Trail Turtles

Tag: hiking

  • “Up North” Wisconsin

    Early August is a wonderful time of year, while the summer feels like it is getting long, there is still so much time left to have fun. In northern Wisconsin, the weather is typically around 75 to 85 during the day and cools off to a wonderful mid-60’s at night. For my family, early August means we gather on the shores of the Chippewa Flowage near Hayward for a week of camping and fun. For over 20 years now the tradition remains, with extended family from my wife’s side making the pilgrimage from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, California and Arizona. 

    Campfire

    The activities are varied, of course we have typical camping go-to’s such as campfires, stargazing and cornhole, but our location also provides several other opportunities. These include paddleboarding, mountain biking, water sports and even sneaking in some pickleball at a nearby resort. Whatever your activity preference is, you can find it in northern Wisconsin, and no I am not sponsored in any way by the Wisconsin tourism department, although if you are interested let me know! 

    Let’s start off with a little paddleboarding. As mentioned we camp on the shores of the Chippewa Flowage, also called the Lake Chippewa. This body of water was created when the Winter Dam was completed on the Chippewa river in 1923. The result is the 3rd largest lake in Wisconsin and is littered with coves, islands and floating bogs. If you are planning on exploring the lake in a motor boat, be sure to have a good map or GPS as it is easy to get lost. For paddleboarding you rarely get out far enough for this to be a problem, but prudence should still be used. With all the coves and islands, this lake is a bit more forgiving of wind. While it can still whip up some whitecaps, there is usually a shoreline or bay that can be explored.

    Lake Chippewa

    The paddleboard that I have is an inflatable, with 3 smaller built in keels. Like all sporting goods equipment choices there are personal preferences and trade-offs and SUP’s are no different. Rigid or inflatable and removable or fixed keels are probably the two biggest decisions. I am not an avid paddleboarder, which no doubt alters my choices. For me the number one concern is ease of use. For me, this means I can easily pack the board and nothing is forgotten or lost. An inflatable rolls up and fits in a large pack with the take down paddle and pump all in one bag. Also, since the keels are built in, there is nothing to forget. I have used someone else’s board when the keel wasn’t installed and it is not fun. Because I don’t paddleboard everyday or even every month for that matter, the time it takes to inflate a paddleboard is also a non-issue for me, it is all part of the experience for that event. 

    Now for a little mountain biking. Northern Wisconsin has a ton of it! Since my hub was at Lake Chippewa, I was mostly exploring the CAMBA (Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association) system and the Trek trails that surround the Mt Telemark area near Cable. The CAMBA network covers over 135 miles of single track spread out over the Hayward to Cable stretch and also includes a section further north at Mt. Ashwabay.

    Trek Trails

    The CAMBA trails link seamlessly with the Trek trails and using Mt. Telemark as a base is a mountain bikers paradise. They have gear, food, showers, even a disc golf course for some non-biking downtime. The Trek trails also seem to be ever-expanding, it seems as though there are new trails every time I go there. Additionally there is a trail type for all riders. Whether your jam is easy flow, XC, technical downhill, fast flow or downhill jumplines, they have you covered. Being from Minnesota I have a soft spot for Cuyuna, but I have to admit, the CAMBA/Trek trail systems take the cake for me. There is also lodging right at Telemark if you want to stay there for a weekend of fun. 

    Mt Telemark

    One of the best parts of spending some time “up north” is the nighttime skies. Far from light pollution the sky lights up and shooting stars are common. With a few setting changes, even a smartphone can take incredible images, even being able to see the Milky Way.

    Milky Way

  • Biking Bentonville

    It seems as though Bentonville has achieved a mythic status when it comes to mountain biking…and now I understand why. 

    For 7 days we stayed near Bentonville in the next town over called Bella Vista. This is a distinction by name only as far as I’m concerned. For the visitor it is the same community. The group we had was diverse. Myself and two sons are intermediate mountain bikers who are comfortable on blue and some black trails. My wife is more of a beginner, preferring the green trails. My father in law is most comfortable on green and some blue trails and my mother in law likes the paved trails. 

