ICE AGE TRAIL (Part Two) Jan-Sept 2021

January 26 and 27, 2021

Besides difficulty in scheduling, now we’re lining up days that work for the 7 of us, and hoping for great weather. For this trip, we’d all made reservations at a hotel in Merrill that could be cancelled in case of polar vortex!

And while the weather up north looked ok, we left Dane County early morning Tuesday in a blizzard that descended upon us Monday night. It was a bit unsettling to see two cars in the ditch before we were 5 miles from our house. The interstate was open, but snow covered. We got in a line of semis and I was grateful for JT being such a solid driver. We turned onto Hwy 51 and the snow was lighter, and by Stevens Point, the snow had stopped.

We were the first car to arrive at our designated meeting point, the start of Grandfather Falls Segment. The others soon arrived. It was wonderful that we already knew this area from our November time here, and that the shuttles would be easy.

We left two cars behind, dropped Lynn’s at the 5-mile point in case we needed a break, then drove to the start of the Turtle Rock Segment in the Knickmeier vehicle. Throughout the day, it was mind blowing to recall the terrible blizzard we’d left behind in southern WI!

There was more than six inches of older snow, and while it was already tracked, I still tried out my snowshoes to see how they’d feel. I found it was more work to lift each foot, but the stable base was more comfortable on my feet. As we got closer to the Wisconsin River, the terrain became hillier with lots of large erratics, so I removed my snowshoes as I had to be more nimble on my feet.

We walked along the west shore of the river, past Grandfather Falls, which is the largest drop on the Wisconsin River. Some in our group were disappointed that it was a long series of rapids, versus the large waterfall that they’d been expecting! I loved the sound of the water as we walked north along the river, picking our way through large rocks and around trees. The tannins in the river kicked up some brownish foam, which was about the only color in an otherwise black, white and grey day.

We followed the river to Grandfather Falls dam, the site of an old hydroelectric plant. About the dam, there was a Flowage, and across the water we could see the cabin we stayed in last November. The trail turned away from the river, across some gorgeous terrain and through an area where beavers had been very active the past year - lots of freshly gnawed timber!

We punched out to Cty Road E, stopped for a snack break and dropped a few things in the car we’d parked there. Then we continued on a 2.1-mile road walk, north on E, across the river on a bridge and south on 107 to where the other cars were parked. We piled into the two cars, drove back to get the other cars, and then dropped two cars further down the road at the Camp New Wood County Park. The car shuttle was a great way to warm up and relax.

We walked across a bridge where the river is diverted to a reservoir, which ultimately flows into “penstocks” and into the power plant. On the “island” between reservoir and river we walked through a beautiful forest, much like the other side of the river. The trail crossed another bridge, above the “newer” power plant - none of us had ever seen “penstocks” and it was cool to see the huge steels pipes, but the coolest thing was a display of an old wooden penstock - an engineering marvel!

Back into the woods along the falls on the east side of the river. The sun came out and it was an amazing afternoon to be out in the woods along the babbling river. We climbed a bit towards the road and into the little campground at Camp New Wood, with 4 beautiful sites overlooking the river, and pit toilets that were open - a luxury in January! From there, a fun up and down walk to the County Park where we’d left 2 vehicles.

That was nearly 10 miles and almost 4 pm, so we called it a day. We drove north to get the other two cars, then south to our hotel in Merrill. We gathered at a Mexican restaurant across the street for dinner, different experience than when we’re together in a cabin.

Due to COVID, the hotel offered packages of cold breakfasts: yogurt and muffins - but on a cold day like this I’d have preferred to start out with a hearty bowl of oatmeal. The temperature display on the car was zero as we set out, and 2 degrees as we started hiking just before 9am.

We also had another "first" by getting Lynn's car stuck in a ditch!

We started with hiking an out and back in Merrill School Forest, a beautiful hunk of land, although I must say it felt odd putting in 4 miles that didn’t count towards our goal! Back to the cars that were parked at the county parks and I changed from my boots and snow pants to road-walking shoes with Yaktrax and wind pants. The only thing that got cold on the road walk was my fingers. In the woods with my poles, my hands were hot, but out on the road was different. It was easy for me to warm my hands in my coat pockets and all was well.

