Wisconsin

My campsite in Hiawatha National Forest was listed as dispersed camping (which means free and unsupervised) but it actually had a picnic table and a fire pit. After setting up camp, I made dinner and then went in search of some wood. I wasn't expecting to collect much dry wood as it was raining that day, but it was worth a try. After spending 10 minutes rummaging around I actually found a few dry branches. One in particular was extra dry, and I thought to myself, this is going to be the one that gets the fire going. A few pieces of birch bark were laying in the ground and that was the start to my fire. What a great end to a long ride. I dried of my boots and warmed up to my bones. I got the fire going well enough to catch a few logs on fire which had been left by previous campers. I even burned the damp stuff. After all but the logs were gone, I called it a night and slept like a rock.

The morning arrived soon enough, and it was time to get my phone charged. I feel like the bike is not charging my phone as well as it had two days prior because the battery would increase in state of charge even while I had Google maps running. Now I had to leave the phone off to charge, and it was a slow charge at that. The solar charger which I had brought has a fairly large battery which I am still getting used to. Unfortunately the battery doesn't have enough charge to charge my phone.

My next destination is somewhere in Wisconsin. I decide to ride to the border of Michigan and Wisconsin along lake Michigan, stop there for lunch and then decide on a camp spot. I cross a time zone expecting some sort of sign to mark my accomplishment, but no such sign was there to acknowledge me. I decide to leave my watch on Eastern time (actually it's so complicated that I don't know how to change the time) and my bike's clock will show the current time.

After lunch I settle on Chippewa campground in Chequamegon National Forest. I charge my phone as much as I can at lunch, and then hit the road, arriving at my campsite about an hour before sunset. I'm right next to a lake, and the fee for the night is only 7 bucks with my parks pass (only 14 without a pass). Now that's a price I'm willing to pay for a place to sleep for one night. There is a fire pit, but I feel like getting to bed early, so I hit the sac.

Still no cheese in Wisconsin. Just farmland,.... Mostly soy...

Pictures: All three are at the campsite.Read more