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Last week the powers that be saw fit to give us Friday and Monday off for the Labor Day holiday. Two of my friends, Eddie and Katie, and I took full advantage of the brief respite by taking a trip up to Devils Lake State Park, Wisconsin. I had been planning this for some time, however, when I got online to reserve a campsite a few weeks in advance it soon dawned on me that I had made a grave mistake. I failed to realize that it was a holiday so of course all 360 campsites in the park were reserved! What to do? I investigated many other options, I even contemplated Badlands National Park as an option but eventually ruled it out because it is a ten hoour drive from our home base in Vinton. When I felt I had exhausted all other options I turned back to Devils Lake. There are twenty or so first come first serve campsites within the park and we decided to get there as early as possible and try to snag one of them. But then, while getting directions to the park, I had a stroke of genius! I had completely forgotten about private campgrounds and as it turned out there was one less than a quarter mile fom the park entrance with campsites available. I quickly reserved a site pand Friday morning we were off.

After a quick stop in Madison for lunch, groceries, and other supplies we soon arrived at the capmground. It had been drizzling off and on all day and we all hoped it would clear up for the rest of the weekend. We hastily set up our tents during a lapse between the sprinkles and went to explore. Devils Lake is a glacial remnant nestled between two bluffs to the East and West with a post glacial vally extending to the North and South. The bluffs make it one of the premier climbing destinations in the mid-West. Gravity and erosion have created inccredible rock formations and the base of the bluffs are littered with gargantuan boulders that have crumbled from the cliffs and plunged to the ground. We spent Friday evening swimming and doing some limited exploration of the eastern bluff before returning to camp and eating our dinner of red beans and rice while it continued to drizzle. That night I was awakened early in the morning by heavy rain, thunder, and lightning that was close enough to compel Eddie and me to spend the better part of an hour in my car before returning to bed, Katie wasn’t phased.

The next day we decided to explore all of the major landmarks around the lake and on the bluffs despite the continued drizzle, about five miles worth of hiking, leaving the longer hike for Sunday. This plan was carefully crafted so that we could venture into civilization to watch the big football games on Saturday night. I will not endeavor to describe the beauty of the trails we hiked that day. The fact that it took us over six hours to hike the five short miles should give some indication of the spectacular views and the abundant climbing opportunities that we encountered (the pictures should help too). When we returned to our tents we were exhuasted even though it was only 3:30. I started dinner almost immediately, tin foil dinners of potatoes and onions with salt, pepper, and plenty of butter cooked in the fire and supplimented by a can of baked beans. Delicious! We watched the games at a sports bar just down the road from the park where I sampled a Wisconsin delicassy, deep fried cheese curds. I am not sure I have ever eaten anything so greasy before.

We set out early Sunday morning on our fifteen mile roundtrip hike to Palfrey’s Glen, a hike suggested to us by one of the REI employees Eddie spoke to in Madison. The Hike to the glen was pretty, made more enjoyable by the fact that the rain had ceased. We predominantly walked through forest occasionally emerging into open meadows filled with wild flowers. As pretty as the hike itself was, Palfrey’s Glen was much more beautiful. The trail took us into a gorge carved over the centuries by a crystal clear stream running through the center. The bluffs extended fifty or so feet in the air and there were places rocks had fallen from them where it looked as if someone had taken an immense scoop out of the bluff with an ice cream spoon. We ate lunch on top of the cliffs peeriong down at the tiny stream below before heading home. We had a dinner of chili (thanks for the recipe dad) and corn chips then sat up talking and making smores around the fire before turning in for the night, a perfect way to cap off an incredible weekend.

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