The River of Life whilst overlooking Bad River

This morning I thought about my travels to Wisconsin and the lessons I have learned. One in particular could have been costly in the sense of danger, and loss in the wilderness. The Bad River.... which was ironic in my case flows from Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin. The town of Mellen, WI showcases it in the Copper Falls State Park. There are several times in which I have hiked it however in the beginning it was with a friend or significant other.

As always, I seem to hike trails during the wrong part of the season or the worst weather conditions. In the summer months, I worked on a deck crew so the foul weather doesn't seem to phase me. But during one winter I made a terrible choice even though my hiking friend was with me. The trail itself isn't very long and spans about three miles which were marked in white. The downside and fallacy that occurred to the trail was the snow and ice that seemed to blend in well with the ribbons and chalk marks on the trees. However, a simple hike that was supposed to take 1 hour turned into six. My trail partner Penelope was inexperienced and halfway through being lost I had some difficulties keeping her calm. In some instances we were hiking large wooden stairs that were covered in ice and snow and in consequence it felt as if we were taking several steps backwards instead of advancing.

The river itself is one of the most calming and ambient bodies of water in which I have experienced. My long hike had a prize at the end of the trail in which I was interested. Through the slipping and sliding I carried an old 35mm camera and a tripod from the early 90's. Once at the bridge that overlooks an enormous looking creek the water would normally flow in warmer conditions. However, due to the temperatures which were close to 7 degrees the water was frozen in place. It seemed like time itself had stopped as I fixed my tripod and focused my camera for a shot.

Common sense or street smart is sometimes not in my vocabulary at times. As said we were lost, but having been lost on trails that were more than thirty miles I knew that the only way to find shelter, people, or a road was to stay calm and to keep walking. Most people when lost have a natural tendency to get increased anxiety and tend to want to shelter in place. I understand this completely because that the first behavior my brain is wanting me to conduct.

So, with the cold weather and our modern conveniences of cellular phones turning into paperweights an idea came upon me. Immediately, I saw a very nicely constructed fence made from timbers and formulated a plan. However, after presenting my idea it was met with yelling, shrewd remarks, and some words that I had never heard.... and frankly I didn't fault Penelope's reaction.

The plan was simple.... The fence looked expensive to construct and at some point I felt it would have to come out to some type of road. We followed the fence for what seemed like hours and eventually we came upon a large open area. Penelope ran to a fallen tree to sit down as she was exhausted in both a physical and mental sense. My bearings began to come into play at this point and I was able to walk several miles to my car.

Comically, this was the last trip Penelope and I shared as my traveling style of being carefree impacted any future trips. I learned several lessons however, during this trip. Nature has no conscience and considering the conditions of several feet of snow and ice on a intermediate level trail we could have been injured. The possibility of receiving help would have been remote.

Having said that, I still hike the trail alone however I tend to tell someone ahead of time and give them a frame in which I intend to complete it. We were lucky that we weren't injured or lost after dark and the consequences could have been disastrous. Sometimes when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes and luckily the prize that I received was a beautiful picture.