This weekend, Julia and I did something different: we went camping
with my adult daughter and her two friends. Mauthe Lake is located
about an hour north of Milwaukee and has 135 mostly wooded sites. It’s
part of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Northern Unit. There are
electric sites at Mauthe Lake, but our campsite was without any hookups.
We arrived early Friday afternoon in time to set up the Brew Hut and
hike a few miles of the Ice Age Trail. That trail runs through most of
the state forest and cuts across this property near the entrance
station. Although rain was predicted for the entire weekend, the
weather held off until the end, making for fantastic hiking conditions.
Allie and friends showed up in time for a supper of bratwurst, chips,
IPA’s and homemade wine. Setting up Grandpa Gene’s tent was a learning
experience for all. Allie also learned how to use Gene’s old
campstove.
By
ten o’clock, the old geezer (me) was ready to turn in. As I heard the
young women and Julia talk and laugh, I was reminded of my own early
adult camping experiences and the foolish but fun times we had.
Julia and I rose early Saturday morning and hiked around Mauthe
Lake. The trail was wet. In the beginning, we balanced on logs and
jumped across stones to keep our feet dry. By about halfway, the trail
was so deep with water that it was pointless, so we just sloshed
through, ankle deep. By the time we arrived back at the campsite, the
girls were hungry.
I fixed bacon, eggs, and toast for five on the two burner Coleman stove. Then we went for a 3.5 mile loop hike around
Parnell Tower. Afterwards, we celebrated with two flights at
SoLu Estate Wine and Meadery.
My favorite was the ginger root mead, but we took home a bottle of
Highland’s Blend, a delightful red wine, reminding me of a spicy
California Zinfandel.
After an early dinner of tacos, tortilla chips and guac, Allie and
Company headed back home to Milwaukee. Julia and I sat by the fire,
sipping red wine until after dark.
On Sunday morning, we drove out to the Long Lake campground to check
it out. Most of the sites were located in scrub and without much shade.
We hiked some more on both the Zillmer Trail and the Butler Lake loop.
By noon, it was time to hit the taco truck in Campbellsport. By the
time that we hitched up and hit the road, the long-predicted rain
started to fall. All agreed that it was a great start to a Wisconsin
summer.
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