Below the roadway in the background, one first encounters this awful sludge pit, but . . .
. . . soon ascends and continues along the morainish Canal Trail.
This part of the trail, with drop offs on either side, follows along for about half a mile.
But we will soon come to . . .
. . . the intersection with the Kettle View Trail, branching off to the right.
No 'kettles' yet.
This is so exciting. But what is a 'kettle' anyway?
A lonely hint of some kind of civilization here on the western extremity of our trail.
In later research, Google Maps wasn't showing us very much, though there is something called the 'Black Sheep Trail' and a few isolated shacks nearby.
And here we are . . .
. . . one after another of them, on both sides of our trail. That one's probably 10 meters deep, 30 feet or more.
And more, on both sides. It's like a kettle farm.
Perhaps the last of them for today, and soon . . .
. . . we're coming back down towards the Canal Trail.
And that's a familiar landmark near the end . . .
. . . past the disgusting mud trap and up to the car on the road above.
It's generally understood round here that when Cathy and Oscar have to end their summer sojourn on the lake, whoever volunteers to drag their trash bin back off the driveway might have earned a grateful steak dinner. So we're first on the scene.
Happily, it's empty now.
But there's no harm in injecting a little drama into the enterprise.
This is a view into the small northwestern cove from about the middle of the North Bay [cf. the map at the bottom of the page], with the palatial building on the right centered between the two coves and staring straight down the length of the upper lake.
And here's the eastern side of bay from about the middle of it, looking up into the northeast cove. This is where some of the grandest of our lake's establishments are lined up in a row. No well-maintained 1930s cottages along here.
And that's the view to the south, with Mussent Point prominent on the right. The North Bay could probably be considered to include all that's included here, except the farthest reaches into the main lake on the far left.
We're casually pedaling along the eastern side, picking out some of the more interesting sights.
There are something like twenty houses along this stretch of the North Bay, each one different in some ways but all pretty similar at the same time.
This one, whoever owns it, should get a special mention, because it's the home of . . .
. . . what appears to be one of the dreadful wake-surfer boats, with its extendable fins in the back and its ballast compartment under the stern, to sink the back deeper into the water (and the bow up) to create ever more enormous wakes.
Here's probably that same boat in action a few days later, with some fellow standing behind it dreaming that he's at Honolua Bay in Hawaii, bow up and stern down and a wake wave that will take years off the life of our shorelines, stir up the fish and the sediments below, and overturn any kayaks and paddleboards within about 500 feet. (Our hydrobike is okay, as long as we get it turned to meet the wave head-on in time.)
All over the northern Wisconsin lakes district, towns and lake associations are researching ways to get these things off the lakes, or at least permitted only on the very largest ones. We've recently been told that 'So far 31 towns have ordinances against enhanced wakes'.
At the far end of the northeastern cove, there is, of course, the obligatory swamp.
This dock is becoming slowly surrounded by the usual swamp vegetation . . .
. . . like this, just off the dock. But . . .
. . . this fairly benign view out of the cove into the bay is misleading, because about two-thirds of the way across from the right bank to the left, there is a proliferating mass of submerged weeds that will need to be dealt with soon, if any boats will be getting out of here at all.
Here at the head of the lake, midway between the two northern coves, is a grand property that provides us, not often but on the usual holidays, with the most truly irritating jetskiers on the whole lake.
The northwest cove is much smaller, with, usually, good sightings of patrolling duck families, otters, cute little creatures like that. Also with a lot of vegetation, but here it appears not to be proliferating; it grows to this same configuration by late June every year.
The shallow water hosts an enormous number of fish egg nests all along here under the lily pads.
The secondary dock of the house in the woods up to the right. Turning the corner out of the cove . . .
. . . the Mussent Point boathouse leaps into view, with the main dock and boathouse of this house.
That's the interesting cottage, somewhat older and homier than most of those across the lake.
And here's its main dock, with its own hydrobikes and a classic pedal boat
There's a small cove between that house and dock and Mussent Point on the far side -- some years ago, the owners of that house christened this swampy place as
That skeletal guardian of the channel into Frog Bay plopped into the lake -- crashed into it, rather -- on 23 August 2010. It looked healthy then, but actually, it wasn't.
The Frog Bay in its overvegetated glory [hydrobikes are not welcome, though canoes are okay]
Our North Bay tour is over now. It's happy hour.
Our summer is drawing to a close
Kim and I are passing along the southern side of Tigertail Point, and that's the new eagle's nest that appeared a year or two ago. (The much older one is high in the middle of Adjidaumo, the main island on the upper lake.) A few days later we did see two adults sitting on the branch up there, but they were shrouded by the foliage in the photos.
This is the little cove behind Tigertail that for years we've been trying to force a hydrobikable way into, unsuccessfully. Now that Cousin Rob, the main instigator, has passed along, we probably won't be working at that anymore.
In any case, it's never looked to be worth the trouble. It's about an inch deep back in there.
We're coming back north from that ride; that's Kim Schmutzler, our hydrobiking companion today.
And that's a pedalboarding Kristin meeting us off Mussent Point.
An ingenious machine, that thing is.
Working out the dinner plans
A pillow is where you find it.
Another Pottawattomie trail walk
As August closes its doors on us, and we start packing up for the Interstate Trek, we've got time for a walk on the Elliot Trail at the north end of the Pottawattomie trail layout.
Kristin leading out, Kim not too far behind
Excellent trails, well maintained
On a little bypass called the Cameron Trail, we're approaching a vast swamp that leads out to Lake Tomahawk,
seen here . . .
. . . from the March View Bench noted on the map above.
We've been on this trail before, but we've left the car at the northern end of it this time, and now . . .
. . . we're looking all round for it. No worries, it was hiding in the bushes.
The Lake in the Wisconsin Northwoods
Mussent Point is at no. 12.
Next up: A last shot in 2024 at getting through the canal
Dwight Peck's personal website
Feedback
and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, 
.
All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 22 September 2024. 