    A couple other notes on our stay, it was hot! Our riding days were from July 4th through the 10th with high temps each day in the 90’s. In the end I don’t think this mattered too much, if anything it made us slow down a little bit, enjoy the rides and not burn ourselves out early in the week. 

    As far as bike setups go we were all riding full suspension mountain bikes (with the exception of MIL) of different makes and models. In my opinion the most important part of your rig when headed to Bentonville is the tire selection. A good tire with sidewall protection is a must. This area is full of chunky sharp rocks that could wreak havoc on cheaper tires. My father in law had cheaper stock tires that came on his bike that were setup tubeless. After just a couple rides there were about 10 small pinhole leaks where sealant could be seen leaking out and one big enough that required a bacon strip. By the end of the week sealant was weeping through the sidewall of his rear tire. On the other hand, my boys had Maxxis tires (Aggressor and Assegai) and had no issues all week. The biggest surprise for me was the Bontrager Gunnison Pro XR tires that I had on. These were also setup tubeless, but at $55 each I was not sure how they would hold up. After 145 miles of riding over the week, I can honestly say I am quite impressed. These tires showed no signs of premature wear, no pin holes, no leaks, etc. While there were a couple sections where a little more tread could have helped, that is on tire selection not on the tire. I will definitely look at Bontrager tires in the future. 

    Getting back to tire tread. While many of the trails in Bentonville might be classified as XC trails, even the green trails have some loose sections. I would really recommend a trail tire that has some good tread and cornering ability. 

    OK, on to the trails and the riding. What makes Bentonville such a special place is the accessibility of the trails and the variety of trails that provide for riding of all levels. It was easy for all 6 of us to park in the same spot, disperse in different directions, ride for several hours and meet back with different routes and stories to tell. 

    While nearly all of the trails can be accessed via bike path, the most central trail cluster is Slaughter Pen. This trail system is literally dispersed through the community, offering a wide variety of climbs, descents, difficulty and jump lines. In general the Slaughter Pen trails loosely follow the paved greenway trail and they can all be ridden right into downtown Bentonville. Slaughter Pen is also home to the OZ Castle, which is a great system of flowy jumplines with a central hub (The Castle). 

    Coler and Hand Cut Hollow can also be ridden to from Bentonville, with each of them sitting just East and West of Slaughter Pen respectively. Coler is home to the unique Airship Cafe, a ride-in cafe where a mid-ride coffee or beer can be enjoyed. Hand Cut Hollow, is home to the insidious Zone 4 trail, touted as the toughest climb in the area. While it was probably a bit out of our league, the boys and I thought we should give it a try. While we did finish the trail, it certainly lived up to the hype! 

    North of Bentonville (technically Bella Vista, where our Air B&B was) lies the extensive Back 40 and Little Sugar trail systems. Together these trail systems are nearly 100 miles of wonderful trail that feel like back country but still wind through homes, lakes, waterfalls, and golf courses. Personally, the Back 40 and Little Sugar trails were my favorite. I love getting out and “getting lost” on a trail systems, even if only metaphorically. While preparation needs to be considered, one welcome feature is several trailside locations to fill water. In fact on one 4 hour tour of the Little Sugar trails, my older son was just fine with his two on-bike water bottles. 

    While a slight drive from Bentonville, the next town over of Rogers, has another unique location called the Railyard. This is an all paved bike park that has green, blue and black jumps and flow lines. Like other parts of the area, The Railyard also has connecting trails and a paved greenway trail that leads around the lake. I have never been a great jumper, but I know that I improved after spending a couple hours at the Railyard. There is something to be said for being able to take the same predictable jump over and over again when learning something new. 

    As mentioned earlier, there is something for everyone in Bentonville and the surrounding communities. There is great shopping, art, food, kayaking and swimming. With how hot the weather was, a favorite activity after a long hot bike was to take a refreshing dip in the creek behind Buddy Pegs bike shop. 

    If you are a mountain biking enthusiast, then Bentonville should definitely be on your list and don’t be afraid to bring the whole family!