Ice Age Trail: St. Croix Falls (Part 2)

I always look forward to the sense of wonder and anticipation when going to a new place; entering Interstate State Park did not disappoint! The ranger at the park office quickly and pleasantly checked me in to my reserved campsite and even offered Charlie a treat - dog friendly, yes! As we drove the scenic winding road to the South Campground at the back of the park, views of the St. Croix River and Dalles peeked out through the foliage and rejuvenated our excitement after hours of driving. I wanted to start hiking right away, but first we had to set up camp and get the dogs settled.

Since it was already late afternoon by the time we arrived at the campground, I decided to stick to trails in the vicinity rather than driving back to the much anticipated Pothole Trail. After setting up camp, Charlie and I walked through the campground to the trail head for Eagle Peak Trail, a .8 mile linear trail, to stretch our legs and get familiar with the terrain.

It was a challenging trail full of switchbacks up the hill and we were followed by a persistent deer fly the whole way. About halfway up I was lucky enough to notice a tiny spotted fawn sitting absolutely still in the tall grass. Charlie seemed to be on a mission to get to the top as quickly as possible and didn't even notice the fawn as I took several pictures. We were both pretty exhausted by the time we got to the top but the view was worth it! Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE these rocks!

On our way back down to the campground, we met another hiker who I later learned is an Ice Age Trail volunteer! What are the odds? Back at camp, my "assistant" was hard at work making dinner - mac n' cheese! Well it's always good to load up on carbs before big hikes, right?

And of course the obligatory s'mores! Can you see how perfectly toasted that marshmallow is?!

Charlie found a good "lookout" rock on the edge of our campsite which she used to keep an eye on the birds and chipmunks just over the hill at the back of the campsite where the Dalles Creek flows up into Lake O' the Dalles. We were having a difficult time acclimating to the campground because there is little privacy between the sites and the campground was full of campers on this Saturday night. People were up late talking loudly and drinking, music drifted in and out on the wind from some music event in St. Croix Falls and at 10pm sharp there were fireworks booming in the distance. Charlie and I had been in the tent since 9pm and I was trying to get her settled down since all the noise was making her anxious. But when the fireworks started and literally vibrated the ground we were sleeping on, she completely freaked out. I had to grasp her in a big bear hug, holding her tight to my chest, acting as a human Thundershirt to keep her from ripping the tent open. When the fireworks stopped and I got Charlie mostly calmed down, we drifted into a light sleep.

I was exhausted the next morning but off we went to hike the St. Croix Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail (previously reported in Part 1). The majority of our hiking needed to be done today - Sunday - since we were headed back to Wausau the next day. I may have been a little over-ambitious with the hiking plans because after hiking through the morning, I realized there was no way we were going to get all the trails done in the state park. I had to decide which ones were a must-see. Rachel, the Ice Age Trail volunteer I had met yesterday, had recommended the Echo Canyon Trail, so after lunch and a quick nap, Charlie and I headed over to the trail head.

Somewhere along the trail I think we took a wrong turn and ended up on the River Bluff Trail. There were several rock climbers in the area practicing on the rock outcroppings and as we neared the river, there were more rock climbers on the bluffs below us and across the river. This is definitely a hot-spot for climbers!

After checking out the superb views of the river from here, we turned back because the trail became extremely steep and was mostly rock, which Charlie kept slipping on. I don't take chances with her safety so we back-tracked. There are three trails in this area that are all inter-linked at some point (River Bluff Trail, Echo Canyon Trail, Summit Rock Trail) and I'm pretty sure we hiked on all three of them because they are not well-marked once you get on them. Eventually we made it back to the parking area and I could tell Charlie had had enough hiking for the day. We took a break and drove around the park instead, taking in the views from the car - Charlie with her head hanging out the window and catching a breeze. After checking out the Pet Picnic Area, we spotted a doe with her fawn grazing alongside the road. I stopped the car to get my camera out of the backseat and they never even looked up at me! I hurried to take pictures, afraid Charlie would start barking and scare them off, but she sat calmly watching them and the deer just went about their business, taking no notice of me or my dog.

Back at the campsite, as the sun was getting lower in the sky, I began to worry that I wouldn't have time to see the Pothole Trail in the morning. With little energy, I hopped back in my car and drove up to the trail to scout it out; there was no way I was going to miss this trail! I thought maybe the setting sun would interfere with my photos and was hoping the rising sun in the morning would be better lighting. But after seeing the views from up there - both afternoon and morning - I don't think there's such a thing as a "bad time of day" for taking pictures here. It's breathtaking.

Pothole Trail leading to the Western Terminus

Normally this is a very busy trail, but on this Sunday night, I had it all to myself. I was in awe of the beauty and history surrounding me. This is one of Wisconsin's OLDEST trails in the state's OLDEST state park. You can't get any better than that. To sit there and think of all the people who have come and gone through this site and the sheer force it took to make these wonderful landmarks: the volcanic rock rising straight up out of the river bed, the volume of water it took to break loose boulders big enough to carve the Dalles, the force of the flood from Glacial Lake Duluth causing gravel and sand to carve the potholes. It's simply astounding.