After the 5.6 mi CR to Tug Lake Recreation Area, the group was talking about lunch versus finishing off the 5 miles of CR. We loaded up into the cars, and picked up the two cars at Camp New Wood and caravanned into Merrill, hoping the brew pub would be open. It didn’t open until 3p, but we found amazing food at the nearby Les & Jim’s Bowling Alley. Tyler was behind the bar, and while he waited on us, he regaled us with stories about their vision for making the bowling alley a dining destination. He’s a big bowler himself and has traveled throughout WI visiting other bowling alleys. He was just the sort of character that enhance these experiences so much! From the outside it didn’t look like much, but inside it was a great restaurant with fun characters. And the alleys themselves were beautiful, with a panoramic large screen behind the scoreboards. Tyler lamented about the dying culture of bowling alleys, and it is pretty sad. At most, Jeff and I might bowl once a year, but we both grew up with parents in bowling leagues. What happened to that?

Uneventful trip home. Great to have knocked off almost twenty miles on this trip, beautiful scenery and relatively awesome weather.

February 3 to 6, 2021

When we booked these days, the advanced forecast looked great, but you can’t always count on that! Nonetheless, we booked a cabin on the river just west of Tomahawk for three nights.

It ended up that Gary had a press conference Wednesday morning for a cool project EZOP is helping with, distributing hand sanitizer and face masks to non-profits. Since Gary is always so accommodating, it was our pleasure to move our start time later in the day! We’re finding with the cold and snow, we need to back down our expectations of what we can cover in a day anyway - even I agree!

The rest of us gathered at our end point at 1pm, then piled into the Knickmeier’s vehicle and met Gary at 1:30p at Tug Lake. It was a perfect winter day, with sunshine, little breeze and blue sky - nice to get a little color in our grey days. I’d planned to do the 5-mile road walk with my fleece lined tights and my rain pants, but it was so mild that I hiked in my tights, corduroy skirt and light gloves. I hiked without a pack, carrying just a water bottle in my pocket.

As usual, we were giddy to be hiking again, even though we’d just been together last week. We started off at a quick clip with lots of chatter. After about a mile, we walked under Hwy 51, which I think of as the dividing line of the state. Felt like a milestone! The county road had little traffic, and after two miles we turned onto snow covered side roads. We determined this was the most beautiful road walk so far!

We drove back to pick up the vehicles and caravanned to Tomahawk to check into our VRBO. You never know exactly what they’re going to be like until you’re there, but this cabin was amazing. It seemed like it was a lodge for a camp once, with industrial-level stove, griddle and hood! Beds galore, three full bathrooms and lots of comfortable common areas. We got settled, had some snacks and Tam and Dan served a yummy dinner. After dinner, we pulled out the maps and talked about options for hiking these couple of days. We’re due for heavy snow tomorrow, followed by bitter cold. Also daunting is an upcoming “ford” across the Prairie River – we’ve got lots of ideas how we might do that, but at air temperatures around zero, its making folks nervous.

THURSDAY: We awoke to light snow, and temps in the twenties. We had breakfast, then headed out with three cars for shuttles. The worst part of the drive was about 5 miles of Hwy 51, with semis flying past. It was a relief to get onto the County Roads with no traffic. We dropped two cars at the start of the Alta Springs Segment, and drove around to the start of the Underdown Segment in Knickmeier’s vehicle. Dan was a little nervous about the parking as the snow was already deep in the parking spot, and 8-10 more inches were expected today!

With some last-minute clothing adjustments, we were on the trail before 9am. Someone had walked the first section for a bit in snowshoes, so it was easy walking in their tracks, but then they’d turned back so the hiking became a bit more work. We walked through a section labeled “Enchanted Forest,” and it truly was – the whole segment was beautiful. This section was rated a “5” in our guidebook, and we definitely did a lot of climbing and agreed!!

