We went up to Devil’s Lake State Park on Monday with Tom, Peg, and Brent. This is a beautiful park, definitely one of the best in the state. Of course, it’s very popular so if you go there I’d suggest that you try to avoid the weekends. Goofing around on a Monday is one of the finer perks of being retired.
One of our goals was to enjoy a hike so we started the day by taking the Potholes Trail. This is a very short trail, only 0.3 mile long, but as the park brochure describes it, it’s a “[s]teep climbing trail with stone steps passing narrowly between quartzite rock faces.” What the brochure doesn’t say, however, is that in many places the stone steps are very steep, irregular, erratic, narrow, and crooked (I can’t think of any other adjectives at the moment). In other words, this is really a fun hike!
I vaguely recall taking this hike many years ago but I don’t recall having to stop so often to catch my breath. It was worth it, though; the view from the top was beautiful and the outcroppings of Baraboo Quartzite were very interesting. And the potholes? They may be high above the water now but long ago they had to have been at the bottom of a rapidly flowing stream where rocks caught in swirling eddies slowly carved them out. Mother Nature has incredible patience.
After the hike we moved a picnic table into the shade and had a nice relaxing lunch. Then, having had enough strenuous activity for the day we loafed for a while and looked at the lake. Quite a few kids were playing in the lake. Maybe next time.
