Fine Kettle of Sand

A few months ago.... we needed some recreation time so a buddy and I pack a metric shit ton of gear into his van and zoom into Wisco for a 4 day. For those not well endowed with gear, a metric shit ton is a full cord of gear; stacked 4 feet wide, 4 feet high and 8 feet long not including 4 bikes and 2- 17 foot long kayaks.

First stop, Kettle River! Short boat whitewater and they are rental boats so we can beat them as needed for the river is not deep and is long on rocks. We launch with some others we met at the rental.

We have some time between meeting the others so we head out on some short trips. The first is a short paddle around the Bayfield lagoon as the big lake is covered in high winds. Following the lagoon paddle we head out to an old dive site I know that is near shore and in the range of free diving and snorkling. The water isn't too cold and the wind is being blocked by land as we are in the lee of shore.

We make camp that night at a public, first come, campground. We arrive early, find a nice spot and head into town to get food. When we return we find some dumb asses that think camping is parking on top of others and playing radios all night is what you do. We talked to them about the car parked IN our site but the radio and loud talking continued til 3am, so when we got up at 7am we made a lot of noise to send back the love. I believe they were irritated but I'm not sure they connect the dots - but we tried.

We know about a river that the locals play in that has a natural slide so we spend an hour goofing off  and sliding until our bums get sore. We change gears and hike it upstream to see if it offers other fun like potholes or water falls. Not finding much we take it downstream to the lake. 

We almost make it but it gets muddy and swampy just before falling into the lake so we turn back.

 Next thing is to load up gear and head over to the big island to grab a campsite for the night. We picked up one more buddy. He planned to join us and it worked out just fine.

We have all our bike-packing gear but as it's a short ride and a single overnight we are loaded heavy.

We get one of the more remote hike in sites. With bikes we get to ride back. We drop gear at the site and head back up to the 'ranger station' if you can call it that and get firewood. It's bundle your own. They have a wood frame, and anything you can pack into the frame is your 'load' of wood so we Tetris the shit out of it and get a good load. Now we have to carry it back to camp, on a bike, without a rack. I take honors and balance it on my handlebars. I hold it with one hand and steer with the other hand. Now, remember, I'm riding a root bound, wet, soggy hiking trail that is narrow for people and even worse for handlebars. I manage to make it without crashing or dropping the whole load into the mud.

We are having a quiet night but just before dinner Josh discovers some mushrooms. He recalls collecting them with his father many times and goes about finding some butter to cook them in.

We take the long way out in the morning to put on a few casual miles and take in what the land has to offer.

Next up on the weekend's adventure scramble is the big prize. Kayaking out to Sand Island. We got back from Madeline Island and immediately start packing our 17ft long sea kayaks for the long paddle out and around the island. We plan to camp out and with boats, you can load them heavy with all the lux items you want. I'm going to bring a watermelon one of these times and surprise everyone.

The paddle out is calm and uneventful. We are not getting pounded by wind and waves. The water is surprisingly warm and the air not so hot you melt in the thermals you have to wear in the event you capsize. All the photos that follow really need no explanation. It's a photo log of the 10 miles or so to camp.

First Sea Caves along the mainland shore

I can't take it! Water is nice, I planned ahead and have snorkel gear with me so I land the boat and jump in for a swim in the caves. Josh is soon to follow.

That's Josh's 'Happy Face'

I always enjoy this shot of my swim fins. I take it all the time when I'm out.

Everyone is back in their boats and we make it across the gap to the next island. This is the island we are going to camp on. It's caves are even better!

Land ho!

Find a camp site and get set up. These sites see little use and have grass!

We have loads of time and head out for a hike of the island to see the history.

Meat on a stick. It's plain but filling and easy to carry

After Dinner we still have time so it's back to the lake. Josh had an extra raft just for this. I have more cold water gear so I went swimming while he rafted around. It was super fun swimming in the caves.

Trip is ending in the morning so we max out our time in the caves. By the time I get out, I'm mostly blue but it was a memory I'm not likely to lose and I'm not likely to reproduce the condition of flat water on the big lake and warm water, so to say it's a once in a lifetime is just so sad but so true.

Paddle back to mainland

Wow! What a trip. Let's recap. Whitewater the Kettle, Snorkel a shipwreck, Paddle a lagoon,  River Water-slide, Bike-packing, Camping, Ferry Ride and an epic sea cave experience at Sand Island. For a weekend that's huge. From a fine Kettle to super Sand this trip was just Grand.