Chequamegon Dead Horse

 The Dead Horse is a trail in northern Wisconsin, taking it's name from an unfortunate event that occurred  in 1900 when a team of horses met their demise. The Chequemegon Dead Horse is a bikepacking event that took place last weekend in the same area, in which no horses lost their lives.

Found a private junkyard along the route....that's a Bidgestone MB-1 in red. 

found this boat too

 The ride is set 116 years later on gravel roads, and a portion of the Dead Horse trail. The route and event was conceived by Mr Ross and made public via facebook, with the idea of getting a bunch of like minded folks together for some camping and riding. Unfortunately the turn-out was low, with only 9 riders showing up at the OO parking lot just east of Seeley WI. The 8am start time was brisk, under 40 F, but it wasn't raining, and we had all day to get to our campsite and just enjoy the ride.

the group left to right.  O'Neil, Superwoman, TJ Hooker, and Mr Ross

water's up 

The Dead Horse proper

  ArcFlash and I rode off the front, not because we were fast, but because we just pedaled a little harder than the rest. About 20ish miles in, an arrow pointing the wrong way on the que card had us off track and added an extra 7-8 miles. Turning back and following tracks, we rejoined the group that had now dwindled to four. We decided to hang with them, and just go with the flow. Around noon we found ourselves in Clam Lake dinning at one of the two establishments in town. There we met the self proclaimed "best pizza maker, in his apartment, in all of Chicago"....35 years ago. He was a friendly gentleman that gave us the low-down on just about everything that was going on in Clam Lake, as well as hinting very heavily that one of us should buy the restaurant so he and his wife could retire to their lake cabin nearby. No one had the money for more than the half pound burger we all consumed, so we were on our way.

Water's up here as well

Almost home for the night

  The rest of the day we just knocked off the miles, arriving at our camp around 5:30 pm. The site was awesome, a secret place in the woods that Mr Ross has been frequenting since he was a kid. Big thanks to him for letting us in on this amazing spot.....your secret is safe with me. Night time was typical, but still my favorite pass-time....sitting around a fire, cooking food and sharing stories. No one made it past 10pm before calling it a day. Sunday morning everyone slept in a bit, leisurely made breakfast, and then rolled out together. Approximately 12 miles into the return trip it was time for second breakfast at Wendy and Joe's Steakhouse. From there the group elected to shorten the return trip just a bit (less than 5 miles)....one of the benefits of just riding your bike for the fun of it. Around 3pm we arrived back in the OO parking lot and went our separate ways.

I dislike photos of food,,,,but here it is anyway

     If you're looking for a little adventure outside of the CAMBA trail system, this is it. Show up next year and give it a go, or plan your own adventure in the Chequamegon National Forest. The possibilities are endless, with options for combining, gravel roads, single track, two track and if you have a packraft...the rivers.

D Rider.................out