In many places, the trail linked up with horse and bicycle trails, but there weren’t any signs of anything other than hikers. We also entered the Underdown Recreation Area and saw trails marked for cross-country skiing, but there were no signs of grooming or skiing so far this winter.

After about two hours, we came to Dog Lake and a campsite / backpack shelter. Since it was snowing pretty heavy, it was a blessing to have a place to sit and get out of the snow.

Snow continued to fall, but it was warm and most of us were actually hot! We trudged up and down and after about 4 hours, we were out onto Cooper Road to begin the road walk. There was about 8 inches more snow than when we’d driven by earlier in the morning! We had another snack, then headed out down the road. A truck came by, and it was the first time I recall feeling good about a car on a road walk – but in this case it was easier to walk in the tire tracks versus trudging through the snow.

It was a 1.2-mile CR, 0.5 miles on CTH-J which had more traffic and was slippery in spots. I didn’t have my Yaktrax, so I was hugging the left shoulder where I felt like I could get some traction. The others were walking in the road – I heard a yelp and a thump behind me, and turned to see Kent lying in the road. He sort of twisted as he fell, and said he was ok, but he probably broke a pinky finger. He’s a former wrestler and not the type to worry about a pinky?!

It was a relief to see the trailhead for Alta Springs and turn off the slippery road and back into a beautiful forest. I was in the lead, and this portion of the trail was completely untracked to we had to pay more attention to the blazes! In just 0.3 miles, we got to the parking area where we’d left the 2 SUVs. We discussed our options, and thought we’d shuttle one of the vehicles to the end of the Alta Springs Segment, just another 0.9 miles further. The parking spot was down a hill and the plow had gone by, so it was a bit of a challenge for Kent to back his car out, but Gary turned around and easily drove out. Dan, Tam, Lynn and I stayed behind and we were going to “mosey” down the trail while the others did the quick shuttle. I’d pulled my snowshoes out of Gary’s SUV, so I put those on and broke trail for the others. After only about 5 minutes, Dan received a phone call from the guys, saying the parking area at the end was a “no go.” They were heading back – so we turned around.

We decided we should shuttle both cars back to pick up Dan’s car, just in case he needed a push / tow to get out of the parking area. Jeff and I were riding with Gary and he decided to wait in a driveway rather than also drive down a pretty big hill, so we didn’t get to see the action, but it apparently wasn’t too bad.

Back to the cabin – some went to the shower; I climbed into bed and had a nice long nap! We had a nice dinner, and played some cribbage and Farkle in the evening. It was great to be snuggly inside and looking at the snow outside. Lots of doom and gloom about cold temps and parking tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.

FRIDAY: We’d agreed we didn’t need to get up early, in order to allow the temps to warm up and the plows to work, but most of us were up early anyway. It looked like 10-12” of snow yesterday, and it was a frosty 3 degrees in the morning. After breakfast, the guys went out to start cars, and discovered that the drivers side window of Kent’s SUV had shattered! Lots of phone calls / action working on that, and the morning slipped away from us as he awaited a tow truck to take it back to Madison. Getting a tow truck up north would be a challenge anyway, but after a big snowfall …

We passed the morning playing cribbage, reading – doing the math on how late we could wait and still get out to hike. That time came and went. I downloaded a Peloton Yoga session on my iPad, and Tam, Lynn and I did a yoga session. The cabin owner, Ellen, stopped in and told us the history of the property (built by her dad on property that had been a family farm). It was wonderful to talk with her and hear her story. She was also very gracious and allowed Kent to pull his Land Rover into her garage and use her tools / duct tape to get it ready for its trip to Madison on the back of a flatbed! We had lunch, and Jeff, Tam and Lynn and I went outside snowshoeing. We went out onto the lake and felt the windchill, but it was bearable and I was frustrated that we’d not been able to hike today. While the cabin is wonderful and a relaxing place to be, its not what we came up here to do.

