Day 47: Wandering to the Edge of Wisconsin

Given the logistics of campsites, today was a short day of biking. Given that, I had a leisurely morning, spent a couple hours poking around Balsam Lake, then went on a hike at the state park I’m staying at tonight. I can see Minnesota from my campsite - so close!

I woke up to fog this morning, so the fly of my tent was a bit damp. I got that drying then had a slow breakfast while playing wordle and spelling bee. I broke camp around 9:15 and promptly went to a coffee shop I’d scouted the evening before. I got an iced latte and a strawberry rhubarb scone and settled into an armchair by the window. Chatting with the barista, I learned another long distance tourer had come through last week headed to Boston.

After leaving Cumberland, it was quiet back roads through farmland to Balsam Lake. Balsam Lake seems like a big tourist town with lots of boats and lake houses and things in town. I had a picnic lunch in a small park overlooking one of the lakes then wandered through town. There was a cool gift/coffee shop towards the end of town and I treated myself to a mocha frappe as it was quite warm today.

From Balsam Lake, it was a dozen miles to my destination, about half on bike path. I got to the campground at about 3:30 and talked to one of the rangers about good hikes for the afternoon. After getting my tent pitched, I started out on foot to check out a few of the trails. The park is on a bluff overlooking the Saint Croix River, so there were some steep/rocky sections, but the views were definitely worth while. There were also these glacial potholes bored into a lot of the rocks, some pretty small, but some several feet deep. The trails were quiet, so I got to enjoy the woods in peace.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll cross the river and head into Minnesota! I’m meeting my cousin in the afternoon and am going to spend a bit of time with her family.