Quaking aspen, pine await on lakeside trail

Shelter and fire ring on the Madeline Lake Trail.

Madeline Lake trail System map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy amber-leaved, trembling aspens with a lake view during autumn on Wisconsin's Madeline Lake Trail System.

Consisting of four stacked loops, the third longest of them - the Blue Trail - offers the most view of autumn leaves and Madeline Lake as well as a couple of ponds. The Blue Trail runs 3.83 miles.

The trail sits in Northern Highland American Legion State Forest near the popular Minocqua-Woodruff resort area. To reach it, from U.S. Hwy. 51 in Woodruff, go east on Wis. Hwy. 47. Turn left/east onto County Road J and then left/north onto Rudolph Road. Look for the trailhead on the road's right/east side.

The first part of the trail is a stem to the stacked loops. When the rail splits at 0.5 miles, the loops begin. Go left/northeast.

Sitting in the Northern Highlands Lakes Country, white and red pine dominate the woodlands. But heavily mixed in is quaking aspen. When the state’s great pineries were clear cut more than a century ago, quaking aspen, as a pioneer species, quickly filled the niche.

Quaking aspen
As the trail passes a pond on the left/west, the reason for quaking aspen rather than other pioneer species taking to Wisconsin becomes clear. This region contains many shallow lakes formed by broken chunks of glacier that depressed the land then melted and outwash from the receding glaciers.

The result is soil that is more gravelly and sandy and drained excessively well but remains acidic. Aspens love acidic, sandy, well-drained soils, especially in areas that get a lot of moisture, as is the case in Wisconsin, which annually receives an average of 30 inches of rain and 40 inches of snow.

After the pond, at about 0.75 miles, the Red Loop splits to the left/west to form a side trail. Continue right/northeast. The trail then passes another pond on the left/north.

In autumn, the aspens add more than color to the evergreen forest. They are, as one local noted, Wisconsin's natural wind chime. The aspen's flat leaves flutter at just the hint of a breeze; their rustle is pronounced yet gentle and soothing.

It's visually delightful too. With the tree’s height reaching between 60 to 100 feet high, the whole tree canopy can look like a moving gold sea against the blue sky.

White pine
At 1 mile, the Red Loop reconnects with the main trail. The Yellow Loop also splits to the right/south. Continue straight/east. A shelter/fire pit, surrounded by yellow-leaved birch trees, is at the junction.

Little Arbor Lake is nearby to the northeast. It stretches for about 480 acres and reaches about 32 feet at its lowest point.

Next the Green Loop splits to the right/south. Go left/east.

Eastern white pine also can be seen on the trail. At one time, it covered much of northern Wisconsin but was logged off during the late 1800s through the early 1900s. Virgin pines in Wisconsin's pioneer days were said to be up to 230 feet high, but the second growth forest today has pines of only 100-150 feet tall.

Madeline Lake
At 2 miles, the Red Loop again separates from the main trail. Go right/south.

Signs of Wisconsin's lumberjack past remain in more than just the makeup of the forest here. In fact, some of the trails in the Madeline Lake system originally were logging roads.

As reaching the south side of the loop, the Red Loop reconnects from the left/east at 2.5 miles. Continue right/west.

The trail next arrives at Madeline Lake to the right/south. Madeline Lake covers 172 acres and is 17 feet at its deepest. Anglers often can be spotted on the lake landing bluegill, largemouth bass, muskie, northern pike, and walleye.

Red pine
At roughly 3 miles in, the Green Loop reconnects from the right. Continue straight-right/west.

The other dominant tree here, the red pine, rises about 80-120 feet with a narrow 2-3 foot diameter trunk. It's also known as the Norway pine, though it's not native at all to the Scandinavian country.

Upon leaving Madeline Lake, the Yellow Loop reconnects from the right. Continue left-straight/west.

The next junction, at about 3.3 miles, arrives back at the stem trail. Go left/west and return to the parking lot.

Leashed pets are allowed on the trails spring, summer and fall.

Northwoods trail passes bog wildflowers

Bog rosemary grows on moss mats along the Raven Nature Trail.

