Harry Zirbel is 14 and he never expressed much interest in fishing or camping. Out of the blue, he asked if I would take him to Canada. I said that we should try camping and fishing in Wisconsin first to make sure he enjoys it. So, after his baseball season was over, we made plans to go to the Big Lake campground in the American Legion Northern Highland State Forest near Manitowish Waters.
Wednesday July 24, 2024
Packed truck. Bought groceries with Harry. Late lunch with Linda and Angie.
Thursday July 25, 2024
Connected the 16’ boat to the truck. Picked up Harry. Took the back roads north through Merrill. Lunch at McDonald’s in Minocqua.
I had reserved our campsite on line in advance. Checked in on my phone. The confirmation email provided a link to Google maps to the exact campsite. Pretty cool.
Found our campsite. Beautiful site, high above the lake. A bald eagle welcomed us to Big Lake.
Plenty of room to back in the boat trailer.
We setup Angie’s tent. Barely room for my two big cots, but a nice screen area in case the bugs are too bad. Setup the kitchen around the picnic table.
Setup the fishing poles. Loaded the boat and headed for the boat landing. Nice to have a dock, but two cars were parked there already, so no place to turn around, so I backed the boat trailer down the road into the water.
The 25hp motor was hard to start a week before the trip, but it worked great after I got it running. So to be safe, I waded into the water and started it while it was still on the trailer. After several pulls, it started running and I gave the rope to Harry while I pushed the boat into the water. As I was walking back to the truck, the motor quit. I waded back into the water to try to start it, but no luck. I replaced the hose clamp, but still no luck. Now two boats wanted to use the landing, so we pulled the boat back onto the trailer and pulled out.
It was after 5:00. We went back to camp to discuss our options. The night owl Harry preferred driving back that night to get the 14’ fishing boat with the 15 hp motor that I take to Canada. So off we went. Traffic was not too bad for summer in the north woods. Made it home. Backed the 16’ boat into the storage building and pulled the 14’ boat out. Transferred gas tanks and coolers and we were back on the road.
Made it back to camp at 10:00 pm. Harry Started a campfire. Beautiful quiet night. Stars were shining bright through the trees. Harry listened to my stories of camping and fishing in Canada. Loon calling was cool. A nearly full moon rose over the lake. First a reddish color then turning bright white as it rose higher in the sky. Clear skies brought the temperature down to need long pants and a flannel shirt. Put out the fire and went to bed at 12:30.
Friday July 26, 2024
Birds awoke early. Loons, eagles, seagulls and other birds sang to wake me up at 6:35.
Beautiful morning to reflect and journal. After just getting back from an incredible trip to Cooperstown, I felt poorly prepared for this trip. My attempt to use Kurig coffee was a failure. Had to open up the K-cups and pour the grounds into the old coffee pot. Harry woke up at 8:00. Made pancakes and bacon. Very tasty.
Cleaned up camp and decided to go find a bait shop. How hard can that be in Northern Wisconsin! Google maps took us to some guys driveway that has a guide service – a waste of time! Finally used Apple maps to get to a bait shop in Boulder Junction to buy crappie minnows. Very much a tourist town. After his recent growth spurt, Harry is now a Musky.
Noticed a beautiful new bike trail that went through the forest and set back along the road. The Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail looks freshly paved and has separate bridges. Looks like a great trail!
Put the 14’ boat with the 15 hp motor in the water without incident. Breezy. Tried fishing the more protected coves. No luck. Tried the windy side and it was a mess.
Harry was getting bored, so we pulled out and went back to camp. Harry wanted to play mini golf, so after so many mess ups, we drove into town to play mini golf. Harry got a hole in one!
Returned back to camp. Harry’s back was sore, so he laid down for a while. He asked for blackened walleye fish tacos. When I pulled out what I thought was my walleye fillets from Canada, I found that it was a pack of frozen sauerkraut that Linda wanted to save.
So I made his favorite food, cheese burgers. Very tasty. Used the leftover coals to start a nice campfire. Harry did a good job tending to the fire.
Harry whittled the ends of a stick to make smores over the campfire.
Taught Harry how to play cribbage. He had great cards and won the first game. Wind died down and the bugs swarmed the light we used to play cards.
A few more campers came in, but the campground is no more than half full. Harry suggested that we take a walk through the 70 sites. Walked down to the beach. Had a good conversation.
Heard some animal splashing in the lake, it might have been a deer. Frogs croaked loudly.
Saturday July 27, 2024
Very comfortable overcast morning. Light breeze. The loons were calling and two bald eagles were chasing each other and screeching.
Eggs and bacon for breakfast before breaking camp and headed home.
Can’t hardly call this a fishing trip without any fish, but it was a fun introduction to camping with Harry.
With all the problems, it was some good lessons for Harry, things don’t always go the way you plan. The key is being able to adjust and adapt.
Steve Pelton 