13 Oct 1951

They assembled together near the "Wyoming line" in the early morning hours of 13 October 1951, a Saturday, to begin their advance northerly over difficult terrain to reach a hill on which Chinese soldiers had established entrenched positions. Friends back home were probably in bed recovering from a hangover after watching a homecoming game. Orders had the advance starting at 5:30 am, over an hour before sunrise. A waxing gibbous moon, on this cold, clear early morning, provided light as the men of the second battalion of Fox Company, 5th regiment formed on the left flank of UN coalition forces. They were the lead element of Operation Nomad-Polar, the last major UN offensive of the Korean War. This offensive moved the Chinese and North Koreans back to the negotiating table which they had walked away from two months after negotiations started in June. The Wyoming line today is in the demilitarized zone and is near the border between North Korea and South Korea. 

News article on John 
Completing Basic Training

One of the men who assembled was my second cousin once removed (second cousin to my Dad) and it would be on this battlefield where he would breathe his last. John "Bud" Hovel was born on 14 Aug 1928 to parents John Martin Hovel and Barbara (nee Chladek). He grew up on a farm in Cerro Gordo County, IA near Plymouth, not far from where his grandfather had settled in Union Township in Worth County.  In 1950 the census records him as having completed eleventh grade and was also employed as a bellhop. He would not be alive to see the TV series MASH, from which many have knowledge of the Korean War. I am not sure if John was killed immediately, or if he made his way to a MASH. Given that he died on the first day of the advance, is identified as KIA, and available reports, it appears he  died on the battle field, and never made it to a MASH unit. 

Less than a year earlier, 8 Nov 1950, he was called to service and John Hovel would depart his home in the northcentral plains of Iowa to eventually make his way to basic training, infantry training and then to Ft Leonard Wood where he would complete his months of training in an armored division.  

One of the Objectives of Fox Co.
Highlighted in blue and it was the fight
for this hill that John Hovel was killed in action.

But, in this advance, he was not with the armored division, but was a light weapons infantryman. The primary objective of Fox Company, joined by George Company was Hill 770, known to the men at the time as "The Pearl." It has now been referred to as "an almost impregnable fortress housing a subterranean Chinese command post, complete with deeply tunneled bunkers that shielded enemy troops from air strikes and heavy artillery." Fox, John Hovel's company, would take their initial objective without contact with the enemy. At 1200  hours the 2nd battalion was subjected to 60 mm mortar rounds. At this point, Fox was in a methodical advance to take lesser objectives to meet the main goal. At 1300 hours (1 pm) they received heavy "enemy automatic weapon and small arms fire from enemy troops dug in on their objectives. Artillery and supporting fires were called to strike the enemy defenders." Through this, Fox, joined by Easy Company mid morning, continued the advance. Another source mentions that: "The combat quickly degraded into a meat-grinder of hand-to-hand combat, grenade exchanges, and close-quarters infantry assaults up steep ridge lines."

Smaller Scale map of region

One can see why combat was difficult. It was reported that "The terrain was extremely steep, barren and slippery with rubble; cover for attacking troops was nearly non-existent. Allied troops became easy targets as they climbed upward under hails of gunfire, mortar, and so many grenades it looked like flocks of blackbirds coming over.” Further, one commentator writing years late noted: "Command Reports euphemistically reported the Communists exhibited 'stubborn resistance' and “gave ground grudgingly” in this battle. Survivors know the reality was far more vicious. The Chinese were not about to give up their comparatively luxurious fortress 'grudgingly.'" It must have been hell for the members of Fox Company.

Military Record of his death

Fox claimed objective #6 at 1545 (3:45), but two enemy platoons drove them back fifteen minutes later, forcing the company to fall back to its first objective. Here is where Corporal Hovel likely died, as during this assault Fox had four wounded and two killed in action. However, by 1700 hours the lines were consolidated for the night, and a short while later a white flag went up from the Chinese troops. As troops advanced to receive the white flag they were fired upon by the Chinese. The First Battalion "advanced slowly to secure the hill. They found that the enemy had constructed a series of strong bunkers on the hilltop, covered with four feet of earth. The rest of the hill was 'honeycombed' with trenches and fighting positions. By dark they were still short of the final crest, and dug in to hold their gains." At the end of the day "'B' Company had 49 WIA and 2 KIA on the 13th". John Hovel was a member of B Company.

Grave marker, Bohemian Cemetery in Plymouth, IA
Source: Findagrave

The 5th regiment was attached to the 24th Infantry Division which in the first week of October 1951 relieved the 7th Infantry Division. However, up until the end of August 1951 the 5th regiment, had served continuously for over one year. After one month of rest, refit and reintegration of replacements, the Fox and George Companies would take the lead in Operation Nomad-Polar. I suspect this battle= hardened regiment was given this assignment as command had earlier set the roll they would play in this offensive.