We had a nice dinner, and a fun game of Farkle, then talked about plans. Jeff and I were disappointed that no one else in the group was up for hiking tomorrow – they felt the cold and finding parking in the snow was going to be too dangerous. It was hard to not think of all of my “mandatory family fun” skiing and snowmobiling with little regard for the weather.

SATURDAY: Up early and we made an awesome breakfast together. Jeff made bacon and eggs to order and Lynn figured out the griddle and flipped pancakes. Our next time to be back on the trail will be March 19th, but who knows what kind of weather we’ll get, or what kind of slop we’ll find ourselves in by then. I’m going to focus on finishing the next draft of my book and get through our accreditation survey, and maybe we’ll take a real vacation in March!

March 19-21, 2021

Six weeks have passed, and the weather has turned gentler, so we’re back for a redo to finish off Lincoln County and move into Langlade County.

We decided to step up our game and go for over 11 miles on our first day, meeting at 9am at the Cty Rd B trailhead on the Harrison Hills segment. We piled into two cars to shuttle to where we left off at the Alta Springs segment on a very snowy day in February! By 9:30am we were hiking.

After a few weeks off, our gang is always talkative and eager to go, so we started out loud and fast! We quickly covered what we had left of the Alta Springs trail, pausing briefly at the spring (guidebook says that from the late 1800’s until the 1930’s the spring water was bottled and sold for medicinal purposes).

From there, we entered the Harrison Hills segment. Supposedly, there is a large wolf population here, and we did see some large tracks in the snow and mud. We also saw 4 deer, and it was spectacular to watch them spring up the hill with their tails flashing – seeing them was only possible because of the leaves being off the trees now. They looked much more majestic than those that I see out my window eating from my neighbor’s bird feeder!

The Harrison Hills segment is rated a 5 (on the scale of 1-5) for elevation changes, and contains the highest point on the IAT at Lookout Mountain. It was rated a 4 in its general ruggedness. Honestly, we’re about a third of the way into this adventure and I just started paying attention to the ratings! I guess I’m more of a “it is what it is” kind of gal.

It was about thirty degrees when we started, with abundant sunshine and beautiful blue skies. It warmed up fast to a very comfortable day in the fifties. There was still 6-10” of snow in some areas, and the breeze across the snow cooled things down. Still, Gary and Kent hiked most of the day in T-shirts.

There were lots of up and down, including many super steep portions. Our pace slowed, but with break time, we still averaged 30 minutes per mile.

In the spots where there was no snow, we were hiking through dried leaves from last fall, and once again we found ourselves occasionally stumbling on rocks and stumps – it was nice to have those covered by snow!

Saturday was the first day of spring, and another beautiful day. There is no direct route from Tomahawk to the trail head, so we spent about an hour dropping a car and shuttling to the start. We were hiking by 8:30am. It was a cool start to the day, in the 30’s. I started in my light down jacket, but after the first mile, layers started coming off. Similar to yesterday, we’d hike through snow covered areas, and then areas with dry leaves and no snow at all!

Until about 11am, we could easily walk over the snow. After that, it was warm enough that you’d crash through the six inches of crust, which made for difficult going!

We finished off the Harrison Hills segments and started the Parrish Hills segment without much fanfare. The terrain was the same. Our guidebook said that the wetlands in this area are so extensive that the trail was designed to traverse the high, narrow ridges, and across beaver dams in the low-lying areas. We were grateful that the low-lying areas were still mostly frozen. After another week of 50-degree days, this will be a mess!

Being Saturday, we saw a few people, more than usual! When we dropped the car at Townline Lake, there was a couple getting ready to start the Highland Lakes segment, and we saw a bike tied to the sign which is generally a sign of someone shuttling themselves with a bike. At the parking lot where we started, there was a young man named Ross who was going to likely hike and camp overnight then hike back.

We crossed Hwy 17, about where the turnoff to Fish Camp is. Jeff and I will head there after hiking tomorrow and visit with my folks and celebrate my Dad’s 81st birthday.

