Martin's Site
  • Home
  • Ham Radio - K0BXB
    • Logging Contacts
    • The Shack
    • Operating Modes >
      • WSJT-X/FT8
      • DMR
      • D-STAR
      • Ultra Portable PSK/Digital
    • Antennas >
      • Comparing Antennas
      • The Artifically intelligent Antenna
      • Magnet Loop >
        • Mag Loop Overview
      • Portable Antennas >
        • 2 Meter Portable J-pole
        • Five Portable Antennas
        • End Fed Antennas >
          • End Fed Half Wave Antenna >
            • EFHW Summary
          • 29/35 foot end fed wire >
            • Balun or no Balun
          • 51 Foot End Fed Wire
          • 84 Foot End Fed Multi-band Antenna
        • Vertical Antennas >
          • Nine Foot Portable Vertical
          • Short Verticals >
            • DIY 40m -10m Short Vertical Antenna
            • QRPGuys DS1 40m -10m Antenna
            • Pac 12 Portable Vertical Antenna
            • Spiral Wound Vertical
          • 1/4 wavel 20 meter Veritcal >
            • DIY 6 Band Vertical
            • Make a KW4JM vertical
          • QRPGuys 3 Band Vertical
          • Silver Bullet 1000 TIA
          • Portable 17 ft. wire vertical
        • Other Portable Antenna Options
      • Dipoles/Inverted VEEs >
        • Off Center Fed Dipole OCD
        • Comparing the Trap vs. Fan Inverted Vee
        • Link Inverted Vee
        • Trap Antennas >
          • 20 & 40 meter trap dipole qrpkits
          • 40/20 Meter Trap-Inverted Vee
          • 17/20/30/40 Trap Inverted Vee
        • 40/20 Fan-Inverted Vee
        • 40 Meter Inverted Vee
        • G5RV
      • Base Station and General Antennas >
        • G5RV
      • Portable Masts
      • Antenna Test Gear >
        • NanoVNA
        • X5105 Antenna Analyzer
        • Field Strength Meter
    • Radios >
      • IC-705
      • IC-7300
      • XIEGU G90 >
        • G90 Go Kit
      • X5105 >
        • x5105 Go Kit
        • QRP (x5105) Statistics
        • Repairing Mic Cord
      • QRPLabs QCX Transceiver
      • Ten-Tec R4020 QRP Transceiver
    • Portable HF.... >
      • Pedestrian Mobile >
        • Ped Mobile Considerations
      • POTA - Parks On The Air >
        • Thots on POTA Activations
        • My Ideal POTA Kit
        • POTA - Lizard Mound State Park k-9704
        • POTA k-3383 Bald Mtn State Rec Area
        • POTA k-2314 Pine Lake State Park
        • POTA K-4429 Coronado National Forest
        • POTA K-4491 Superior Nat. Forest
        • POTA K-1440 Big Foot
        • POTA K-4265 Bong
        • POTA K-1437 Aztalan State Park
        • POTA - Ice Age Scenic trail K-4238
      • Ham Radio Field Days >
        • 2021 Field Day
        • 2021 Winter Field Day
        • 2020 Field Day
        • 2020 Winter Field Day-
        • 2019 Field Day
        • 2018 Field Day
        • 2016 Field Day
        • 2015 Field Day
      • 2020 Portable Ops
      • Thoughts on Portable Operating
      • Thoughts on Operating QRP/Portable
      • Portable Power
      • Portable CW Keys
      • Tuner/Matchbox >
        • ELECRAFT T1
        • Tuna Tunah II
        • EMTECH ZM-2 ATU
    • Going Mobile HF & VHF >
      • 2020 Mobile Installation
      • 2015 Re-install the Mobile
    • Miscellaneous Ham Radio Topics >
      • Baluns, Ununs, Etc.
      • Keeping wires and ropes untangled
      • Helping Others
      • Things Happen
  • Backpacking/Camping
    • 2020 Backpacking/Camping Season >
      • 2020 Oct Boundary Waters Trip
      • July 2020 Koehler-Andrea St. Park Birthday Camping Trip
    • 2019 Backpacking/Camping Season >