It has been noted that "newspaper reports of this little-known operation drastically underplayed the reality of what happened, especially during the opening days of the offensive. History books, too, give only abbreviated nods – or no mention whatsoever – of Operation Nomad-Polar." It then goes on to say, that "Yet, it was one of the most brutal, and most costly, fights the US 24th Army Infantry Division endured during its historic tenure in Korea." Much more is known and written about the Battle at Heartbreak Ridge which ended on Oct 15, 1951, two days after this operation began. Heartbreak Ridge was mentioned several times in MASH episodes, and there is a Clint Eastwood movie about it. Not to mention being in a computer game or two. Operation Nomad-Polar is not mentioned in any of the 251 episodes of MASH. In terms of casualties and killed in action, on an average per day for the length of the battle, Nomad-Polar (1784 casualties over 11 days) had more casualties than Heartbreak Ridge (3700 casualties over 32 days), see note 1. Yet, there is no computer game, or mention of the operation in MASH. The operation fell by the wayside in history and in popular culture, but this does not take away from the sacrifices rendered. His death is mentioned in a simple almost non-descript manner in news paper articles for the area with two other Iowa men who died in the conflict near that time. Has he become but a statistic? He was one of 288 men who died in battle during the 11 days of operation Nomad-Polar.

He was one of three service men from Plymouth, IA who died in Korea; he with one other are buried at the Bohemian Cemetery. I asked a relative, in our Martin Hovel line who lives in Iowa, if his mom, who lives in Mason City not far from Plymouth, ever heard of John being mentioned, but she had not. John had two brothers, one who died in infancy and one who fathered three children. Those distant family member whereabouts are not known to me. For many October 13 is just another mid-October day. Yet history is replete of stories of sadness and happiness that often go unaccounted. This hopes that John Hovel (b 1928) is not just another statistic from the sad reality of what conflicts produce.

Sources:

https://24thida.com/24th_division/korea_nomad_helm.html

https://thekwe.org/topics/operation_nomad/operation_nomad.htm

https://24thida.com/24th_division/mcadoo_command_reports_5thRCT.html

Note 1: Casualties includes dead, missing and wounded.

Note 2: John Hovel's (b 1928) father was John Martin Hovel (b 1890) and grandfather was John Hovel (b 1847).  His grandfather was a brother to my great grandfather, Martin Hovel. Making John (b 1928) my second cousin once removed. The same generation as my dad means he and my dad were second cousins.

Note 3: This post came about after a nephew in Madison sent me an image of John's service in Korea and asked what I knew about him. I had written a Facebook post about John many years ago and provided that to my nephew. Funny, is that my nephew's parents were at the Bohemian Cemetery, and I had forgotten that John 1928 was buried there. Thanks to AI I was able to find out more about the battle in which he died than what I was able to research and write about over a decade ago in that Facebook post.  

Road Construction

I think my wife is shaking her head a great deal the past couple months at the road work on Creamery Rd in McFarland. Most of the work involves taking a narrow rural cross section roadway to mainly a widened roadway with mostly an urban section. While mostly standard curb and gutter, a portion has  ribbon curb, which the wife says is akin to just a narrower sidewalk. A ribbon curb allows water to flow over the edge, but the concrete holds the road edge better than a typical asphalt with gravel shoulder edge. The road runs by and probably through wetlands, which makes the challenge of construction even greater. It is like a never-ending project and in part shows the absurd nature, almost folly, of road construction and getting things done correctly.

Tan gravel near hydrant shows area of 
additional cut and fill of gravel

When desiring to get out you could look and see what way to go out, left or right. But, coming home would be a different story, with several more minutes to add if I have to enter from the east rather than our standard from the west. The reason is you do not know what part is being worked on. As I write this they have been replacing curb in the small urban section. This portion did not see the water and storm sewer installation the rural section, across from our street and to the east had seen.   It was a crap shoot, only times to figure out you had to back up and turn around and go the other way. Biking, is much easier, I biked on the road on the dirt ripped up from a former narrow asphalt path, and I biked over gravel piles and around equipment. Last week Tuesday we were coming home from a shopping trip and they were pouring curb which took up the whole road to the east of our entry point, but they had equipment digging out soft spots to the west side, at which I waited, until a dump truck driver signaled me to move ahead, and for which, lucky I have a four wheel drive Jeep to get over the holes and gravel piles to get home. When we left they were only pouring curb, and digging soft spots at the other side of entry. 

