoroughly enjoyed observing wildlife on out hikes and paddling outings. The loons on the lake ventured within 15 yards of us on a few occasions, which was an unexpected pleasure. I had forgotten just how big those birds are. There was also a bald eagle hanging around our lake, which was nice to see. A doe with a fawn surprised us on one of our waterfall hikes, small fish seemed to constantly hang around us when we were floating in the water on the lake, and the chippies were active around the cabin carrying out their business almost as if we werent there. These encounters may not seem like much to most, but we havent had many opportunities to really get away to commune with nature. We used to camp a lot, but the time has been hard to find over the last few years.
(continued)
The camp is made up of 8 cabins, a rec hall, a lecture hall, separate men and women's bath houses with showers and flush toilets, a first-aid building (always closed), and a few staff cabins. The camp has been used as a summer camp by various groups over the years, but I could not find detailed info as to who used the camp, when they were there, and when the camp came to be in USFS possession. Each cabin has 3 sets of bunks, 6 cubby/locker thingies, a large table and 2 benches, 3 foot lockers, and 2 step stools to facilitate entering/exiting of top bunks. There isnt any running water or kitchen gear in the cabins, but they do have electricity.
It rained every day we were there. Fortunately, it did not rain all day each day. On our first night, it absolutely POURED, setting the stage for making dry wood hard to come by all week. We were fortunate to only get caught out in the rain a few times; once while hiking to waterfalls, and once during a day trip to Eagle River (town). Otherwise, we were usually close to camp, and could head to the cabin when poor weather arose.
This year we were in Cabin 6. Here are a few pics:
You can sort of see the lake through the trees. It is maybe 100' away. The trail leads to the camp 'beach' area where we stored our kayak. It is a grassy beach; not sandy. There is a sandy beach across the lake at the tent/RV campground.
Interior shots with all of our junk strewn around:
And our protective Liger that stood watch night and day:
Here I am floating around. I rigged up a set of detachable leg loops for my PFD. The leg loops allow me to float comfortably in a seated position. The position also added a degree of stability while floating, capitalizing on the frontal buoyancy bias of the PFD.
My lovely wifey at La Salle Falls:
Me at Washburn Falls:
We thoroughly enjoyed observing wildlife on out hikes and paddling outings. The loons on the lake ventured within 15 yards of us on a few occasions, which was an unexpected pleasure. I had forgotten just how big those birds are. There was also a bald eagle hanging around our lake, which was nice to see. A doe with a fawn surprised us on one of our waterfall hikes, small fish seemed to constantly hang around us when we were floating in the water on the lake, and the chippies were active around the cabin carrying out their business almost as if we werent there. These encounters may not seem like much to most, but we havent had many opportunities to really get away to commune with nature. We used to camp a lot, but the time has been hard to find over the last few years.
(continued)
Kidding, I'm just kidding.
