Camping at Devil's Lake
Since 2018, I have made it a habit to go camping each year on or near my birthday (the first week of November) at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin. The following will be a series of photos, memories, and stories about these camping trips.
2018
I have almsot no photos of my first trip to Devil's Lake. I spent most of the trip with my phone turned off, something I try to do whenever possible while camping for both battery life and mental health. It snowed the night I arrived, but only briefly and it was warm enough that by morning there was little evidence. Having not been to Devil's Lake before, I spent the morning exploring the state park. There are walking trails around the lake, and for those so inclined (no pun intended) there are climbing routes up the surrounding bluffs.
I walked for a short time, enjoying some 'cowboy coffee'. It was probably 35 or 40 degrees as the sun came up. Resting by the lake, I opened a book. "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eisley. This book belonged to my great Grandmother, and has since become a favorite of mine. I read from the book until I got cold enough that standing up and moving again was necessary. Throughout the remainder of the trip, reading this book became my only interest. I finished the book quite quickly, and frankly the camping itself was rather unremarkable by comparison. I will likely put up a dedicated discussion of Loren Eisley's writing at some point, but until that time I would encourage anyone to read his work - particularly while outdoors if possible.
2019
This time around, my return to Devil's Lake was a bit more of a deliberate affair. I brought my radio gear, plenty of food to cook, and of course the afforementioned book which I have since been using to collect and press leaves that strike my fancy while out and about.
The fall colors on display in this part of Wisconsin are some of the best around
Although I took many photographs on this excursion, none seem to bring out the vibrance of the rocks and trees that I seem to remember. Perhaps it is an early form of nostalgia setting in, but I remember the stones and boulders surrounding the lake as being deep hues of green and indigo. I took many long walks around the lake on this trip, some of the most hiking I have done at Devil's Lake. The hikes available in the park are not challenging, but I would not describe them as overly accessible either, so those with limited mobility or small children may not complete them all.
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2020 and 2021
I know I said these visits to Devil's Lake were an annual thing, but in 2020 I made an exception and visited Northern Arkansas instead. I was new to living in Missouri at that time, and wanted to explore. Perhaps I will describe this trip in another post.
In October of 2021 my father and I visited Black River State Forest. Although I had originally planned on making both this and Devil's Lake happen, a combination of work scheduling and illness prevented this from happening. I will include a photo from our October trip below, as it was one of the best outings I have had in a long time.
This is Oxbow Pond, near BRF SF. Absolutely gorgeous spot.
2022 At last, a return to Devil's Lake.
Thankfully, in 2022 I was afforded the opportunity to go on multiple camping trips throughout the year. I visited Madeline Island, and saw much of Wisconsin's Superior coast line, and I also did a great deal of hiking the southern portions of the Ice Age Trail. The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail that spans the state of Wisconsin from North to South. Approximately 1000 miles long, I hope to walk it all some day. Devil's Lake land near the middle of the Ice Age Trail, and has its own dedicated segment of the trail.
This was another wet trip. Lots of fog, and periodically, rain. No serious thunderstorm conditions, mind you (those would come the following year), but just enough weather to make me wish I had brought more socks. I had a great time, though, and made friends with the neighboring camp site's occupants over a beer and a discussion of a missing canoe oar. Below you can see pictured my humble campsite, and if you look carefully you can see the antenna wire I strung up out of the tent.
This was the first time I had used an end-fed half-wave antenna, and I selected the K6ARK design due to it's small size and portable nature. When camping I almost always operate at low output power, so it was no trouble that the K6ARK balun is likely only capable of handling 10 or 20 Watts. This particular antenna used 26 AWG stranded copper wire, and was cut for the 40 meter band. I found the EFHW antenna to be an excellent choice for portable use, expedient to deploy and difficult to detune with surrounding materials. Unfortunately it just doesn't perform as well as something like a balanced dipole or loop, so the tradeoff really does make which portable antenna I use a case-by-case basis.
2023
This trip again has very few photos, as it was cut short due to severe weather. It was raining on my arrival to the campground in the evening, and by the time my tent was set up it had begun to hail. Mild rain had been in the forecast, but the weather soon deteriorated beyond my tolerance level. Defeated, I shoveled all my soggy gear into the car and left. My sister's family was living nearby in Madison, WI at the time, so I was grateful to get a shower and sleep in a warm bed before the 8 hour drive home. Better luck next year, I suppose.