Our street showing curb just poured at 
intersection with Creamery Rd

The folly of the construction process, and I think this project is using federal highway money which is generally 80% of the cost, is in the undercutting of poot soils. During design it is easy to calculate amount of concrete, and asphalt, by the known dimensions and convert to cubic yards, or tons. However, soils vary and can pose an issue. In this case the engineer designated an 18" undercut of current soil conditions, and for over a few weeks the contractor did just that, cut down 18", and filled the area with gravel. In this case a known quantity. What is unknown is what further undercutting may need to occur. Biking by one day where they were undercutting you could see clay, with perched water on top, the engineer allowed another 12 to 18" cut which they did, and backfilled with gravel. The method of excavation had one large excavator, digging and dumping soil into a dump truck which went out one direction, and a dump truck with gravel coming in from the other. Gravel was dumped and spread by a bull dozer, and in some cases of further undercutting, by a bob cat. A large roller went over the area. Perhaps at some point they will get it right and will be able to pave.

Looking down Creamery Rd from our street

Even though it was noticed by any one with eye sight that the soil should have been cut out some more, it was not approved. That is until the proof roll test. This is a highly sophisticated test of a dump truck filled with gravel and going slowly down the edge of the road (why edges are suspect, I don't know) and an engineer tech or engineer watch the gravel to see how much deflection is present. If they don't like the deflection it is marked with spray paint. The crew then comes back takes out the gravel and digs deeper and puts perhaps some dug out gravel, but seemed mostly new in the cut. They then proof roll it again. 

The highly scientific method of proof-rolling
Proof-rolling area marked was cut and filled previous day
They found a soft area that was once again dug out and filled

They dug up the end of our street, perhaps 40 or more feet, pavement that was just installed in 2021, and proof rolled at that time. Low and behold, the area cut out and filled with gravel a few years ago did not pass the test and was cut again. Seeing the operation as I biked by, and talking with the contractors, it seems that some areas on this project were dug out three times. I inquired of a contractor why not just remove it in the first place when one can see it is bad soil, and he said, it is part of the process intended to save money, by only doing areas not passing the proof roll test.

Proof Roll test and need for excavation prohibited
curb from being poured beyond  fire hydrant, and the
opposite side.

As I pick this up again, they just, once again on Friday, dug up at the end of our street what they had dug up and replaced with gravel just earlier this week. This area was dug for storm sewer and filled with gravel, then they dug out 12-18" and put in gravel, then they proof rolled and dug out the gravel and even more, then they must have proof rolled once again and today are digging it once again. Four times they have dug the same area at the end of our street. I am not sure who the engineer is that he cannot allow the proper depth to be dug out the first time. This is hoping the fourth time is a charm.

The extra cutting then limited the ability of the concrete sub contractor to complete the curb and gutter on the intended day, so they did not finish pouring curb until this Monday afternoon. Not only that, but two days of rain inundated some of the excavation area in which the curb was to be poured, especially the area where they are replacing curb in the west section toward Main Street. On Friday, last week they able to pour drive approaches. It will be interesting to see when the slip form curb machine is brought back to complete the curb. This curb delay likely means that the pavement installation will be delayed. The road, with gravel, is still rough with large dips. 

The project was, we were told, to be completed by the end of August, that switched to Sep 18. Given the amount of underground work and cutting the end of August was highly suspect for a project that started about five weeks earlier.

Photos by author, Sep 29, 2026 and Oct 2, 2026

Heart of Vilas

The Northwoods of Wisconsin has been a getaway for many years, and generations of families. I know of people who are now on the third generation of cabin ownership on a Northwoods lake. The lakes and the woods have been a draw, as can be seen, for generations. When my wife was a tween her family and some relatives camped together for two weeks at a time, in early July during the Harnischfeger Corporation summer break at Muskellunge Lake. The Northwoods is created through a blend of geology, geography and culture. 

Near Crystal Lake, Oct 2021

For as many years as my wife and I have camped, starting in 1998, for some reason we seldom camped in the Northern Highlands American Legion (NHAL) State Forest. I am not sure why, perhaps the popular campgrounds were all taken and the lesser popular ones I did not have much information  on. Many times we camped at Laura Lake, in northeast Wisconsin, which was a good fit with young boys who could simply play at the beach, or we could canoe. We also camped at Brunet Island and Point Beach a good deal. The Heart of Vilas Trail opened in 1994 and more segments were added by 2007. I think the first I knew about the trails was in 2014, when we did a twin time adventure to visit a brother and his wife in Conover. 

Our first major camping effort in the NHAL was in 2019, when my wife and I, in our less than three month old camper, camped at Upper Gresham Campground, off of CTH H, and southwest of Boulder Junction. During that trip we took our bikes and biked part of the trails. A brother and his spouse celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and so we timed our trip to attend their party at the Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction. Upper Gresham is a nice campground, and had many available sites at that time, but biking or driving through more recently, it seems that there has been an uptick in its use, and sites are not as available as they once were. Could it be the popularity of the bike trails?

