Exploring the Trans - Wisconsin trail

Sounds like you should be good to go!

Nice looking bike man. I'm jealous.

If they ever make that route, I'm in. Somebody would have to come up with some neat decals for that.

Anyone done the TWAT this year? I just did it Thursday and Friday (June 27 and 28). I will throw up some pics so others can see about the road conditions.

There has been a ton of rain here of late. This is a farmers field near Shullsburg.



The bike is a 2013 Honda CRF250L. Pretty much stock. And it did very well.



The muddy Mississippi.



It did not look good nearing Good-Nuf Hollow Road.



There was water standing and running everywhere.



Sure enough. My first closed road.

Was that Good-Nuff Hollow that was closed? I almost went up and checked it out Saturday, I figured it was in a nice sporty condition!

yes it was closed Thursday morn
the semi trailer was blocking it
they were working on a washout on the RR tracks

Went by a little township park. Had a two-holer, a covered picnic table, and running water out of a spring on the other side of the road.



Oh, was it ever good tasting water. They even provided a cup.



I think this was Dugout or Dugway Rd? Not sure.



That road was closed from the north end but I saw no blockade where I entered from the south side.

Crossed the river into Iowa and I must say that Iowa section is outstanding.



I went through some horrible washed out roads but again the barriers were placed on the north ends of these roads. And I came from the south. But this mountain of downed trees finally stopped me.



I just turned around and kept a close eye on that purple line on my Nuvi 550 and soon was able to get back on route. I had the TWAT in my Nuvi as a "route" not a "track" and it worked perfectly. I put the Nuvi in bicycle mode and it showed every road for the whole two days, no problems at all with the routing.

Crossed the mighty Mississippi was back in Crawford County.



Rush Creek Road was very quiet on Thursday.



This new guard rail had about 6 sections that were washed down the hillside in to the beef pasture.
I encountered many washouts that are gonna cost the taxpayer some dough to get fixed.

Tainter Rd was closed so Miss Garmin had to do some re routing.



Soon was on the Jackson County sand roads. The recent rain firmed the sand up did not find any sugar sand my whole trip.
Lots of clear cuts and huge log piles on both sides of the roads. Like driving through a tunnel.





These roads were remarkably easy because I had great traction when wet!



My WI DeLorme calls this Bald Peak. A hill surrounded by a cat tail marsh in Clark Co.



After 378 miles, I called it a day and stealth camped in da woods of northern Clark Co.

Tainter Hollow road, before it was closed.



A big old snapper hanging out along the road.

Nice photos, looks like you had a fantastic time, and I am sure the flooding only added to the adventure. I hope to see you at a future Meet & Greet so you can tell me how to do the stealth camping. I get tired of sometimes paying over $20 for a small tent space.

For me, the key to stealth camping, is avoid the areas the locals use. They get pissed when they find you in "their spot".

Upon waking up at 6am the skeeters promptly told me" you are not having breakfast here." i had a pocket rocket stove, coffee, and pop tarts but left it all in the bag and headed for Thorp. Found this and there were no bugs.



Where do you put the air in these tires?



Perkinstown was muddy yet fun. I had it all to myself but I could see dozer tracks in the trail but did never find him.





I will have to go back and explore this area more. It was cool.



My wife likes flowers so I did this for her.



Did not find any ticks on this trip.



Two old guys were pulling a boat out of this lake. I asked them where are all the fish? One old guy says "we're heading to the bar". So I took that as the fish were not biting.



Those roads up there were just great. I was having a blast!

About 5 miles after crossing the river,,,





,,, on a long straight downhill I surprised a Bobcat. She had something hanging out of her mouth and when she saw me one leap she was in da bush. But she did good-she did not drop her lunch.
Then after fueling at Clam Lake turned north on FR195 was just going through the gears off Hy 77 jumped a cow elk with a big orange radio collar. That was cool.
A dirty bike at Drummond. It was raining off and on but not too bad.



Horse Pasture Grade was sandy and wet but the tiny Honda held her line well.



But it was not all sand. This route has good gravel.



Coconut Cream Pie with chocolate ice cream on the side hit the spot. This place is funky cool.



North of The Diner it got interesting in a few spots.



Much logging activity some roads were tore up but one has to remember logging is why most of those roads are there.



When you come to a fork in the road take it. (somebody's sig line here on ADV)

Just past that log yard I bumped a very large coal black bear. I had just enough time to get my camera out after it raised on its hind legs and boom it split. no shot damhik

The sand roads firmed up and I was flying into Cornucopia.





It was done raining for the day.



And soon I could go no further.





The big lake was fogged in.







2nd day was 285 fun MILES.

There is an Indian campground at Point Detour but most of the tentsites were under water and I was unsure of where to pay? A sign said pay at the casino? What casino? I made my way to Bayfield and got a room for the night.

Day 3 I just put the GPS in scooter mode and it took me on backroads all the way home to Rock County. Total 3 days was 1069 miles. Saw another black bear near Winter on way home. Bike did just fine but needs a new rear tire soon.

The TWAT is a great 2 day ride. The wildlife was outstanding. My favorite part is from Clam Lake north.
Thanks to Chad for devising this route. I need your address so I can snail mail you a check good sir.

Awesome

just

Awesome

: )

I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself! Looks like you had the absolute best conditions, because we all know the TWAT is best when its...never mind

I think you saw more wildlife than I have on my 20 or so trips on the route. I have seen about 6 bears, but no big cats or Elk. I really want to see an Elk in Wisconsin.

You can really put the miles down when you are by yourself! With a group its usually a 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 day ride.

Great pics siyeh! The p-town trails are great, I live close now and have some fun on them.

Roger that. When I get on a bike trip, I just want to roll the throttle. Riding with others, sometimes that is not possible. SOLO is the only way for me. A guy I work with, after seeing these pics, wants to do it this fall. First he must street legal his KTM. I don't think he can do it.
That was my first Wisconsin elk and bobcat. Saw a bobcat in the Sylvania Wilderness near Watersmeet many years ago.

Thinking about riding this in a few weeks. Will I need a wisconsin OHV sticker or any other trail stickers or passes? Thanks in advance.

If you stick to the route, you do not need anything like that. There are options to ride nearby trails, and those trails could possibly require some sort of a trail pass or may not be open to motorcycles, so before getting on any ATV trails that aren't part of the GPS file, make sure to check the rules.

The GPS route is all on public roads and trails.

The Delta Diner is definitely on my "bucket list"!

GPS for the Delta Diner: N46 28.404 W091 16.344

I grew up in central WI and rode lots of those trails on snowmobile! In the 1960's the Perkinstown area was "wilderness" to me. Later I lived west of Minocqua and covered a lot of the northern section by mountain bike and dog sled!

Now I get to ride my WR250R!