Western Terminus of the Ice Age Trail!

Lookout spot to view Old Man of the Dalles rock.

Old Man of the Dalles rock

Small potholes

Another pothole

I highly recommend visiting this trail on a weekday when the crowds are smaller and you have a little more room to contemplate the magnitude of what you are seeing. Sit quietly on these rocks, listen to the water below, watch the turkey vultures soar overhead and let your mind wander. This place holds stories of great power; absorb that energy and refuel your nature-loving soul.

Enjoying the sunset over St. Croix River

I think I'm going to be researching photo/video editing software so I can combine my photos and videos... but until then, here's another crappy video:

And another...

And one more...

Camping on the Ice Age Trail

So last Saturday Charlie and I hiked the Turtle Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail and immediately following that hike, we headed over to Camp New Wood on the other side of the Wisconsin River to set up camp for the next two nights. Honestly I didn't know if I was going to be physically capable of seting up camp after hiking all afternoon, but amazingly enough we had tents up and a fire going by dinnertime.

Camp New Wood was built on the original site of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp from back in the 1930's and is also on the Grandfather Falls Segment of the Ice Age Trail. That was the coolest part - seeing the yellow blazes on the trees along our campsite! I could now add the distinguishing achievement of camping on the Ice Age Trail to my hiking resume. Never mind that Hwy 107 is only about 30 feet from the campsite. Never mind that I didn't actually backpack into the wilderness with all my gear strapped to my back.

No. That is not how I like to camp. I prefer to fill my car with every necessity I can possibly think I'll need for the two days that I'll be "roughing it" - including my mom. Yep. Mom comes along on all my camping trips because 1) she loves camping and would be extremely upset if I didn't invite her along, and 2) she does all the cooking and dishes, which is awesome because without her, I'd probably subsist on granola bars and apples.

Camping with Mom is like going to an outdoor bed and breakfast. She made bacon and french toast for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and steak with mashed potatoes for dinner - not to mention s'mores for dessert - come on, what's camping without s'mores! Go ahead and say it - I'm spoiled! Plus she strategically packs all our gear into the car - including room for our two dogs. After a long day hiking, it's a relief to have her along for the camping trip.

Now, most people would probably head to Council Grounds State Park which is about 10 miles South of Camp New Wood, but I prefer to take the path less traveled. Plus I hate crowds and noisy campgrounds. Camp New Wood is a county park but it's barely used. There are 7 campsites that are mostly open (not much privacy) but sit high up on a ridge overlooking the Wisconsin River. Saturday night there was one other camper who arrived late and left early the next morning. Other than that, we had the place to ourselves.

The campsites are $10.00 per night, there is free firewood available if you want to chop it up (the county is attempting to prevent the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer) and there are pit toilets directly across from the campsites. A short walk through the woods takes you to New Wood County Park where there are picnic shelters, more pit toilets, a hand pump water station, playground and boat launch. A short drive (about 15 minutes) takes you into the city of Merrill if you need groceries, ice or firewood (do not bring firewood from further than 25 mile radius).

We camped at site #5 - which, in my opinion, is the best site there. Site #1 is also pretty nice and has a long parking area to accommodate a camper or trailer. At night you can hear the distant roar of Grandfather Falls which is occasionally drowned out by the noise of a passing car on the nearby highway. Otherwise it is completely quiet. There was a rather unhappy family of red squirrels who made all kinds of noise outside the tent at dusk and dawn. I don't think they were particularly happy about sharing their campsite with us... probably something they don't have to do very often. Sunday afternoon we found a painted turtle sun-bathing at one of the other campsites and the dogs had a fun time investigating it. Sunday night I had an interesting experience when another campsite visitor - a large toad we had seen earlier - decided to wiggle himself under my tent. The sound of the tent floor crinkling as he moved closer and closer to me was extremely disconcerting! And Charlie was a bit freaked out by it too. I used my flashlight to gently nudge him back out from under the tent so I wouldn't roll over and squish him during the night. Thankfully there was no "toad juice" under my tent the next morning when we packed up.

We had a great "outdoorsy" weekend full of hiking and camping but I was so blissed out to be home, under the stream of hot water in the shower - washing away all the sweat and bug spray, and lounging on the couch for some t.v. time. Charlie had a few ticks on her and some were fully attached, so we applied another tube of tick meds and "fixed up" all her bites. I think Charlie's pretty grateful to be home too... she's been taking it easy and napping quite a bit this week!

I hope she gets her rest because we have another big weekend full of camping and Ice Age Trail hiking planned for next weekend... stay tuned!

What are your best camping memories? Do you have a favorite camp food?