Heart of Vilas Trail

The system consists of over 52 miles of trail, running from Mercer, in the northwest of the system southeast to St Germain. Many of the trails go through the NHAL. Some segments, such as the three year old North Creek loop have a mix of trail and on-road biking. North Creek Rd, which was unpaved when we camped in 2019, but was under construction for pavement, probably to accommodate the North Creek Loop, is a significant section of this 14 mile loop. The loop goes by Upper Gresham Campground. It also goes by Jag Lake, which is a group campground site. My wife and I one time biked into the group campground, it was unoccupied, but had some nice sites group sites.

Other campgrounds have easy access to the trail system, the massive Crystal-Muskellunge (between them they have 180 sites, where the wife camped as a tween. There also exists nearby or right next to the trail, Firefly, Plum Lake, and the two Trout Lake Campgrounds. It is difficult to get a reservation at Crystal-Muskellunge and the also popular Firefly. Our campground of choice, Cunard lake, is a small campground, just over 30 sites, and is designated as only one of two quiet campgrounds in the NHAL. that means no radios and no generators. Per the statistics of the NHAL, it is also one of the three least busy campgrounds over the past three or four years. This is fine by us. Even this past July, I was surprised how many sites were available, during prime camping season. Located about half way between St Germain and Woodruff, we drive to get to varied trails. We first camped at Cunard in 2022, and through this season have camped there seven times. The most recent in the later half of July.  

We once camped at Clear Lake in 2021, and they now have their own 5 plus mile trail which is rather challenging with hills. Part of the trail is deep in the woods, another segment follows a power line. There are other expansions about to occur, one is near Big Lake, which is another underutilized campground, between Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters. 

Other trails that not part of the Heart of Vilas system should be experienced. First, there is the Forest Lake Trail, which is set deep in a woods and winds around a bit. It is located off of County B west of County S. Another trail, which we did a few years ago, is the  Three Eagle Trail, which is a 12.7 mile trail that runs between Eagle River and Three Lakes. We often biked from Three Lakes, ate lunch in Eagle River, and bought fudge, and then biked back to Three Lakes. In Three Lakes we would stop at the local winery and taste their goods and make purchase some wine. Each trail provides some similarities, but also some differences. Forest River is fully paved, and can be extended by heading east on a trail that parallels CTH B. Part of Three Eagle is unpaved, but is, nonetheless, a pleasant ride. The small communities are a great place to have lunch, or sit and enjoy some ice cream. 

Forest Lake Trail, Oct 2021

Boulder is a great place to stay for biking. It is near central to the trail system, but more importantly is near many of the nicer segments of trails. For about six years now we have gone to Boulder and stayed at Big Bear with some family members and biked the trails for a week. While we have had our share of cold and rainy weather, the Northwoods is still a draw. Yet, there are other activities, water sports--kayaking and canoeing, swimming, and many varied hiking trails. 

Yet, biking, I believe, now dominates in the summer. I have noticed an increase number of bikers over the five or six years while staying at Big Bear. I think the increase is due in large part, to e-bikes, which now give persons who would likely have difficulty managing15 to 20 miles a much easier method of biking. You see all types of bikers, from the hard-core MAMLs, to children and seasoned citizens, many on e-bikes. What is a MAML? It is a Middle Aged Male in Lycra. I think you know the type. Then there are OWLs, a term my wife and I coined--Older Women wearing Lycra. The largest age cohort has to be retired folks, our anear our age demographic, so OWLs predominate the trails. Seasoned citizens, many on e-bikes, are the main trail users from what I see when biking the Heart of Vilas. At times I am surprised at how few e-bikes I see in some groups.

Three Eagle Trail

This past August at Big Bear there were a group of old women who stayed d in a nearby cabin. We saw them a couple times on the trail when we biked. I used the term old, and was told, by relatives that they were about  "our age". I insisted they were older, and I believe I was proven right. The day they left, another group of women, some our age and some younger showed up and they were hard core bikers. Thus, with the popularity of e-bikes the trail system use has boomed. In fact, there was an article in  Sept 27, 2026 Wisconsin State Journal by a news columnist who biked part of the system with his wife  It was a well-done article and it shows that trail expansion is important. 

My wife and I have biked every time we camped at Cunard. Hence, the trails by St Germain and Sayner are the ones we have biked the most. One of our favorite segments is the Sayner to County M-N intersection. This is a popular segment as it goes through the NHAL and borders along CTH N for part of the route. The segment by and through the woods along Crystal Lake is a favored section with the mixed woods and dappled sun which opens onto the parking lot serving the beach and day use area with Crystal Lake off to the side. Looking in the other direction, one can see through the tall grasses and trees Big Muskellunge Lake. We have biked part of the trails in June through early October. One trip in early October peak color had passed, but the yellows on the birch by Crystal Lake seemed .magical as you biked the golden trail with leaves falling about you.

The Northwoods may have short summers, and long shoulder seasons, but if you get a chance bike the Heart of Vilas Trails and enjoy a different perspective on the Northwoods than from a fishing boat. The trails can be challenging at times, but the views and the enjoyment outweigh the hills. 

