Last week we went back to a tried and true location, this week we wanted to ‘splore somewhere new. Mike pulled out the trusty All Trails app and yet again found another little gem. Central Wisconsin is not having a great snow-producing winter; we are kind of stuck trying to figure out if we are going to be hiking or snowshoeing And many of the great trails that we like to hike are groomed in the winter for cross country skiing. We do not ski — at least not yet. As it is a huge no-no to hike on groomed trails, we like to avoid them like the plague lest we be lumped in with the “post holers” who ruin the groomed trails for the skiers and fat tire bikers. There is just enough snow for the trails to be groomed for skiers who have “rock skis” (didn’t know that was a thing, but “rock skis” are usually old, not so good skis, you use in early and late season skiing where you might hit rocks on the trails where there are thin patches of snow). Mike stumbled across Big Eau Pleine County Park in Mosinee, WI and saw that they did not have groomed trails there. As we might make it a habit to do, he called Marathon Country Parks Dept to inquire about the park and find out for sure. So, we got up early, pointed our van towards the East and took off for another Splorin’ Saturday.
We hit the road right at 6:58AM so we were able to tune in and stream Don Wayerski and his Saturday Morning Polka Party through the car speakers. However, once we got out in the hinterlands of Wisconsin we started losing internet connections and the polkas would come and go. Mike realized that we were getting closer to Plover, WI (home of WYTE 106.5) and just flipped us over to listening to the polkas “old-school” over-the-air radio. We were headed to Marshfield, WI for breakfast at the Sunrise Restaurant and Bar. Mike picked this one because we’re right in the middle of this whole COVID fun and their reviews mentioned how they were taking it seriously and taking precautions. We arrived and were immediately greeted by not one Saturday morning older gentlemen’s coffee klatch, but two of them!! This was going to be a good day!! We had a very enjoyable breakfast, but didn’t really get a chance to eavesdrop on the topics du jour from the coffee klatchers. That’s OK though, even though we’ve been together for over 35 years we can still find things to talk about amongst ourselves. 😉
Mike always has a plan in place before we arrive for hiking, and today was no different. What was a little different was that we did not know how much of the park was going to be open for driving. Mike had two hikes planned, but only if we could drive to the far southern end of the park. So, when we arrived we drove all the way through the park (which is HUGE by the way — about 2 miles long) to the boat ramp. It was plowed the whole way….BUT…the parking lot was full at the boat ramp with tons of ice fisherman! No worries though there was an overflow lot that we would be able to park in. We made our way back to the parking lot by the trailhead that had only one car in it when we first went past it, only to find about 8 cars there now with tons of fat tire bikers readying their gear for a ride. Mike knew there were bike trails here and we were very thankful, with a couple of small exceptions, the biking and hiking trails are kept completely separate. So we did not have to worry about ruining their trails and we also did not have to worry about getting run over!!
Last week we added our new crampons to our gear and they were securely attached to our boots once again — while we knew we would not have a lot of hills to climb this week like at Rib Mountain, but the extra traction on the trails is way worth it. We got ready and headed off toward the trail. If we could find it….it has to be there somewhere, right? We finally found the trail and we were off! The trail was very nice — it was more of a rustic dirt road (albeit a snow covered dirt road), so not a primitive trail by any stretch, and it was pretty easy to walk.
The snow was somewhat fresh and not too difficult to walk through, but we really liked the couple of times where there were tire tracks that we could walk on and not have to concentrate on lifting our boots higher out of the snow. About a mile down the trail we saw our first “wildlife” — about 6 or 8 deer running about 100 yards ahead of us. There was no way to really be quiet on the these trails with our crampons and snow, so they probably heard us coming all the way from the van. That’s OK, we saw them and that’s really all that counts.
We made our way along the trail and finally arrived near the shore of Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. This lake is a huge impoundment and it must be breathtakingly beautiful in summer, because it certainly was in the middle of winter. The beauty was even more hauntingly made by the fog that had settled over central Wisconsin for so long now — it would cover the other side of the lake for a while and then seemingly lift into nowhere. We made our way down to the shore and took a couple of our signature selfies and admired the cattails that lined the shores.
