ICE AGE TRAIL (PART THREE) - NOV 2021 - JUNE 2023

It’s tough for our group to schedule time, especially over the winter months with people taking extended breaks from the Wisconsin winters!!

We regrouped after Kilimanjaro and made a plan to spend the winter picking off segments and road walks closer to home, even though that meant we didn’t always have all 7 of us for each hike.

October 31, 2021 (S and JT) – 12.63 miles

CR / Fern Glen / CR / Lodi / Eastern Lodi Marsh

November 10, 2021 (S, JT, Gary, L&K) – 8.25 miles

Lodi Marsh / CR / Springfield Hill

December 18, 2021 (S&J, Gary, D&T) – 11.95 miles

CR / Indian Lake / CR to Table Bluff

It was fun to “officially” be doing these segments that’d we’d hiked many times before and knew so well. These hikes we’d typically knock off in the morning, then have a late breakfast or lunch and head home. It’d become easy for us to knock off 15 miles in just a few hours, and it was easier with virtually no travel time!

January 22, 2022 – 8.79 miles

Table Bluff / CR / Cross Plains

There was an IAT work crew gathering to do some work at Table Bluff. They thought it was so cool to encounter our dedicated “Magnificent Seven” group out hiking on a cold January day.

January 29, 2022 – 12 miles

Cross Plains / CR / Valley View / CR / Madison

This segment took us through the University Ridge golf course. Jeff and I had hiked this section in the fall after Kilimanjaro. It was fun to see it in the winter.

March 11, 2022 (S&J, Gary, L&K) – 10.43 miles

Verona / CR

April 2, 2022 – 15.34 miles

Badger Trail / Montrose / Brooklyn Wildlife / CR

Today we did a middle of the day shuttle to a coffee shop in Belleville.

April 8, 2022 (S&J, Gary, Lynn) – 16.2 miles

Monticello

April 9, 2022 – 13.72 miles

Albany to Evansville CR

April 16, 2022 (S&J Bike Shuttle) – 9.45 miles

Evansville – CR

April 23, 2022 (S&J Bike Shuttle) – 10 miles

CR to Janesville

May 14, 2022

Arbor Ridge / Devils Staircase / Janesville

We thought we knew Janesville well, having had an office there for 14 years. This segment blew us away with the trail along the Rock River (downtown across from our former office), and then following a green space creek past the arboretum and out to the mall behind the Home Depot.

June 4, 2022 – 16.67 miles

Janesville / Milton / Storrs Lake / CR

June 10, 2022 – 14.04 miles

CR / Clover Valley / CR / Whitewater Lake

We’re now over an hour from home, and decided to take advantage of the fabulous campgrounds in the Camping Morine State Forest – Southern Unit

June 11, 2022 – 14.87 miles

Blackhawk / Blue Spring Lake

There was a trail running event happening this week-end. It didn’t interfere with our hiking (and we didn’t interfere with them) – and it was fun to see. I think some were running 100 miles of trail during the event – amazing!

June 14, 2022 – 11.63 miles

Stony Ridge / Eagle / Scuppernong

Day trip, and a very hot day it was! We were all slower and seeking shade wherever we could find it!

June 25, 2022 (with Paul and Marion) – 15.02 miles

Scuppernong / CR / Waterville / Lapham Peak

Fun to officially hike through Lapham Peak as we’d done so many training hikes there for previous adventures. Jeff and I also participated in a trail building event here, so it was fun to point out to our group the new trail we’d help cut in, the new board walk, new steps and the absence of some of the buckthorn!

July 2, 2022 (with Paul, Marion and Danette) – 17.57 miles

Lapham Peak / Delafield / Hartland / Merton

Another day hike – another hot day. We were joined today by Paul & Marion, and Dan’s sister Danette. The highlight of the day was lunch at a splash park in Hartland! We ended this hike differently as we were a group of 10 and too large to shuttle in one vehicle. A group went in Kent’s car to pick up Dan’s car, and the rest of us called an Uber to drive us to the meeting place – Delafield Brewery! First Uber for us on the IAT!

July 26, 2022 – 17.68 miles

Monches / Loew Lake / CR / Holy Hill / Pike Lake

Beautiful hike today, with views of Holy Hill from the CR. Dan and Tam brought us a picnic lunch which we enjoyed in the shade of a parking area near Holy Hill.

July 29, 2022

Pike Lake / Slinger / Cedar Lakes / CR / West Bend

Who doesn’t love a segment that ends in the Culver’s parking lot?!

August 2, 2022 (S&J, D&T, Gary) – 16.36 miles

Went Bend / Southern Kewaskum / CR (McDonald’s stop) / Kewaskum /Milwaukee River North /

Milwaukee River South

I stopped in a creek to soak my numb toes, and dropped by iPhone in the creek but didn’t notice until we were another 0.5 miles down the trail. I dropped my pack and ran back and there it was – no issue with its performance after that, the new ones are truly water resistant to some extent!!

August 12, 2022 – 16.25 miles

Milwaukee River South / Parnell

Paul and Marion joined us again as we camped at the Kettle Moraine North Unit. Jeff and I did a Gyro bar and Greek salad which was a big hit. One of the cool things from this campground is a local family will deliver fresh cinnamon rolls to the campsite in the morning if you’ve pre-ordered them. Yum!

August 13, 2022 – 16.81 miles

Parnell / Greenbush / CR / LaBudde Creek

It was a long and warm hike today and our group got a bit disjointed. Typically, we’d wait at an intersection to ensure those behind know to make the turn. That didn’t happen today and when we got to the finish, we discovered we’d lost Kent. That can be tricky with spotty cell service, but he was located at the clubhouse of the golf course we’d just hiked past.

