Recently we stayed in Superior, Wisconsin while in the area for a wedding in Duluth, Minnesota. The wedding took place on Friday night allowing time on Saturday to do some exploring. While planning this trip I came across a state natural area about 15 minutes away from our hotel and thought it looked like a nice scenic drive during the peak of fall colors in that area. Saturday morning I was laying in bed awake and it was still dark out. Well, getting back to sleep was a near impossible task for me, why not take this opportunity to get to Pokegama Wetland State Natural Area around sunrise and see if there is anything wondering about. By the time I arrived daylight was already showing up. A windy and cloudy morning told me the likelihood of seeing much for wildlife was little but the scenery was still worth the effort.
While driving in this state natural area I came upon a couple of trails. this was a little unexpected as they didn’t show up while reading about this spot. The trails are more for skiing than hiking. Still, they are there so why not use them. Turns out, there are a number of trails going through this area I didn’t know about. I’m a sucker for a good trail with nice scenery and a chance to see wildlife. Someplace else to explore if I’m in the area again. The original plan was to drive through this state natural area, stop once and awhile to take pictures and be back at the hotel to grab breakfast with everyone else. Ahh, the best of plans.
Once on the trail I was making good time but the lure of what’s ahead kept motivating me to go further. Getting back in time to have breakfast with everyone else soon disappeared along with being back in about an hour. As I was making my way back to the car I took a wrong turn and did a loop back to trails I had walked earlier making the return that much later. Still, the fall landscape in Northern Wisconsin was more than enough to make this excursion worth while.
Experience Gained: Taking note of the time and direction at the start of the hike using a compass or GPS if there is signal makes getting back to that spot easier. Also, the speed of hiking easier trails is considerably faster especially when I’m the only one hiking. Not that hiking alone is my preference. Sharing the experience is important to me.
