2011 Fall Wisconsin Fall Trip

The 2011 edition of the Wisconsin Fall Trip is in the books. This time of year always draws me to "wander the North Woods", enjoying the Fall colors, and the serenity of the area. This year, rather than spending the entire trip touring in my Santa Fe, driving from location to location, the trip also included trail hiking.

The trip agenda was as follows:
Friday, September 30th, 2011
- Stay overnite in Dubuque, IA (after Waterloo West Football game)
Saturday, October 1st, 2011
- Leave Dubuque and travel to near Hayward, WI
- Hike the Morgan Falls/St. Peter's Dome Trail
- Overnite in Minocqua Oct. 1st, 2011
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
- Hike Fallison Lake Nature Trail
- Hike Raven Trails
- Hike Bearskin State Trail
- Overnite in Monocqua Oct. 2nd, 2011
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
- Travel back to Waterloo, IA

2011 Wisconsin Fall Trip - Day One

The drive from Dubuque to the Morgan Falls/St. Peter's Dome was gorgeous. Blue skies, temps in the 60's, and tree color at their peak. The route I took is shown in the photo to the right.

The routes shows the stop for the hiking at Morgan Falls/St. Peter's Dome, and then on to Minocqua, WI for the next two nites.

The Morgan Falls/St. Peter's Dome Nature Trail is a US Forest Service Trail, requiring either an annual ($20) or day pass ($4). The trails are out/back trails - one to The Dome, and one to The Falls. The entire length of the trails was approximately 5 miles, following wooded paths, with plenty of rocks and roots. I arrived about 1pm, and at the time there were only a handful of families and hikers enjoying the trails.

Morgan Falls was tucked in among the trees and very scenic. The water was not flowing as much as normal due to the limited rain this past summer. This definitely was the attraction for the kids on the trails!

From here, I proceeded on the longest stretch of the trail to St. Peter's Dome. Alot of steep rock paths and roots along this portion, and was definitely got the ol heart pumpin'... but the view from the top was amazing.

The rock overlook was the perfect place for this family to have lunch, and enjoy the glorious scenery. It was interesting to note that the trail had people from the age of infancy (in frontpack) to 70+ years of age. It was neat to see everyone out and enjoying the beauty of Northern Wisconsin.

I headed back down the trail toward the parking area, and what had been a peaceful trail hike turned into a trail packed with visitors heading to "The Dome". I passed at least 60 Amish/Mennonite young adults, and a few adults heading up the trail. The males all dressed in plaid shirts and dark slacks, and the females in traditional Amish/Mennonite attire. As amazing as that scene was, was the young lady "trying to" push a standard hospital type wheel chair up the rocky/rooty path, with a young male in the chair. He was not small! Suffice to say, the peacefulness of the trail behind me was gone. My timing was excellent, as I was on my way out! Upon arriving at the parking area, I found three motor coaches parked next to the road!

By now it was almost 3:30pm, and I still had a couple hours to my overnite stop in Minocqua. The time passed fast, as the roads were all lined with beautiful colors (and the traffic was light).

Approaching Minocqua, I found a couple really beautiful entrances to cabins that I just had to photograph. Here's one of them. Note the skeleton head with antlers over the entrance.

I arrived in Minocqua and the Americinn just before 6pm. Unfortunately, I arrived just AFTER a tour bus of seniors had arrived, and were in the process of checking in. I also learned that there was a "boil order" for the City of Minocqua "until further notice".... Despite these issues, I checked in, and after finding some dinner, settled in to enjoy NFL Football, after a great day!

There are a bunch more photos from the 1st day of this 2011 Wisconsin Fall Trip. To view them, click on the image below.

2011 WI Fall Trip - Day One Album

2011 Wisconsin Fall Trip - Day Two
As a result of the "Boil Order" for the water in Minocqua, coffee was NOT available... in my hotel room, or even at the local convenience stores throughout the city. Given that, I decided to get up and going. The Fallison Lake Nature Trail is approximately 7 miles north of Minocqua, so a sunrise hike was in order.

On the way, I had to stop at Mann Lake, home to the Titus Cabin. I headed to the north side of the lake to view the cabin from across the lake. I was greeted by 3 deer, one of which you can see in the photo.

