Backpacking – Rainbow Lake Wilderness

Sep 29, 2013 | blog, featured

Welcome to Rainbow Lake Wilderness.
Signpost at the southern edge of the Rainbow Lake Wilderness

Finally, I’ve gotten a chance to get out backpacking and hiking. It’s something that I’d meant to do quite a few years ago, but somehow it never worked out. Either something came up, or people would back out, or that nobody was really interested in hoofing it with me out in the woods.

A couple of weekends ago, September 14th-15th, 2013, I headed out to the Rainbow Lake Wilderness in northern Wisconsin. It’s part of the Chequemegon-Nicolet National Forest, which part of the North Country Trail runs through on its Wisconsin section. Very remote, very thick forest.

asdIt was a simple solo overnight trip, and I got a lot out of it. Quiet contemplation, and a chance to test out a lot of the equipment I’ve gathered over the last year or so, specifically for this purpose. I’ll be doing more of this next year, but wanted to get one short trip in yet this fall before the really cold weather to test out my new mens hiking boots compared super well to all my other, more expensive pairs. Of course, I just might try a solo overnight yet this winter, but use my snowmobile rather than try to pack along everything in the middle of winter.

There simply isn’t a very good way to describe how relaxing and calming it is to get away from all the noise, the interruptions, and stress of our hectic modern lives and just listen to the wind in the trees. I you like getting away like this, then you know what I mean.

Here’s a few more pictures from that weekend:

Trailhead of the North Country Trail at the southern boundary of the Rainbow Lake Wilderness in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Map of Rainbow Lake Wilderness area.
View of Reynard Lake from the trail.
On the North Country Trail, Rainbow Lake Wilderness.
Don’t forget to check your six from time to time.
View of Reynard Lake from it’s boardwalk on the marshy north-east side.
View from the Reynard Lake boardwalk, facing east.
I took a lot of pictures around Reynard Lake. This one was from a fantastic campsite on the northern tip. I’ll stay there next time.
Another pic from that good campsite on Reynard Lake.
Always need to have a campfire. This was at Bufo Lake, where I ended up.
Here’s the view of my campsite that weekend on Bufo Lake. Great view all around.
The other half of Bufo Lake from my campsite.
Another view from the campsite looking back into the forest to the north.
This was actually the first set of pictures I took as a panoramic. I was only about 1/4 mile down the trail and hit Wishbone Lake. Simply gorgeous.

The Winding Road

Nov 8, 2010 | blog

The Winding RoadEver have a plan? One you are sure is the one you’re destined to follow? Did it work out the way you thought?

Yeah, same here. Though its becoming less surprising as the years pass I think. The great part of following your gut and your heart in life’s great adventure is that you’re guaranteed an exciting one.

Its been awhile since I’ve talked here about the exciting challenges I’ve run into, and this year has been filled with a number of new ones. Events, people, and situations that make you think hard about what you’ve chosen to do. They give you another perspective that you may not have had when you started.

I speak, of course, about the challenges and choice of freelance consulting. Taking the world by the tail and making the most of your skills and knowledge in a new and exciting way. The great things about plans is that they always tend to deviate… to zig when you plotted a zag, or that the situation you thought would take place doesn’t seem to develop.

For many who attempt it, this is simply known as the Plan B effect. Of course, “The Plan” didn’t require a Plan B… so we never develop one. They tend to develop themselves, and that’s where the real excitement comes from.

In my case, I’m talking about SMBMSP, and there is so much to tell, so much to share on that front that I’m going to cover some of that over the coming months. What I hope to do is share a bit of the back story, some of the perspectives from my viewpoint on how we’ve got to where we are today, and what’s happening next. I guess I should call it “Plan SMBMSP”.

Its interesting to see where the long and winding road will take you.

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