About the halfway point of our first hike we had to cross over the main park road. We got there just as the peloton of fat tire bikers got there and we followed them right out. We were concerned that we might have to share quite a bit of the trail with them but once we crossed the road we saw their trail curved off differently than ours. Whew. We made our way back up the other side of the peninsula and finally made our way back to the van just as Tammy’s feet were about to give out. She has been having a heck of time finding good hiking boots for winter, so sometimes hiking can be a literal pain for her. But, she never complains (at least not above the level of a grunt here and there).
It was now time for our favorite new part of Splorin’ Saturday – happy hour. Ever since Mike surprised Tammy with bloody marys, cheese and sausage in Governor Knowles at the end of last year, it has quickly become a staple. The weather was nice (low 20s) and we were nice and warm from the first 4 miles of the day. We decided to head to the southern end of the park and take our happy hour to a picnic table overlooking the lake and all the fisherman.
Once we got there, we couldn’t find a picnic table that was not covered in a snow along the shore, so we grudgingly decided to sit at one under a shelter. We sat down and started in on the happy hour. After maybe a whole 5 minutes there we remembered what happens after you stop hiking — your body starts to cool down; the light breeze that was cooling while walk is downright cold and trying to eat cheese and sausage with gloves on is not as easy or as fun as it might sound.
So, we packed everything up and headed back to the parking lot and the comfort and draft less van to finish happy hour.
The second hike of the day was around the southern portion of the peninsula. We passed several people on the trail but for the most part had it all to ourselves. Until we got about two-thirds of the way through. We came to a point where there was a little shelter, picnic table and grill. In the summer it would be an awesome place to have a picnic (although it would be quite a hike to get there with charcoal, food, drink, etc.). We decided to take a quick little break and sit at the picnic table which was inside the shelter and thankfully had no snow on it. No sooner had we sat down then we started hearing voices, getting louder and closer. The shelter was about 20 yards off the trail so based on their voices we assumed they were coming to the shelter too. So we stood up just as they came around the side. It was a group of three that we had already passed way back at the beginning of our second hike. So we made it about two-thirds of the way around the loop in the same time they made it one-third of the way around. We rock at hiking — we let no snow melt under our boots! We know speed is not necessarily the goal of hiking, but we are doing this for exercise AND to see nature, not just to see and photograph nature. Two completely different styles of hiking. We continued on our way and about 50 yards down the trail came across two skiers coming off the lake — it looked like they were headed to that shelter as well. Apparently a very busy place even in the middle of winter. We made our way back to the van and were ready to head off for the rest of our day.
#SupperClubSaturday was going to be at yet another place that we have driven past countless times over the last couple of years but have never stopped. We have to mention the mystique of the true Wisconsin Supper Club. These are not “fancy” restaurants, they are not all glamored up with the intent to impress. Rather they are “down home” places that serves awesome food and drink. That brings us to the Wildcat Supper Club just outside of Neilsville, WI.
Driving past you are apt to think it is just a little country bar that hung a “supper club” sign out front to try to attract more people. In fact many times when you go past you will see a whole parking lot full of ATVs — again just making it seem like more of a bar on the trail. But this is truly a top-notch supper club in every respect! We stopped at the bar for a quick drink before being seated at our table. Our waiter was awesome! The food was amazing. We started out with calamari — something Tammy has decided she really likes after several Supper Club Saturdays !! Yay!! It was interesting in that it was cut into steaks instead of rings, but very flavorful and definitely hand cut and breaded. Tammy had dill pickle soup instead of her usual salad and she couldn’t stop talking about how good it was (just the thought of it made Mike’s stomach turn however….). Mike always has his prime rib, but the Wildcat only had smoked prime rib — not Mike’s favorite. (Which is really strange given his love of everything smoked at home on his smoker, but I guess it is because he learned to love prime rib the old fashioned way.) He actually said it wasn’t too bad. Tammy had a steak that she really enjoyed. As usual we did not partake in dessert.
One of the REALLY nice things about stopping at the Wildcat Supper Club is the drive home – only 49 minutes!! We’re used to a couple hour drive (or longer) on the way home on ‘Splorin Saturday. Mike was barely able to even get tired while on the way. One of the closest supper clubs we have eaten at while Splorin’.
Until next time…happy Splorin’ of your own!
Splorin' Saturday 