Another Country

As we drove up the driveway for a relative visit last Saturday morning, the wife commented that the home "sure looks tired." It is an old house, the oldest portion dating perhaps to several years after the end of the Civil War, with two additions, the latest being being less than twenty years old. The old part of the house is sided with steel grey-blue siding, dating before purchase in 1971) accented by deteriorating wood shutters painted black. The house color, and its tired nature was was enhanced by the thick dark grey clouds which obscured any hint of sun. The nature of the outside of the portends a few issues inside the house. Spending a night there is, I determined, it was worse than traveling to a country in the developing world.

The two-story part of the house may date to the 1870's with a later one story addition prior to the 1971 purchase by the current owner. The newer addition, dating to 2008, comes off the one story forming a L shape dwelling. That addition provided a full bath, bedroom, closet, and family room which opens to the kitchen. The one story portion of the house essentially functions as its own dwelling and the two story portion is seldom used. The house has two basements, separated by the additions, under the original two-story is a stone basement, with low ceilings further lowered by duct work to provide central heating. The one story long ago addition has a concrete block basement done after 1971 to replace of an old cistern. The 2008 addition has a crawl space that connects to this basement. Hence, the house is a hodge podge and that is further amplified by three furnaces, one for the old house first floor, one for the old house second floor, and one for the additions.

When we visit it is like we are camping. I realized it is worse than preparing to travel to a developing country. We bring our water for drinking as the water in the house has an odor and we cannot figure out the cause. We bring our own food to consume, and we now bring our own sleeping gear.

The house has five bedrooms, but only one is suitable for sleeping two persons, and that is the owner's room, and is in the 2008 addition. One bedroom is a craft room, another has varied furniture items stored, one has a bed for one person, and the other has been affected by urine and feces sitting above from a bat infestation noticed a year ago. We slept in that room in June 2025, and noticed the smell, but it got worse when a few days after I departed, and my wife stayed with the relation for a few weeks due to an injury. A bat was found in the stairwell.

Given the situation, we do not sleep in that room on this visit. Hence, we brought an air mattress, we borrowed from a friend along with sleeping bags and pillows. In this case we slept in the family room (2008 addition) and my wife's sister and husband set up their air mattress and slept in the living room (original house). As it poured rain over the night, we could all hear not only the rain, but also the deluge of rain coming over the down gutters. 

I used the half bath next in the original house, and found it difficult to use to clean up given all the decorations, or some today would refer to as clutter. To add insult to injury, the house with one ply toilet paper, not only is it one play that is translucent, but it is rough. Even toilet paper at the state park campgrounds is better than that. 

Thus, it is an experience when traveling to visit. Remediation and other work is required, the downspouts are likely causing a leak in the old  basement, and the I suspect the bat urine may have compromised the insulation. The moral of the story is that dwellings need upkeep, and they need regular maintenance. Money and time has to be spent to keep a home in good condition.

Cargo Shorts

In the warmer months, I wear shorts, most often cargo shorts. My collection of current and past cargo shorts have mainly been through purchases, but I received a couple pairs as hand-me ups from a nephew. I am not sure how long I have been wearing cargo shorts, but it has been quite some time. I have a few pair of non-cargo shorts, that I tend to wear for better summer events (say a party). When growing up, we had what were called play clothes, and school (good) clothes. One of my kids, a few weeks ago, commented one Friday evening on the pair of play time cargo shorts I was wearing by saying something to the effect that "they are coming back in style." 

I was somewhat taken aback by my son's statement because I did not know cargo pants had gone out of style. I mentioned to my wife that I was surprised by the comment, because as far as I knew they were still in style. My wife replied with something like, "it is not surprising that you thought they were still in style." Secretly, I think she still thought they were in style, as when I bought a few pair this summer she made no comment about cargo shorts. This year I bought a couple pair at Goodwill to replace some that had worn out. I was surprised to find out that, while we went to Goodwill together, she let me shop on my own. Guessing that she trusted my judgement. Now, would Goodwill carry out of style clothes? They turn over their goods fairly rapidly, about every three to four weeks. I think back, and just about a month ago, I bought a new pair of cargo shorts at Kohls. My few trips to Kohls over the years I never noticed cargo shorts not being available. I don't think Kohls would carry clothes that are out of style. Who would buy them, as I doubt there are not many fashion trend-setters like me who purchase out of style clothing in order to be ahead of the next fashion trend curve. 

Hand me-up Cargo Shorts

The only time in the summer in which I tend to wear long pants is to a MMSD meeting, or a special event. And, in the summer they are generally my trusty tan khaki pants. Khaki pants are kind of timeless.