      • September 2019 High Sierra Camp Loop
      • August 2019
      • June 2019 Boundary Waters
    • 2018 Backpacking/Camping Season >
      • Oct 2018 Boundary waters
      • August 4-5, 2018 Wisconsin River Canoe Trip
      • July 16-18 Devil's Lake Birthday Campout
      • June 28-30, 2018 Backpacking/Camping
      • June 2018 ARRL Field Day Camput
      • April 2017 Ice Age National Scenic Trail
    • 2017 Backpacking/Camping Season >
      • July 2017 Camping at Timber-Lee Christian Campground
      • Cancelled Ice Age Trail Backpacking Trip
      • June 2017 Hiking/Backpacking/Camping >
        • Cave of the Mounds and Blue Mounds State Park
      • May 2017 Backpacking/Hiking/Camping >
        • May 19 Ottawa Lakes Campground
        • May 4-7 2017 Porkies Backpacking Trip >
          • Porkies Backpack Trip Day 1
          • Porkies Backpack Trip Day 2
          • Porkies Backpack Trip Day 3
          • Porkies Backpack Trip Day 4
      • April 2017 Backpacking/Camping/Hiking
      • March 2017 Hiking/Camping More Preparations
      • Feb 2017 Hiking/Camping
    • 2016 Hiking/Backpacking/Camping Season >
      • December 2016 Hiking/Camping
      • November 2016 Hiking/Camping
      • Oct 2016 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Trip
      • August 2016 Camping
      • July 2016 Hiking/Camping/Backpacking
      • June 2016 Hiking/Backpacking/Camping
      • May 2016
      • April 2016
    • Shelters >
      • Tents >
        • Reparing Tent Poles
      • Hammocks >
        • Hammock Stand >
          • Portable Hammock Stand
        • SnakeSkins or Sleeves vs. Stuff Sacks
        • Hammock Suspension
        • Keeping Warm in a Hammock >
          • Lite Top Quilt or Bag Liner
          • DIY Under Quilt
    • Glacier National Park 2015
    • Training for Glacier National Park Backpacking Trip
    • Backpacking Stoves >
      • Trangia 27-3 UL Stove >
        • Cooking with Trangia
        • ALOCS Trangia Look Alike Burner
      • Fancee Feest Stove >
        • Fancee Feest & Stanley Cook Pot
        • Another Cat Food Can Stove
      • DIY Alcohol Stove
      • DIY Igniter for Alcohol Stoves
      • Lexada Wood-Gas Stove
      • Wood Burning Backpack Stoves >
        • Emberlit Fireant
      • Gas Cannister Stoves
    • Backpacking Food >
      • Cowboy Coffee
      • Santa Fe Cheesy Beans and Rice
      • Healthy Instant Oatmeal Packets
      • Bacon Ranch Chicken Wrap
    • Other Gear
  • Adventures
    • 50th Anniversary In Alaska >
      • Day 1 Sites in Fairbanks
      • Day 2 Morning River Boat Cruise
      • Day 2 Afternoon travel to Denali
      • Day 3 Denali History Bus Tour >
        • McKinley Wilderness Princess Lodge Photos
      • Day 4 Coach ride to Anchorage/Whittier
      • Day 5 Ship Cruise at Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier >
        • Photos of Yakutat Bay
      • Day 6 Galcier Bay
  • RC Planes
    • 2019 Flying Season
    • 2018 Flying Season
    • 2017 Flying Season
    • 2016 Flying Season
    • 2015 Flying Season
    • Great Planes Escapade - .40 size
    • T-6 Texan
    • Cessna 170
    • Fokker V.23 WWI Combat Sport Scale Plane
    • Great Planes PT-40 Trainer
    • Great Planes Combat Spitfire
    • Hobbico TWINSTAR
    • Other Planes >
      • Flite-Test FT-Cruiser
      • Micro Fokker Eindecker by Dave Robelen
    • Things I've learned....
  • About
    • July 12, 2017 Flood
  • Other....
    • Remembering Charles & Eva >
      • Feist Family Photos
  • KW4JM Contact Log