Raven Nature Trail map. Click map for larger version.

Day hikers can enjoy wildflowers and other interesting plants on the Raven Nature Trail in northern Wisconsin.

The 1.43-mile loop heads up and down small hills as passing a lake and crossing a wetlands in Northern Highland American Legion State Forest. It is one of several paths that are part of the Raven Trail System.

To reach the trailhead, from Minocqua/Woodruff take Wis. Hwy. 47 south. Turn left/east onto Woodruff Road. In about 0.85 miles, turn right/east into he parking lot for the Raven Trail System.

The trailhead is at the lot’s northwest corner. On state forest maps for the trail system, it’s marked in yellow. The Red Trail runs concurrently with it for about half of the hike.

After heading through a maple-basswood forest for a third of a mile, the trail reaches the shore of Hemlock Lake. A variety of forest wildflowers can be seen along the way from spring to fall. White pine and hemlock line a good portion of the shoreline.

Upon leaving the lake, the Red Trail separates by heading straight-left/northeast. Stay on the Nature Trail by going right.

Bog wildflowers
The loop soon reaches a bog covered in sphagnum moss. A boardwalk crosses the bog, as the moss, though solid to the eyes, actually floats atop water and can’t support your weight.

During spring, several flowers bloom on the sphagnum moss. Among them is bog rosemary, leatherleaf, bog laurel, and Labrador tea. There are even two carnivorous plants – sundew and pitcher plant.

Bog rosemary blooms May-June. Its pink, urn-shaped are but a quarter-inch wide and sit on a backward-curving stalk. The leaf’s underside is white while the topside is a blue-green that stands out starkly against the other plants. The plant mainly grows in northern Wisconsin, but a few have been spotted in the state’s southeastern counties.

From late April to May, look for leatherleaf. The nodding, tubular white flowers are about a quarter-inch long and hang in a row beneath a stem. The mound-shaped shrub can grow up to three feet high and sometimes forms dense thickets. It grows in most of Wisconsin but is largely absent in the Driftless Area.

Bog laurel, also known as swamp laurel, blooms in spring as well. Its cup-shaped, rosy red flower measures from a quarter inch to a full inch wide. The plant’s leaves and twigs are poisonous. It thrives in wet areas that receive sun across the state’s northern half.

Labrador tea blooms from spring through summer. The white flower is a mere third of an inch to half an inch wide. The blooms usually form a tight, round cluster. Each individual flower has five petals. The plant’s fragrant resin makes a good tea. The plant typically is found in northern bogs and also is known as Hudson Bay’s tea.

Carnivorous plants
The carnivorous linear-leaved sundew blooms early June through early August, though what you’ll notice most about it are its leaves. Extremely long, the leaves are pinkish. The flower, of which up to four can sit atop a stalk, also are pink, though sometimes they can be white. Sticky glands on the leaves trap insects then digest them. Sundew is found in the central part of the Northwoods and southeast Wisconsin, though generally not along Lake Michigan.

Another carnivorous wildflower on the trail is the pitcher plant. Downward-pointing hairs guide insects into a pool of rainwater kept in its cupped stalk. There the trapped insect drowns. The plant releases enzymes into the rainwater to digest the bug. Its maroon, bell-shaped flowers, which bloom in summer, are large at 2-3-inches wide and droop from a tall stalk. The pitcher plant usually grows only in northeast Wisconsin.

While not a flower, cotton grass is one interesting-looking plant found in the bog. It’s white, fluffy head sometimes is mistaken as a funny-looking flower. Cotton grass actually is a sedge, a grass-like plant that prefers wet areas. It can be found on very wet bog and fen mats as well as the higher points of embankments. The plant grows in the northern part of the state.

Near the loop’s end, the Red Trail rejoins the nature route by coming in from the left/northeast. Continue heading southwest back to the parking lot.

No pets are allowed on the trail. Hiking is permitted only after the snowmelt in spring and during summer, as the trail is groomed for skiing in winter. The trail can be buggy, so be sure to bring insect repellent.