A fall recharge in the Black River State Forest

Greetings, well after eight months or so the pandemic fatigue I had been warned about finally hit me. I think a few things are to blame. There's the upcoming election which has likely been draining everyone's energy, the realization holidays won't be spent in the same households as our immediate families (a…

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A portable toilet is the best hack for a pandemic camping trip

Earlier this summer, Brenna and I loaded up our station wagon and headed west to Nelson Dewey State Park. It was our first time really venturing far outside of the Milwaukee area since this pandemic began back in March. We both had been craving an escape into nature and a chance to unplug for a few days. Located on the…

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June is for the cottonwoods

Greetings and happy Thursday, This past weekend, I strapped my kayak to the top of my station wagon's roof rack and printed out a map of Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. Horicon Marsh, a 33,000-acre freshwater marsh located in the central part of Wisconsin, is a wildlife refuge for migratory birds (like Canadian…

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The COVID-19 slowdown

This virus isn't completely stopping our lives, it's just changing some of it. Greetings, how are you holding up?  I truly hope you're staying positive. This is a hard time for us right now. An unexpected, unplanned, and difficult phase to be stuck in. There's a lot of panic, frustration, fear, and sadn…

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Reconnecting with the hemlocks: A solo backpacking trip through Newport State Park

After many months, I finally was able to schedule a solo backpacking trip!  It felt so good, so purposeful, so fulfilling to be spending a couple days in the wilderness, especially again at my favorite state park in Wisconsin: Newport. This park is truly special to me, a place with many adventures and memories. I first…

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The National Park Service offers free admission on these days for 2020

Edward Abbey preached something so very true in his esteemed autobiography  Desert Solitaire:  "Wilderness. The word itself is music."  It's time to start planning out adventures to our public lands. With the arrival of a new year, the National Park Service recently announced which days all 419 units of th…

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