Trail Boss

May 14, 2022

Blue Mound State Park

To me, there are few greater pleasures in this world than campsite coffee in the morning.

I had two cups of coffee while casually reloading my bike. Then I barreled down the hill out of the campground without braking, thereby, in my own mind, I conquered my nemesis from yesterday--the hill that had previously conquered ME.

I had been a little worried about the climb from the shoreline of Fox Hollow Lake back up to the ranger station, but it wasn't that bad. Maybe all the climbing from the previous days made me STRONGER!

My destination for today is Blue Mound State Park. If I really want to delve into the Driftless Area, I don't think I can go wrong with state parks located in that region. Blue Mound State Park features the highest point in the southern half of Wisconsin.

I hope you can see Blue Mound rising above the landscape from about 20 miles away. (It does look kind of blue.)

At the northern outskirts of Dodgeville, I turned onto the Military Ridge State Trail. It would eventually lead me all the way to Blue Mound State Park via a mostly smooth, level trail.

I wasn't too happy to come up to a pay station a short time later. Five dollars to ride an unpaved trail?

Reluctantly, I put the money in the envelope and carried the permit with me as instructed. I did so as a matter of personal integrity, because I highly doubted there were trail police checking all the riders' permits. In fact, I thought it might be fun to stop a few people along the way and, with an air of authority, ask to see their permits. I'd bet less than half of them paid the fee.

Occasionally I'd get some nice views through the view-blockers, and there were a few areas where the trail emerged completely from the view-blockers to showcase hills, dairy farms and exposed sandstone.

The highlight of the trail was seeing Blue Mound get closer and closer. Here it is from about seven miles away.

From about five miles away. You must agree that the way in which I positioned Blue Mound to the right of two Blue Silos was very artistic.

The closer I got to the state park, the more cyclists I saw. And when I got off the bike trail and onto the road to the park headquarters, I saw even more. A lot more. All roadies.

At the ranger station, there was a serious roadie lying on the sidewalk with his jersey zipped down to his navel exposing the elastic band that those guys wear around their rib cages. I interrupted his breathing exercises to ask, "is there some kind of cycling event going on here this weekend, or is this place ALWAYS so busy?"

He replied, "I don't know if it's always this busy, but I'm from Minneapolis and a few friends and I like to come down here because it's the best place in the Midwest to ride up and down miles and miles of 10% hills. So, yeah, I can see why it might seem busy."

I found my way down to the hiker/biker campground. Again, I had the place to myself, which meant more Madison, Wisconsin beers and more loud music.

I liked my hiker/biker campsite. I also liked those little clouds.

By the way. This is how a REAL fire ring should look, complete with a grate. No bratwursts tonight though, just a boring soup made on my camp stove.

Later on, a couple with backpacks came along. Then two more backpackers. Then a father and son on e-bikes. After dark, a solo woman arrived on a touring bike.

Look! It shows trail miles with a dotted line.

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Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 180 miles (290 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	14
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George Hall"After dark, a solo woman arrived on a touring bike. " And? And!!?
You can't just leave the story hanging like that after writing what sounds like the start of a steamy romance novel. :>)
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1 year ago

Gregory GarceauTo George HallNot so steamy. The next page will reveal an innocent conversation.
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1 year ago

Nancy GrahamI agree about preference being to ride on roads rather than bike trails. You get to see and experience a lot more. I think maybe I am too cheap to pay that fee to ride on an unpaved trail too.
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1 year ago