Hence, once again, like with eyeglass styles, and other items of clothing, I am a head of the fashion curve. I have been a trendsetter by wearing cargo shorts before they came back in style. It seems nowadays that is common to leave out certain facts to form your narrative, by concentrating on those that make your point, so I would simply leave out the part that I continued to wear them for the past two to three decades. One just needs to know that I am a fashion trend-setter, a simple unknown influencer in the fashion field who dresses under the radar.

Frank Barone dressed as "Fruity Pierre"
His pants are khaki colored

Onetime years ago my wife commented that she would like to upgrade my clothing choices, apparently taking me back to "trends", rather than allowing me to be ahead of the trends. One of her friends had done this for her husband. It reminded me of an Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Marie gets rid of most of Frank's clothes to a secondhand store or charity, and most were thrown out, because as Marie said even the bums did not want them. Frank wonders what happened to his clothes and has to wear a new shirt and sweater Marie purchased. He finds the outfit too flashy. My wife bought me new swim suits just over a year ago and of course they had to be multicolored rather than just say, navy blue. Purchased in August, she says that the pickings were not very good. 

My play clothes, which are now my everyday clothes are well worn, I even threw out a couple pair of shorts this year, yes cargo shorts, because my wife refused to repair them any more. I asked if she let me use her sewing machine and I could try to repair them, but that did not get too far. The need for some replacement shorts is what led me to purchase shorts this year, the two lightly used pair at Goodwill and the one pair at Kohls. One of the pair I purchased at Goodwill and the one at Kohls were different colors from two I purchased at Kohls several years ago.  I have come to realize that I may be forced to throw out a couple more pair at the end of this season. I have had some t-shirts that she wanted to throw out but I have saved some for when I need a shirt for those times when painting or doing other such work that can stain a shirt. I certainly would not want to get a t-shirt that is near worn out stained with paint. Even the third world is overcome by too many clothes, part of the American excess. 

Two pair, mainly used for camping
I think they were purchased 2-3 years ago

To write this blog, I went to my computer, not believing that I am out of fashion, Google with its AI approach told me the following: 

Yes, cargo shorts are still popular for men, but they have undergone a massive modern redesign. While the oversized, baggy, and overstuffed styles of the late '90s and 2000s are still considered a fashion faux pas, the "Modern Cargo Short" is highly relevant

The category is experiencing a strong resurgence on both the streetwear scene and the high-fashion runways of designers like Dior and Willy Chavarria. Today's popularity is fueled by the broader shift toward comfort, practicality, and aesthetics like "Gorpcore" and techwear.

It then went on to list what makes 2026 cargo shorts different. Well, you can have your Dior and whatever, but I will not give up my cargo shorts even if they date back over 25 years and are baggy and overstuffed. After all, who proclaims clothes as being "in" or "out"? A designer who keeps changing styles to sell more clothes? A panel of so-called experts who want to keep clothing sales up? My wife? What they all miss is that I am comfortable wearing what they call a "fashion faux pas clothes" and do not realize at some point they will be back in fashion, hence, me being a fashion trend setter. I am so far ahead of the times, people may think I am behind the times. 

Being so far ahead of fashion trends can perhaps make me subject to some looks and comments, but I proudly wear bear the title of one who is so so far ahead of fashion trends that people think I am behind the times. Cargo shorts may have gone out of fashion, but they have a certain staying power. 

Biking Vilas County

The trails wind through forest, by lakes, and near or above wetlands. The paved Heart of Vilas County trail system represents a great way to view and enjoy the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and get some exercise. As you travel, your senses are enhanced by the lingering scent of pine, the interplay of light and shadow through the tree canopy, and the soft hum of the rolling of bike tire on asphalt among the song of the birds. The Heart of Vilas system may not fully meet the design standards set by AASHTO (American Assoc of State Highway and Transportation Officials), but doing so would have affected connectivity, and the enjoyment of the trails. Many of the trails are along or adjacent to highway right of ways, or on public forest land. Vilas County, in northern Wisconsin, has been known more for its lakes, fishing and snowmobiling than for other activities. However, a series of bicycle trails have provided Vilas with a whole other source of recreational activity. This post is about biking the Northwoods.

Northern Wisconsin author, Victoria Houston, who writes fiction about murders in the Northwoods, has yet to feature bicycling in her fictional Loon Lake as far as I know. One of her main characters is Ray Pratt, a fishing guide, photographer and grave digger. In typical Northwoods style, Ray lives in a mobile home on a lake and dumped his sewage onto the roses cared by the deceased wife of the dentist next door, Dr Paul Osborne, who is friends with Ray. Biking up north does not require one to fish with Ray, and it adds to what a person can do in the north woods. It may not be as popular as fishing, it still has a dedicated group of persons. At Big Bear Hideaway, where we stay, I would say the occupants of the cabins, over our six years is they have as their primary activity 1/3 fishing, 1/3 bikers and the remainder mixed. Based purely on observation. 