2020 Backpacking/Camping Season

This has been a strange year, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and all the necessary restrictions that most of us have lived under since late winter. The result is that I've enjoyed almost no camping or backpacking since then. What backpacking I have done has been non-exotic limited to walking around our lake community on the streets in pretty short bursts of 1-3 miles or so.

 2020-07-22 Two new camping experiences are in the planning stages. One, which is pretty much a "sure thing" is a Birthday Celebration camping trip to Koehler-Andrea State Park near Sheboygan on Lake Michigan. We'll be celebrating my grandson's 15th birthday along with 12 of his friends. I'm helping his dad, my son. This will be our third such birthday camping trip for him! The last one, at Devil's Lake, was especially memorable for me as I hung my hammock in a healthy patch of poison Ivy! Hope we don't have any repeats this time!
The second trip which is a Boundary Waters Canoe trip with my two son's and grandson, granddaughter, possibly another granddaughter and boy friend. and maybe even another granddaughter! This will be my third canoe trip in the Boundary Water in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. The previous two were "traveling" trips, that is we paddled to a campsite, camped a night and paddled on to another camp site. This time we are thinking of doing a base-camp approach. Dates are still being decided but possibly the end of August or sometime in September.

2020-07-03 ​Our first camping event was June 22-24 when we took our two grandkids who live in our town to Wisconsin's Rocky Arbor State Park near The Dells in central Wisconsin. We set up our large tent in a very adequate tent-only campsite upon arrival. As we were getting everything settled it started raining. Not hard but steady. It didn't take long to realize that our planned hamburger cookout was not going to happen. But thankfully we were a short drive to a Culver's where we enjoyed their hamburgers.
It rained off and on the rest of the night, not hard nor steady but often making bathroom trips, etc. interesting experiences. The continuing rain scuttled our breakfast plans as well. But thankfully IHOP was nearby and allowing ding-in so we didn't starve. 
The rain did stop after a while so we did a short hike and then headed to The Ducks in the Dells for their tour. That was fun and the weather cooperated the rest of the day. Until dinner time. I was just beginning to set up the stove when once again showers started. So back to Culver's - where they recognized us! 
We had planned to do smores. When we got back the showers seemed stopped so I quick went and got a $6 bundle of firewood and started a fire. But wouldn't you know. Just as the fire began to look impressive, more showers! We ended the night mostly in the tent playing Old Maid (our grandkids are 11 and 15) and turning in way too early. It didn't rain much overnight, but the weather report said it was coming again about 8am. So after a surprisingly good and very long night's sleep, we quickly packed and loaded the car, finishing just as it started showering again!
Even with all the rain related excitement, it was a good trip. Fun was had by all
The only somewhat negative thing we experienced about Rocky Arbor State Park is that it is located very close to Interstate 90 so you have considerable highway noise all the time, including overnight. otherwise it is a wonderful park for camping with nice campsites, well placed and clean bathroom and showers and better than average pit toilets. Too bad about the highway. At the same time, if you want to camp instead of use a hotel to visit The Dells, it is perfectly located for that.
I did string up one of my QRPGuys EFHW antennas and hook up my x5105 but after about half an hour gave up as there were simply no useful signals on any band that I could find.

Our next outdoor experience was today, a 1-1/2 hour early morning hike/walk of a 4-mile segment of the Lake Geneva Trail, again with those two grandkids. It was about 70 when we started and about 85 when we ended at 10am and very humid. But it was a fun walk. We could have used a little more water. Otherwise it was uneventful. The segment we took goes from the Lake Geneva Library south west to a boat launch along the northwest shore of the lake. You pass beautiful homes and gardens and have a great view of the lake.
Fortunately Sharon and I drove to the boat launch yesterday and discovered there is no place to park a vehicle as we had been planning. So I and Elijah dropped Sharon and Millie at the boat launch to walk back toward the town. We drove back to town and parked the car and then walked toward the boat launch. We met about half way and then all walked back to town. It worked out well.
Proudly powered by Weebly