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+title: Porcupine Mountains with The Tills
+start: 2021-07-20
+end: 2021-07-24
+
+_This memory is written in first person from the perspective of Blaise Thompson._
+
+In summer 2021 Claire and Ralph Till visited me for a vacation to the Porcupine Mountains wilderness.
+
+# 2021-07-21 Wednesday
+
+On Wednesday morning the three of us packed and headed north from Madison.
+It was a 5 hour drive.
+Along the way we stopped for breakfast at the Broadway Diner in Baraboo.
+It was fun to see Minocqua, a town I vacationed in many times as a child with my parents.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./food.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Most of our food (minus snacks) laid out for packing.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./claire-packing.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Claire tries out her newly packed backpack before leaving Madison.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./drive.png">
+  <figcpation>Route driven from Madison to Porcupine Mountains. <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright">Copyright Open Street Map.</a></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+We arrived at the Porcupine Mountains wilderness center around 7 PM Eastern time, just in time to check in and get our paperwork.
+We headed directly to the Lake of the Clouds parking lot.
+Immediately upon seeing the lake, all travelers knew this was going to be an awesome trip.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./ralph-claire-lake-clouds.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Claire and Ralph pose at the Lake of the Clouds overlook.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Traveled about a mile from the parking lot to our first campsite near lake of the clouds.
+Since we were returning to the car the next morning, we packed pretty heavy and brought the big stove.
+We enjoyed quesadillas and a great camp fire.
+The campsite was private with good lake access.
+Hanging our pack on the bear pole took some effort.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./trio-start.jpg">
+  <figcpation>We begin our official trip backpacking the short distance to our first campsite.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./claire-ralph-clouds-camp.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Claire and Ralph enjoy camp life. Note Claire's mosquitto mask.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./bear-pole.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Food and trash are kept in my bag on the bear pole (picture taken Thursday morning).</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+# 2021-07-22 Thursday
+
+Thursday morning I woke up early and swam for a while in Lake of the Clouds.
+Once Claire and Ralph woke up we ate breakfast, tore down camp, got water, and headed back to the car.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./blaise-swim-clouds.jpg">
+  <figcpation>I enjoy an early morning swith in Lake of the Clouds.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./cloud-water.jpg">
+  <figcpation>We gather water from Lake of the Clouds.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Once we made it back to the parking lot it was raining very hard.
+We decided to drive the the short distance from the Lake of the Clouds parking lot to the Lake Superior trailhead.
+We started our multi-day walk in the rain, headed towards lake Superior.
+By the time we saw Superior the first time it was calm.
+We were able to make it down to the water for lunch.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./trail-wood.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Much of the trail was marshy. Luckily wooden planks were laid down over long sections.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./superior-first-glimpse.jpg">
+  <figcpation>First glimpse of Lake Superior.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./superior-lunch.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Claire and Ralph wash their feet in Lake Superior during lunch.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+After lunch we walked for a few more hours along the Superior coastline.
+The trail never got far from the lake, but sometimes we lost sight of it due to the density of the plant growth.
+This section of trail was sometimes overgrown---we got the feeling that not many took this route.
+We enjoyed many flowers, snakes, birds, and insects, including a few wild grouse that were scared out of the bush by our travel.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./blaze.jpg">
+  <figcpation>A blue blaze along the trail, with Claire and Ralph in the background.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./blaise-pack.jpg">
+  <figcpation>I walk along the trail. Note all of the things strapped to the outside of my bag.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./rectangle-rocks.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Detail of rocks seen alongside our walk.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Our Thursday night campsite was stunning, right on the lake.
+We arrived around 3 PM and had a full afternoon to enjoy ourselves.
+The water was very cold.
+We cooked dinner by the lake and enjoyed watching the sunset.
+The mosquittos were pretty bad, so we cheered for the local dragonflies which ate them.
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./lake-camp.jpg">
+  <figcpation>The firepit at our campsite.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./hammock.jpg">
+  <figcpation>My hammock set up next to Lake Superior.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./claire-ralph-rest.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Claire and Ralph rest on the lakeshore.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./snake.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Snake seen near the campsite.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./crawdad.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Crawdad seen near the campsite.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./cards.jpg">
+  <figcpation>We play cards.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./blaise-cooks.jpg">
+  <figcpation>I cook dinner.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./trio-relax.jpg">
+  <figcpation>We relax as the sun sets.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="./sunset.jpg">
+  <figcpation>Lake Superior sunset.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+# 2021-07-23 Friday
+
+Carp river.
+
+# 2021-07-24 Saturday
+
+Back to Madison.
+
+Farmers market.
+
+Lake loop.
+
+Biergarten.
+\ No newline at end of file