Crystal Lake (2021)
The trail runs through the beach parking lot

Last week Wednesday to Wednesday, my biking partner and I met up with some family members at Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction to do some biking for the week. Boulder Junction is well situated on the route, and has easy access to many of the nicer trail segments. My wife and I have joined my sister and her husband for a week of biking since about 2021. The two of us have done every segment, except for the Mercer to Manitowish Waters segment. We like the trails, that since 2022 we have camped seven times at Cunard Lake, between Woodruff and St Germain, and have often biked many of the segments when staying at that lake. Cunard Lake is a quiet campground, no generators, or radios or the like allowed. It is also, one of the three least busiest in the Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest (NHAL).

On-road segment near Trout Lake (2021)

Our first time doing any major biking on the trails was when we camped at Upper Gresham Lake southwest of Boulder Junction for five nights, and during that time attended the 50th wedding anniversary party of my brother and his spouse. Since that time, they have paved all of North Creek Rd which connects CTH H to CTHM, and made a connection south from the trail along K south to North Creek, which would allow easier biking from Upper Gresham to Boulder Junction. The trail segment along CTH H was completed a couple years ago. 

2021 sign along CTH H for the North Creek Loop
which has now been completed

Biking is big with Baby Boomers, and enthusiasm has increased with the variety of electric bikes now available. Heck, some of these bikes you do not even need to pedal. I am not sure of the ratio of electric to non-electric (analog) bikes, but our riding time is probably favored by non-analog bikes. At least this is what it seems, even though AI tells me e-bikes make up only about 7% of bike sales in the US, compared to half in Germany. Perhaps, I am attuned to e-bikes as they ride past me on my bike rides, often not pedaling. One day on my usual home bike route, I came upon an electric scooter rider, and was about 50 or so feet behind him. I was able, for a bit to keep up, but had to slow down for a walker and at that point he just kept on zooming and my stamina was waning, and I needed enough for the next six or more miles to complete my route. 

You can find time to hike, too.
View on Fallison Lake Tr (Sept 2024)

Last year my wife and I, during a camping trip, biked near Sayner. We were passed by some e-bikers. We completed our route and spent part of the day at Crystal Lake Beach. We again saw the four e-bikers who stopped to use the restroom and relax a bit. They talked about how far they ventured, compared to us on our analog bikes. While it put us to shame, it occurred to me that for many e-bikers the limiting factor is not stamina, but two other factors, time and battery power. On occasion you overhear an e-biker comment on the state of their battery. I am not sure what type of e-bike they had, but I don't think it was a pedal assist. 

Heart of Vilas Trail (2024)

This last visit to Big Bear was the first before Labor Day, with others after Labor Day. Last year, a week or so after Labor Day, we had less than fortunate weather, cold and wet for many of our days. This past visit, we had rain on the day of our arrival, and the temp was about 62, but the next two days had good weather followed by two days of inclement and one mixed day, but the last day of biking, the weather was very nice. Yet, we make do with what weather comes our way.

Boulder Junction, WI
Self-proclaimed Musky Capital of the World
Keeps Ray Pratt (fictional character) busy in
Victoria Houston novels.

Trails go beyond the Heart of Vilas. There is the Three Eagle Trail, mainly non-paved, which runs from Three Lakes to Eagle River, we have done that a couple of times. There is also a trail near Conover, which we have not done. One nice trail not part of the Heart of Vilas is the Forest Lake Trail, part of which winds through private property in a heavily wooded area. Riding it this year we noticed a storm took down many trees. The first time I rode that was in Oct 2021 and the paved path was blanketed with maple leaves.

In the Northwoods, even the deer use the crosswalk (Sept 2021)

I think the most common demographic we see biking are what I refer to as "old" people and which my wife points out that I am one of them. She is older than me and I look at her as the minimum of old. When at Big Bear there was a group of what I referred to as "older ladies" in a cabin, and I was quickly criticized that they were about "our age." Well, my sister-in-law was supposed to try and get the year they graduated high school but did not. When she met them she had to agree they were likely older. I took a group picture of them the day they departed and I have to think my term was appropriate. That is a  good thing, because later we had a group of "ladies" show up in another cabin and so I now had two different nomenclatures--one for each group of ladies. The second group had some in our demographic but some younger. Some of them were hard-ass bicyclists. 

On a wet rainy day, we did some hiking in Sept 2024
along the Black River in the UP

The problem with aged bicyclists, older people biking, is that they face a higher risk of severe injury from fractures and head trauma. My last bike accident, since I was over 65, they made me do a CT scan of my head. They found it is as hard as my wife claims it to be. Seriously, it was just a couple months ago that a 75 year old man I know died after crashing on a bike path. A friend crashed several years ago on a Heart of Vilas Trail; a hard-ass biker, she was thrown off her bike when she hit a bridge abutment and thrown into the side rail. Fortunate for her, an emergency room physician happened by as the next biker and attended to her while 911 was called. Taken to Woodruff Hospital she was later med flighted to Marshfield due to the severity of her injuries. This makes me think I should stop riding no-hands as I leisurely bike. This activity was reported to my wife by some of my fellow family members who were behind me last week. I look at riding no hands as helping build my core muscles--taking off of a person who said kids who ride electric scooters are getting exercise as they are working their core muscles. I figured the same thing would work on a bike.

