The surreal world of the Sylvania Wilderness.

There is a hike that we try to get to every fall, but truth be known, we only get their once every five years or so. It is in the Sylvania Wilderness, part of the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Pennisula. Sylvania is a large tract of old-growth forest with numerous pristine lakes.

Except for a smallish campground, a couple of canoe landings, and one developd beach huddled in one corner of one lake, there isn’t any development in the wilderness. It is established to mimic the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. The lakes, large and small, are interconnected via portage trails to form a network of canoe trails. Primitive camping along the canoe trails provides multi-day trips into the wilderness with little human contact.

Being old-growth means that it miraculously escaped the loggers’ ax that so denuded Michigan and Wisconsin in the early 1900s. That leaves a unique forest habitat with tall fat trees, a thick canopy, and little ground vegetation. You can drive a jeep around in some places, especially under the pine stands.

Fall is especially spectacular. The stands of deciduous trees turn golden, casting an ethereal translucent shimmer that transports one to a fantasyland. That, and the fact that there aren’t any bugs in the fall, seals the deal for us.

The Clark Lake Trail is our pilgrimage. It is a nine mile, mostly flat trail, that circumscribes the lake. In most stretches, it is poorly marked and in the fall, when the leaves fall as deep as snow, the trail becomes nearly impossible to follow. Fortunately, we have hiked it enough to have at least a fair idea of where it should go. However, this time we had the Gaia app to guide us. It indeed came in handy at several moments of indecision.

As level as the trail is, it is still incredibly rugged with plenty of rocks and roots to trip over; and many dips and rises, and the occasional hill to add some topography to the trek. The last two miles can seem a bit endless but when completed, one becomes awash with a sense of accomplishment, not just from the effort but from the sheer joy of the beauty.

Even though it was overcast most of the day, the forest was gloriously delicious.

My pouting cyclops.

There are about a dozen primitive campsites along the Clark Lake Trail, accessible by canoe.

The next day we whimped out and rode 30 miles of back country trails in our UTV. We trailered our UTV to the Willow Flowage area, between Minocqua and Tomahawk in north-central Wisconsin.

Driving while following the UTV trail map. These maps are approximations, not detailed accurate maps.

There was one area devoted to baja’ing it. Besides the open area in the middle, several narrow steep winding trails ring the middle. Wanda goaded me into trying one of these side trails. Jeez, talk about scary. They go straight up, turn wildly, and are strewn with huge loose boulders….. Once you go, there is no turning back. If you stop you topple over backwards. It was exhilarating, but we only did one.

NOTE: On our way up north, Wanda and I stopped off at Walgreens in Wausau, Wisconsin. We received our booster shot as walk-ins. It was painless, free, and easy. Wanda got a bit achy and fatiqued the next day. I had no side affects at all.

We don’t have a lot of tools in this COVID pandemic. Mainly masks when indoors, avoid indoor crowds, and a vaccine. These are all pretty simple and affective. Wanda and I employed them and, so far, we have avoided contracting COVID or any other flus or colds.

As followers of this travelogue, readers can note that we have still managed to live a full and free traveling life, being fully active and exploring many places. These simple and affective tools have not impinged upon our freedoms and liberty in the least - TRUE DAT!

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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