September 29, 2022 (S&J – car shuttle with L&K) – 16.76 miles

Pike Lake / Slinger / Cedar Lakes / CR / West Bend

October 15, 2022 – 17.13 miles

LaBudde Creek / CR Walla Hi / CR

Overnight @ Holiday Inn in Manitowoc / Dinner at “Court House”

During this hike, we hit mile 1000 ... which is what is depicted in the photo above!

November 3, 2022 (no Kent) – 17.2 miles

CR / Manitowoc

By November, we were far enough away that we were back to renting houses or staying in hotels. Overnight @ VRBO on the lake near Two Rivers / Dinner at “Court House” with Mary and Geo

November 4, 2022 (no Kent) – 10.75 miles

Dunes / Two Rivers / Point Beach

My birthday, and we hiked the Point Beach segment on an uncharacteristically warm day – barefoot on the beach. For the second time on the IAT, we hiked on my birthday and came upon deflated mylar balloons which we tied to my backpack.

2023

Another long break for the winter. Actually, we intentionally stretched out finishing the IAT so we could time it to finish on the third anniversary of the day we started (June 6, 2020-June 6, 2023). There were many times during the course of those three years that I was frustrated as I just wanted to complete this and move on, but in retrospect I’m happy with the way we did it – hiking mostly together as a group and enjoying the journey!

April 30, 2023 – 16.66 miles

Point Beach / CR / Michicot / CR / East Twin River / CR

Overnight at Mary and Geo’s (played dominoes)

May 1, 2023 – 12.48 miles

CR / Tisch Mills / CR

Hooray, hooray the first of May! We were dismayed to find a brutal rain that turned to snow. We forded a freezing river, then took solace in a convenience store with a café set up inside. We hiked another five and went back to the store for lunch. We know that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!! Mary and Geo loved our story so much that they went there for lunch the following day. We also had a first where we actually walked two 5 mile segments of the CR backward to keep the wind at our back (hiked north to south instead of south to north – same distance). Stopped at Parallel 44 Winery and bought several bottles of local wine (a little too sweet for my tastes).

May 2, 2023 – 13.61 miles

CR

1100 mile marker

May 29, 2023 – 12.81 miles

Kewaunee River Trail

Camped at a private campground in Kewaunee RV and campground. Jeff and I were a bit unorganized as we came from our Lake Home. When we got to the campground, it appeared we didn’t have our tent (found it later). Lucky for us, they had little cabins to rent so we did that instead. Dinner down the road at Waterfront Bar and Grill.

May 30, 2023 – 12.71 miles

CR to Algoma. In Algoma, we had the opportunity to walk a few blocks on the beach again. Tam, Lynn and I took our shoes off and walked in the lake just like we’d done in November. Jeff and Dan got caught up at a birthday party for an elderly lady in the park!

June 4, 2023 – 11.63 miles

CR / Forestville via the Ahnapee Trail. We had to go back to Algoma to pick up cars, and took advantage of the patio at the Ahnapee Brewery to have some cold refreshments. We set up camp for two nights at Potowatomi State Park just outside Sturgeon Bay, and headed into town for dinner at Sony’s Italian Kitchen and Pizzeria.

June 5, 2023 – 9.15 miles (joined by Danette, Paul and Marion)

Sturgeon Bay

After a fantastic breakfast at Scaturo’s Baking Co & Café, we headed out and did an easy hike along the Ahnapee trail back to Sturgeon Bay. There we enjoyed the afternoon hanging around the harbor. We had some beer and snacks, did some shopping and toured the Door County Maritime Museum and Tug boat. We cleaned up and headed to Kitty O’Reilly’s Irish Pub for a celebratory dinner reminiscing about our 97 days on the trail: our favorite accommodations, our friendship, the fun and interesting people we’d met along the way, the rain – cold – snow – heat – ticks – mosquitos, and the days that were absolutely perfect!

June 6, 2023 – 5.26 miles to the finish!

Sturgeon Bay to Eastern Terminus

It was mostly a melancholy day as we hiked the final 5 miles. The park was gorgeous, with views of the bay and the city. There were some steep climbs, but nothing we hadn’t seen and done before. We arrived at the bolder marking the terminus filled with varying emotions. Paul presented each couple with a commemorative plaque, and my parents joined us there at the finish. We had a celebratory lunch at Saturo’s before heading home.

I grew up in Wisconsin and thought I’d seen a lot of the state, but the places the IAT took us were incredible – gorgeous forests, pristine lakes, wonderful parks, even beautiful county roads with farms, trees, and flowers.

Besides the beauty of the trail, the bonds that our group formed were an unanticipated outcome. We were good friends before we started, but we’re like family now. To be able to do SOMETHING in those first few months of the pandemic was good for our mental health. And in the following years we supported each other through death of a parent, the sale of the businesses for two of the couples, and serious health issues of family members. Besides Kilimanjaro in September 2021, we rented a cabin in Colorado in August 2022 to celebrate Tam’s 60th birthday and hiked 60,000 vertical feet in the course of a week! Next month, the 7 of us are going on a 6-day backpacking trip in Glacier National Park!

Our love and support of the IAT and the IATA will be everlasting. Gary is responsible for maintaining a section of the trail in Verona, and Jeff and I have participated in several trail building/maintaining sessions. We find it’s such a great way to give back to the trail that did so much for us, as well as meet other like-minded adventurers.