This Memorial Day weekend ended up being exactly what Rhonda and I needed. A few days away from schedules, responsibilities, chores, and the constant noise of everyday life. Just us, the outdoors, and a simple plan to relax and enjoy northern Wisconsin.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!We spent the weekend camping at South Trout Lake Campground in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. Since both of our exes had the kids for the holiday weekend, it gave us a rare opportunity to pack light and travel solo together. We decided to take my car instead of the van since it makes loading and unloading the kayaks from the roof racks much easier.
I got off work before Rhonda on Friday, so I spent the afternoon getting everything packed and the kayaks loaded up. As soon as she got home around 4:30 PM, we hit the road for the 4.5–5 hour drive north.
About halfway there we stopped at Kwik Trip for dinner, which is pretty much one of our family road trip traditions at this point. Right before getting to camp, we stopped again at a gas station to fill up for the weekend, and of course Rhonda somehow ran into someone she knew. It doesn’t matter where we go, she always seems to know somebody, even hours away from home.
We finally rolled into camp around 10 PM. South Trout Lake Campground is a small rustic campground with only 23 sites tucked deep into the state forest. It was pitch black outside with almost no light pollution anywhere around us. Through the trees all you could see were little campfires glowing in the distance from other campsites.
The weather was decent when we arrived, around 55 degrees with no rain yet. We quickly got the tent set up and our beds made before wandering over a few campsites to visit some friends from MadCityPaddlers that we would be joining the next day for a paddle on the Manitowish River. After sitting around the fire with them for a bit, we called it a night and headed to bed.
Sometime during the night a steady drizzle rolled in and continued off and on into Saturday morning.
I woke up shortly after daybreak Saturday morning. Whether it was the sunrise or my bladder waking me up first is still up for debate. It was about 45 degrees outside, so after forcing myself out of the warm sleeping bag I threw on some warm clothes and got breakfast started while Rhonda stayed warm and comfortable in bed a little longer.
I filled the water pot at the campground hand pump and started boiling water for oatmeal, coffee, and tea. Coffee for me, tea for Rhonda. The campground was almost completely silent except for birds, frogs, and other animal sounds echoing through the forest.
Once we got dressed and packed our kayaking gear for the day, we joined the MadCityPaddlers shuttle convoy at 9 AM and headed toward our put-in on the Manitowish River below the Wish Lake Dam.
The water levels were fairly normal, but the river was still loud where it poured over the dam. Once everyone unloaded boats and gear, all the drivers took vehicles downriver to the take-out at the Highway 47 landing, about 11 river miles downstream. Then we piled back into a couple vehicles and returned to the put-in.
After introductions and a safety briefing, everyone slowly launched one at a time with help from the group leader Jared, who stood in the water helping steady boats while people climbed in. Before long we were all floating downstream and officially underway.
The overnight rain and morning drizzle had most of the group bundled in rain gear, and some people even wore full cold-water paddling suits. I kept things simple with a rain jacket, shorts, and sandals. I knew I would eventually step into the water getting in and out of my kayak anyway, so there was no point wearing pants that would just soak up water and stay wet. The rain jacket mostly kept my upper body dry and blocked the wind.
Jared, Eric, and I all brought fishing rods along while most of the group focused on paddling, chatting, and enjoying the scenery. As we floated downstream we saw an unbelievable number of bald eagles. Some carried fish while others flew overhead with sticks for nests.
Before long Jared and I got completely distracted fishing and slowly drifted farther and farther behind the main group. We honestly stopped paying attention to time completely. Eventually we realized we should probably catch back up with everyone, and shortly after that I got a phone call from Rhonda asking where exactly we were. Luckily we were only a few bends away from the lunch stop by then.
We stopped for lunch about 6 miles into the paddle before continuing downstream. After lunch I finally put my fishing rod away and spent the rest of the paddle alongside Rhonda just enjoying the river and scenery together.
By the time we reached the take-out we had paddled just under 11 miles and spent nearly 5 hours on the water.
After loading boats and gear back onto the cars, we headed out looking for firewood for the weekend. Neither of us wanted to pay tourist gas station prices for those tiny bundles of wood, so after a little searching we found Big Axe Firewood. They were closed, but luckily had a self-service drop box, so we grabbed some bundles and headed back to camp.
Once we got back I set up a tarp because of the continuing on-and-off rain we had most of the day. We walked down to the lakeside for a while and watched the sunset over Trout Lake before starting dinner.
We cooked steaks over the fire, but right before dinner was done the rain rolled back in again. Thankfully the tarp was already up, so we moved underneath it to eat dinner while listening to the rain hit overhead.