The sun was just breaking over the trees, and the scenes on the lake were amazing. If you look closely in the photo to the left, you can see the Titus boat house and cabin along the shoreline. This cabin is the only cabin on that side of the lake, and is located over a mile off a gravel access road (with a path thru US Forest land). Truly a remote location.

After taking a bunch of photos, I headed to Fallison Lake. The Nature trail has option of trail lengths to hike. I chose to take the longest "around the lake" path. As with Mann Lake, the sunrise provided amazing images of the lake. The fog had not completely vanished, and made for some beautiful views.

The trail provided access to the lake as well as sections that traversed through the forest. With no wind, the sounds of the forest (birds, animals, leaves falling) were easily heard.

The trail was approximately 2-1/2 miles long, and I finished hiking at approximately 8:30.

By now, the "call to coffee" was sounding loud so I headed to Sayner, WI, where I grabbed my morning refreshments.

After researching my maps, I decided the next hiking trail for the day would be Raven Trails. Located about 15 miles from Sayner, and midway between Minocqua and Lake Tomahawk, Raven Trails are in the wooded land between Clear Lake, Inkpot Lake, and Hemlock Lake. I chose the 5 mile "outer Loop", which gave me not only great views of the lakes, but also some rugged trails, some of which are also used by bikers.

It was about 10am, so there were only a few others walking the trails. Like the Fallison Trail, the wooded areas were really peaceful, except for wildlife sounds. Really neat! The trail had alot more "ups and downs".. a couple hills even had warning signs "Steep Hill ahead".. Below are a few shots from the trail.









It took a little over 2 hours to complete the 5 mile loop, and it was after noon when I finished.



Decided it was time to rest a bit, so I wandered up towards Lac du Flambeau, which means "Lake of the torches".

Of course, I couldn't pass up stopping at their casino - Lake of the Torches Casino. The good news is I broke even, and was able to get off my feet and out of the sun for an hour or so.

On the way back towards Minocqua, I decided to follow a couple of Wisconsin's "Rustic Roads". These are designated roads with scenic countryside. I chose the route east of Minocqua.

The combination of wooded areas and pastures was very scenic. Many side roads along the route leading to houses and cabins on the lakes in the area. Well worth the time to take the tour.

The final activity of the day was to check out Bearskin State Trail in Minocqua. This is an abandoned rail line, that was used to export white pine logs from the forests of northern Wisconsin to the cities of the Midwest. Today the Bearskin trail is a recreation corridor, surfaced with compacted granite suitable for walking and bicycling in summer and snowmobiling in winter. 

The trail starts in Minocqua by crossing the Minocqua Tressle. After crossing the tressle, the trail winds SW between Lake Minocqua, and Kawaquesaga Lake, following Bearskin Creek. Many scenic spots along the mile and a half portion I hiked. Even spotted a prehistoric animal in the creek (suspect it was a snapping turtle.. see photo)!


It was time to call it a day, so I headed back toward the trailhead in Minocqua.

It was a GREAT day... beautiful weather, amazing scenery, and some awesome hiking. Its always difficult knowing that tomorrow, its time to head back to Iowa, but for now, I am fortunate to be able to enjoy this beautiful area!

I have a bunch of other photos gathered from my day Two activites. You can check them out by clicking the image below.

2011 WI Fall Trip - Day Two Album

2011 Wisconsin Fall Trip - Day Three

Monday morning, and it was time to pack up and head south to Waterloo. Of course, its hard to take the main hiways on the drive back, so after heading south on Hiway 51 and passing thru Wausau, it was time to get of onto the side roads. On the road by 6am, I was able to see sunrise again, and find some great countryside views. 

Passed some cranberry fields, which had been already drained. Also spotted some "wierd" birds in a cornfield. Looked like a cross between a herron and goose... made crazy screeching sound ! Take a look.. anyone know what these are?


I came across many amazing scenes, and have alot of photos of those in my Picasa Album for Day 3.

Finally, time to focus on getting home (I had a lawn to mow!), so I headed west on I-90 to Hiway 63, and returned to Waterloo about 2pm. It was a wonderful getaway, and I will definitely plan for a return trip next Fall.

Check out the other photos I took during Day 3 by clicking on the image below.

2011 WI Fall Trip - Day Three Album