Pine Lake Bikepacking

Pete parked in our driveway and we worked on getting ready to bikepack up to Pine Lake.  Pine Lake is a little lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest maybe 13 miles from our place.  While we were getting ready a cloudburst let loose.  It was a mostly clear day and no rain had been predicted.  We just stayed under the porch and continued getting ready.  After a bit we had everything on our bikes and were ready to take off - thankfully the rain had quit and things were sunny again.

About 5 minutes down the trail it started to rain again.  So we hunkered underneath a pavilion for a few minutes - and then kept riding under blue skies.

Both of us were riding Surly Krampugs.  Both of us also hate wearing too much on your back.  Pete had a small camera bag on his back (he'd taken it off during this picture) and I was wearing this kind of oversized waist pack thing.

Another cloudburst rolls to the south of us.  Thankfully it missed us because 1) from here on out we had no more shelters to hide under and 2) I had gone like a moron and not put any of my gear in dry bags.

The ~400 foot climb in the CNNF starts

Nearing our campsite at Pine Lake

Home for the night.  

Post-sunset light on Pine Lake 

I set up just off of the clearing where Pete had set up his tent

A time lapse of taking down my hammock and putting all of my gear on the bike.

Unfortunately we didn't get to see the maker of the tracks.  This is bear hunting country (which, I gotta say, I have mixed feeling about especially because they use dogs) and that means that the vast majority of bears around here are terrified of humans - the few I've seen I've mostly come upon and surprised them (if they knew I was there they would have made themselves scarce before I could see them) and have all but turned themselves inside out to put distance between us.   I admit that I kinda like bears being scared of me.

The last several miles were on the Tri-County Corridor.