Part of Forest Lake Trail (Sept 2025)

To help mitigate the effects of injury seasoned citizen bikers should stick to bike paths or low use residential streets--just the type of complexion of which the Heart of Vilas trails are composed, albeit there are crossings of some busy highways, like Hwy 70 west of St Germain on the trail to Sayner. The downfall to the trail system, are highway crossings. Hwy 70 would be the busiest, but there are crossings of K, M and N, county highways, but not as busy as many county highways near Madison.  The major problem for road crossings is for analog bikers, getting on a bike and in some locations having a steep uphill grade giving no time to get any speed.

Trail portion between Manitowish Waters 
and Boulder Junction (2026). 

The Northwoods is not just about fishing and snowmobiling. It is about hiking, canoeing or kayaking and now bicycling.  Yet, the basic benefit to most of what you choose to do is an ability to enjoy the scent of the pines, the towering trees, and a subdued lake shore. There is a certain peace when you stand at a lake shore on a mid-morning late summer day to take a pause while biking, with the sun glistening off the clear blue water. That is the purpose of the Wisconsin Northwoods that is facilitated when biking in Vilas County,

Photos by author

Note: If you get to Boulder Junction stop at the Aqualand bakery and purchase a a cream puff, or a true cream filled donut or, my favorite, a cruller. You will not be disappointed.

Noise at the Campground

A few weeks ago I posted about a boy who talked all the time. Henry. Henry camped with his parents and older on a site next to us at Cunard Lake Campground in late July. Henry has been surpassed by a group of girls that camped on our loop at Mirror Lake State Park. When camping you never know what noises you have to bear.

Mirror Lake State Park

It was a group of four girls, who had done a very good job of setting up their tent and screen tent. They continued to talk and talk. I think they quieted down some later in the evening. They were present for only a couple days, arriving Monday, but leaving Wednesday, but their presence sure put Henry to shame. Of course, Henry was one person, this was a group of four. Given that they were further from us than Henry, I suspect their gabbing was not as annoying as it may have been if they were right next to us. 

Many years ago we camped at Mirror Lake in September, perhaps our second season of camping, and our two boys were young. The experience that night almost ruined camping for us. There were two men who arrived late, and made a great deal of noise and were very loud. Another camper on the loop got up to ask them to quiet down during the early morning hours of the next day, but they did not. This camper, in a time before cell phones, left and called the sheriff. The sheriff deputy arrived and I recall a long conversation. It was cold when we got up the next morning, without having gotten any sleep, I recall a thin layer of ice in the coffee pot. Because we lacked sleep, we decided to pack up and go home. That was likely the most troublesome time we ever had camping. When we got up, those two men were soundly sleeping, and I felt like banging some pots together. They may have been too drunk or high to wake up even if I banged the pots.

Mirror Lake State Park

Noises, however, can be by other than humans. My camping partner, Land Girl, is a light sleeper, and any noise, even heavy breathing, can be bothersome to her. At Mirror Lake there was some animal, not sure if a bird or mammal, made an annoying noise that kept her awake most of the night. I never recalled hearing that noise before. Perhaps the best way to describe the noise, was like a fast moving ratchet. The first night the noise went to about 3 or 4 am, and the next night about 2 am. Whatever was making the noise got kinder to Land Girl as each night came. This disrupts here sleep, particularly since I tend to get up about 5:30 am to use the restroom. 

The most present noise at Mirror Lake is the Interstate Highway that is less than half a mile distant. The constant hum or roar of the traffic provides a noise akin to what millennial parents have in the sound machine to get their young children to sleep. It has the opposite effect on Land Girl. The funny thing is, even though the highway, and Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells are so close, our Verizon phone only got only two bars at the campsite. And, at times, one bar.

Mirror Lake State Park, Echo Rock

The last time we camped at Mirror Lake was in June of 2024 and we had the annoying pleasure of the Sponge moths (Gypsy moths) falling down our of the trees on the screen tent, camper, car and even us. The plopping sound was more annoying by the appearance of a moth on the picnic table in front of you.

As a child my wife camped with siblings and parents, often joined by one or two sets of family members and their children. I have to think they were not the most quiet bunch of campers, and if that was today, would I be writing a blog post about them as I have about Henry and now the four girls. Perhaps, now that I am in my late middle age (this will give the wife a laugh, as she will say I am a senior citizen and not late middle age), I may find the noises more annoying than before, although no reasonable person would think that disturbance many years ago at Mirror Lake was reasonable.