Comments
No comments posted yet.
Page Type:
|
Trip Report |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
|
46.75360°N / 88.22122°W |
Date Climbed/Hiked:
|
Jul 7, 2013 |
Overview
This was to be a very quick 3-day, 2-night weekend trip to gather just a few state highpoints. We took off from Minneapolis, drove to the U.P. of Michigan and made camp at Baraga SP on the shores of Lake Superior. The next day we summited both Michigan and Wisconsin, drove to my parents' house in Madison, and then swung down to bag Illinois and drove up the mighty Mississippi River back home.
The Hikes
I figured that it would be hot the first week of July, but it had to be cooler near Lake Superior, right? Wrong! It was record heat that greeted us along the shores of the lake that first night. It was also extremely crowded in the state park campground, and the location right next to US highway 141 was noisy for sleeping. However, we took off early the next morning in hot, sunny, humid conditions and navigated the maze of logging roads to the top of Michigan. The little signs pointing the way to the top were a lifesaver, as we would have gotten lost for sure without them.
The summit of Mt. Arvon is deep in the woods, so there wasn't much of a view, but it was worth it to get there.
Then we set out for Timm's Hill in central Wisconsin. My home state is pretty screwed up on a summer weekend, and we got caught in a traffic jam in Minocqua of all places! This caused us to skip lunch, and we were pretty cranky and hypoglycemic when we pulled into the high point of Wisconsin.
There was a coffeehouse/restaurant near Timm's Hill that was still serving sandwiches and iced tea at 2:30 in the afternoon, and so after climbing the observation tower, we nourished ourselves there. Thanks Hill of Beans!
After spending the night at my parent's house, we drove to the WI/IL border to get Charles Mound crossed off and head for home. This was the hike that dictated the entire trip, as Charles Mound is on private property and only accessible for a few weekends each year. It was easy to find (just look for all of the cars parked at the gate!), and was a nice stroll up a farm lane to the top. The hill is right on the state border, so most of the view (below) was of Wisconsin.
We high-tailed it back to Minneapolis that evening in time for me to play baseball that night. I was a little tired and hot, but three highpoints richer!