28 Sept 2021
Today we went on a “mystery” hike to Rib Mountain. Earlier in the week, Matt asked if I wanted to go hiking, but, besides telling me it was about a hour and a half north-ish, wouldn’t tell me where. Turns out north-ish was more like due east, but the hike was pretty, so no complaints here 🙂
Rib Mountain is the second tallest point in Wisconsin and, according to legend, Rib Mountain is the burial site of Paul Bunyan. It is also the tallest ski spot in the state:
But we were here to hike!
Our plan was to start on the Red Trail, with detour around the Quarry Trail, then grab some lunch at the gazebo before doing some combination of Blue and Green Trails, finding the Observation Tower and Sliding Rock along the way.
Us, bright and fresh at the start of our hike:
We also found and took advantage of this selfie spot:
It really was a nice spot for a picture:
A camel!!!
(if you scroll up to the map, benches are marked on the map, but the icon they used looks like a camel)
Most of the hike was shaded:
Perfect for growing fungi:
and black mold:
(it’s probably not actually black mold. hopefully…)
The quartzite rocks scattered along the trails were quite pretty though:
The trail to the quarry was shaded by maples, with a carpet of small maples growing underneath:
There were also tons of chippy rats scurrying around:
They made the cutest little chirps!
I spotted this tupperware hidden under the rocks near that chippy rat:
A letterbox!
It contained a stamp and this little book, but I didn’t have a pen on me, so I couldn’t sign it 🙁
Old quarry site:
People have taken to moving rocks around to spell stuff:
I know it’s upside-down, but this is so Wisconsin- ope!
Proof we were here:
We spotted this cool green bug and I chased it until it landed:
That is a green stink bug!
He was not a fan of having his picture taken, but he does have a cool underside!
More cool quartzite:
Changing trees!
In a week or so, when all these trees are changing, this view will be even more beautiful!
We had seen some turkey vultures at the quarry, but they were a bit too far for decent pictures- we spotted a few more here that came much closer:
At first I thought that that light-ish area near his beak was just a reflection of his eye, but when he turned the other way, away from the sun, it was still there…
Turns out turkey vultures have large beak holes that let them gather scents from all sides as they soar around searching for carrion.
Somewhere along this trail, the lens cap popped off my camera and rolled down a dark scary hole. Every time I tried to grab it, it just fell further in. But I really wanted my lens cap back and finally convinced myself that there probably wasn’t anything venomous living in the hole… and there wasn’t. I got my cap back!
Also along this path was a little garter snake, sunning himself:
He was long-ish, about 3.5′
He was also pretty active (once we startled him from his sun spot), tasting the air as he slithered around:
Such a cute little snake!
Our Red/Quarry trail hike was just under 2.5 miles, so we decided to take a lunch break at this cool gazebo. Unfortunately, a giant spider had the same idea, so we let him have the gazebo and just ate at one of the benches instead 🙂
Hike part 2 started a this observation tower:
Panoramic views from the top of the tower:
We’re on top of the world!
That bump in the distance to the left is Mosinee Hill (not mini-mountain, as I tried to name it), the legendary burial site of Babe the Blue Ox:
Quartzite formations as seen from the tower:
Quartzite formations as seen from the ground:
The Blue Trail was mostly paved which, initially, made it really easy to follow:
It was a bit intertwined with the Green trail, but Matt sussed out the correct trail:
Narrow, stony stairs:
Up until now, most of the trails had been well marked and easy to follow, but Sliding Rock, marked by both a star and a little information sign on the map was seriously hard to find! We wandered back and forth for a while before finally finding it:
(I think it looks a bit like a crocodile)
Sliding down Sliding Rock!
(literally sliding, I think other people had my same idea- it was quite slippery)
The End.