Considering I was headed to the town that is in pretty much the dead center of Wisconsin, I wasn’t expecting much.
Wausau has too thick of an adipose zone that is that Badger State to be influenced by Chicago or Minneapolis. Even Madison and Milwaukee seem too far away to be connected to this town. I don’t even know if there is an airport around here.
Wausau is also the gateway to the Northern Wisconsin, “The Northwoods” as it’s called by those who try to sell it as vacationland to people in the suburbs of Chicago, or as they like to call it “Chicagoland.” But for those who aren’t going to the Northern Wisconsin to vacation. Wausau is the jump-off. The kind of place you get a few bags of rice, a few pelts, a canoe or the Carhartt jacket for the wildness that lies beyond. The people of this community are a kind and gentle people, but they are realist. They will wish you well and pat your back before they watch you head north. But by the time you’re out of sight, they’ve already finished grieving for the loss of you.
I’ll be happy to go on and on about Northern Wisconsin, but don’t want to bother you with that here.
However, this visit to Wausau was wicked. The first thing we did was head to Central Boardshop to meet up with shop owner/runner/everything dude Kurth. It’s pretty legit shop he’s got going on—clean, well-organized, good gears and a solid crew of locals hanging about. We caught dinner with him and a couple of his shop riders (for real, he’s got shop teams for skate and shreddery.) and then flipped it into a few drinks. Those drinks turned into shots and darts and bad dancing all around. But whatever, even the lackluster DJ couldn’t stop the crew. Those dudes know how to cut loose on the edge of civilization.
If you’re ever in that area, check out Central. They’ll probably have whatever you need.
2st
The next day we were up at Granite Peak early. Working with fancy-pants, 2013 gears. People kept asking for stickers. I just deferred them to Keef and Jay. Not my job, not my problem. Ya dig? After a while we rode snowboards, and I rode this thing:
Definitely not the ideal conditions or location for such a board, but it was wicked fun. It put a smile on my face.
I also have this in my possession for the time being: I still need to use it:
Pretty stoked.
3th
I want to be in the middle of this picture:
Mostly because they’re in Germany.
4nd
Only 11 more days until the Tahoe adventure begins.