After dinner we played a game of Travel Catan while waiting out the weather. We sat there talking, relaxing, and simply enjoying each other’s company. No kids to worry about. No chores waiting at home. No schedules to follow. Just us being present in the moment.
After a relaxing night of games, rain, and campfire food, we headed to bed.
Sunday morning followed the same slow peaceful routine. Coffee, tea, oatmeal, and no reason to rush anywhere except on our own schedule.
While wandering around camp I found a local happenings paper pinned to the campground bulletin board that listed nearby hiking trails. We looked through the descriptions and eventually decided on the Powell Lake Trail System for the day’s adventure.
As soon as we started hiking we realized something major had happened in the area recently. Not even 20 feet down the trail there were massive trees down everywhere, almost like straight-line winds or a tornado had ripped through the forest.
It didn’t stop us though. The weather was beautiful and we had the entire trail to ourselves, so we simply climbed over and around the fallen trees and kept going.
Aside from the storm damage, the trails were incredibly well maintained with wide walking paths winding through constantly changing terrain. Some sections crossed bogs while others opened into prairie-like clearings. Then suddenly the trail would disappear into thick pine forests so dark they looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Other sections followed lake cliffs overlooking crystal-clear water.
We saw birds and insects everywhere along the hike, with occasional eagles and hawks soaring overhead. At one point we found fresh bear tracks on the trail. Since the rain the night before would have washed away older tracks, we knew the bear had likely passed through fairly recently.
About halfway around the loop we reached Sherman Lake. The water was cold and incredibly clear. The sun was shining and it was the perfect spot to stop for snacks, water, and some pictures.
Unfortunately shortly after finishing the hike I realized my Flextail Tiny Repeller had fallen off my backpack somewhere along the trail. We were tired and hungry, and we already had plans to stop for BBQ at Bad Bones BBQ, which is one of our favorite spots whenever we’re in the area.
While sitting there eating lunch I finally decided that $50 was way too much money to just abandon in the woods. So after lunch I dropped Rhonda back off at camp so she could relax and read while I returned to the trail alone to search for it.
I slowly retraced my steps scanning the ground carefully the entire way. About 1.3 miles into the trail I finally spotted it laying there. I was unbelievably happy to find it. After grabbing it I turned around, hiked back out, and returned to camp victorious.
When I got back, Rhonda was still relaxing so I decided to take the kayak out onto Trout Lake for a little evening fishing.
While waiting at the boat launch for a power boat to finish loading onto their trailer, the owners had a problem with one of their trailer guide wheels breaking. They asked if I happened to have any rope, so I dug out some spare paracord and gave it to them so they could temporarily secure everything and get out of the way.
While fishing I noticed some pretty ominous clouds building off to the west with visible rain falling underneath them. Knowing how quickly weather can move across the lake up there, I decided not to push my luck and hurried back to camp before the storm rolled in.
When I got back we had originally planned on hiking again that evening, but both of us were tired so we decided to skip it. Rhonda wanted to take the tarp down to start packing up for Monday morning, but I suggested leaving it up because of the incoming weather. Thankfully we did because not long afterward the rain started again.
We settled underneath the tarp for another relaxing evening while I fired up the stove and boiled water for a Readiwise Teriyaki Chicken and Rice meal. Rhonda was still full from our BBQ lunch earlier, so she mostly snacked on summer sausage and crackers while I ate dinner. We listened to an audiobook, snacked on cherries, and talked while the rain fell around camp.
Right around dark the rain finally stopped.
We started a fire and sat around it for a while just relaxing together before eventually walking down to the lakeshore in the dark to look at the stars. The lake was calm as glass and with almost no light pollution the stars were incredible.
Eventually we wandered back to camp, put the fire out for the night, and headed to bed.
Monday morning, Memorial Day itself, was finally warm and sunny. We got breakfast and coffee going one last time before immediately starting to pack camp.
Over the years we’ve gotten pretty efficient packing because most of my camping gear is minimalist backpacking and kayak camping focused. Once everything was loaded and we double-checked the campsite to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything, we headed toward Star Lake for one final hike before driving home.
The trail at Star Lake followed a peninsula loop winding around the outside edge of the lake. It ended up being the warmest and nicest weather of the entire weekend.
Along the trail we saw six different snakes laying across the path sunning themselves. We also passed countless interesting trees and several beautiful shoreline areas that immediately made us think how perfect this place would be to come back someday with the kids for swimming, picnics, and exploring.
After finishing the hike we made one final stop at Kwik Trip for gas and road trip snacks before finally heading home.
All in all, it ended up being the perfect weekend to unwind and relax. Between the camping, paddling, hiking, fishing, campfires, rainstorms, wildlife, and quiet moments together, it felt like time slowed down for a few days. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need.