Blue Mounds Bike Camping

One of the nice things about living in Madison is bike camping. Our house is 2 blocks off the Capital City Trail which leads out of town in multiple directions, many of which have bike-up camp sites starting 20-30 miles out of town. It’s especially nice when on Friday you see a good weather window and you can decide on the spot to head out for a night.

We chose to go west on the Military Ridge Trail and camp at Blue Mounds State Park, which is just over 30 miles from us. You could certainly choose to glamp it up on the way out (as we did) and stop at many places. We grabbed dinner at the Grumpy Troll Brewery and Pub, about 6 miles before the campground. Nothing like a good pizza and a couple beers after biking.

On the way home we stopped at the Tuvalu Coffee House, a little more than halfway home, for coffee and some baked goods. Made it back in the afternoon with plenty of time to chill and enjoy the rest of the afternoon sun on the porch. My kind of weekend.

If you go:

• Route Map

• Grumpy Troll Brewery and Pub

• Tuvalu Coffee House

Garage Sale Canoe

“When are you getting back? I bought a canoe at a garage sale and need your help getting it home.”

She really knows how to make my day/week, maybe even month. It’s old and fairly heavy but the price was right. On the way home we had to take it out for an inaugural sunset paddle along the Yahara. I love this city.

Broken Ankle

On the last play of an indoor soccer game….

I made it 32 years without breaking a bone, looks like the streak is over. Fairly minor break (ankle avulsion) but I’m done cross country skiing for the season. :(

Bonus: I get to wear these cool pants for the foreseeable future.

Gibraltar Rock

If you want a nice view without much work or you just need to get out of town Gibraltar Rock is a great trail, just 30 minutes north of Madison. It’s also part of the Ice Age Trail!

The trail through the natural area is about 2 miles total with the main attraction, the view from the top of the rock, being roughly in the middle. We started from the northern end of the trail and did an out and back to the car. This side is steeper and often icy in the winter since the trail is all on the north slope to the rock.

A mostly clear day yielded some nice views and we had the trail to ourselves.

If you go:

• Gibraltar Rock TH

• Wisconsin DNR trail info

The Family Land

Somehow, 135ish years after it was settled, the original parcel of farmland still is in the family. Tucked away in the Baraboo hills we mostly use our small section for exploring and for the occasional quick camping trip. I took the opportunity of some nice fall weather to mess around with my camera.

Devil's Lake Loop

Growing up in Baraboo I’ve been to Devil’s Lake a lot. It’s a gem of southern Wisconsin. One of my favorite hikes is scaling both east and west bluffs and doing a loop of the lake. It’s about 6 miles, depending on which trails you take, and covers some of the more popular trails in the park. For Wisconsin the elevation gain of ~1,000ft is cool too… if you’re into that kind of thing.

We started at the south shore parking lot and headed up the Balanced Rock Trail. This one will get your heart pumping. At the top we headed down the East Bluff Trail and along the north shore beach area. Pro Tip: If the concession stand is open you can break the hike up with snacks (or beer!).

From here we headed up the West Bluff Trail to the highest point of the hike and then down along the lake back to the south shore. There is also a concession stand here, but, Pro Tip #2: save the money and go get your cooler out of the car and enjoy a beer/picnic on the lake, you earned it.

If you go:

• South Shore TH

• Devil’s Lake Trail Map