The forecast was for temperatures above freezing, and I wanted to activate a new (to me) park this morning. Noodling over this in the living room over coffee, my wife reminded me of a spot she had visited last summer, kayaking with a neighbor: Mecan River State Wildlife and Fishery Area. I had noted at the time that it was a listed POTA entity: US-11937.
Quickly I pulled up the POTA park page, then opened the link to Wisconsin DNR and opened the property map link (a 2 page .pdf). It looks like 50 – 70 little tracts over two counties, and is considered one of the premier trout fishing areas in the state. Examining the DNR map closely, looking for a good spot for an activation, my eye caught some heavy dashed lines … a trail? Why yes, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail wanders through the area! Possible Twofer!
I looked out for a few likely places on the map and outlined a course. Radios! Coffee! Soon I was on my way to new ground! North on the highway. East on a different highway. Eventually I crossed the interstate and passed through Coloma.
What followed was a lot of slow going over tertiary (and quaternary!) roads as I sought out one little tract after another. Some were unmarked, some had no signs of the IAT, some parking areas were deep unplowed snow … almost all of the roads had spots where traction was a bit iffy so I drove slower than usual.
After maybe an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours, I found a place where both the fishery area and the trail were clearly marked and close enough to each other to make a provably legitimate twofer opportunity!
If I were a hot operator like K4SWL, I might have had time to do an activation and still get home for dinner, but my experience is that I need an hour (or more) for that. Reluctantly, I turned around and headed for home.
Next time I will leave earlier; at least I can go there directly!
Thanks for visiting driftlessqrp!
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