Then we came to the Prairie river, and a “ford” that we’d been talking about and dreading for weeks. Just before we reached the river, we encountered a young man from Green Bay (Chris), and talked with him awhile. It was his bike we’d seen at the trailhead. He started hiking the whole IAT last April, and will likely finish it within a year! He said the river was just ankle deep, so that put us at ease. We had a variety of apparatuses that we employed for the crossing: Tam wore her dive boots, Jeff and Dan used heavy garbage bags on each foot, Lynn and Kent had bought lightweight waders that they’d carried in the packs, and Gary and I changed into river shoes. The water was cold and initially felt refreshing, but the river was wide and my feet were frozen by the time I made it across.

We had a 17-mile day, and at that point we were only 8 miles in - although it was about 12:30p and we had a lot of daylight left. On the other side of the river, the trail was NOT well traveled, so the river ford must deter a lot of hikers! We occasionally had to really search to find the trail and the blazes!

The rest of the day was a mixture of beautiful trail, and not so great fire and/or logging roads, and traversing logged areas. When the roads weren’t snow covered, they were mostly soft mud, and you had stay on your toes to stay upright and not get mired in the muck. Along the way, we came to some big stacks of logs and took an extended break there – good for stretching out a bit!

Over these two days, we’ve been past several beautiful lakes, most still ice covered, just starting to thaw on the edges. It’s been so special to be in these remote areas of the state and see these beautiful undeveloped lakes. We saw several ice covered lakes with islands covered in leatherleaf, which had a striking burgundy color.

We’re not at the northernmost part of the IAT - we hit that early, then dipped south before heading north again. Today in Langlade county, we turned south again (southeast for a few more sections) but soon we’ll head straight south, and closer to home.

Sunday was another glorious day. We had breakfast, packed up and we were hiking by 9:30am. Today we hiked most of the Highland Lakes segment. The first half was fire lane / logging road, the second half was road walk. The first three miles of the fire road were a wonderful mowed grassy lane – lots of up and down, but no mud. Of course, someone remarked that they were glad this wasn’t a logging road, and about then, it became a muddy logging road!!

Just last night, we noticed the word “ford” on the map along the West Branch of the Eau Claire River. The book said its possible to rock hop, unless the water is high. We were optimistic that would be the case, and it was. However, Lynn, with shorter legs than the rest of the group, tried to use the same stepping stones and she got two wet feet (changed into dry socks and she was ok for the rest of the hike).

We took a sit-down break just before getting into the muddy stretch, and then slogged about three miles through the mud – glad for waterproof boots and gaiters. From there, we had a 4.2-mile road walk on a paved road. I took off my muddy footwear, wrapped it in a plastic bag and strapped it to my pack. I completed the walk in my river shoes with socks, which worked out better than walking 4+ miles in my heavy hiking boots and mud-coated gaiters!

We walked past “Bogus Swamp State Natural Area” and a sign that described it as an “870-acre swamp of primarily a large muskeg of stunted tamarack and black spruce on a bed of sphagnum moss and sedges.” I let the others go ahead and just stood and enjoyed the organic smell of the bog coming back to life on the second day of Spring!

Just before we got to the cars, there was a group of about a dozen hikers and two dogs that had climbed the hillside overlooking the road and were having their lunch. We greeted one another, and later connected on the IAT “Thousand-Miler Wannabe” Facebook page.

We finished up just before 1pm. It felt great to have hiked nearly 40 miles over these wonderful three days. Jeff and I drove up to Pelican Lake to visit with my folks, while the others went back to the bowling alley in Merrill for a late lunch and to catch the end of the NCAA Basketball game (where the Badgers lost).

April 13-15, 2021

The funny thing about Spring in Wisconsin is it can be variable. After two weeks of amazing warm weather, we’re back up North in the cold. It’s actually “normal,” weather for April, but after what we’ve had recently, it’s kind of hard to go back. Actually, it was perfect weather for hiking, we just had to keep moving.

This time, we’re staying in the Holiday Inn Express in Antigo, WI (population 7780). I had a Waunakee Chamber Board meeting via Zoom early Tuesday morning, so Jeff and I drove up late Monday night so I’d be able to take that call before joining the gang. The hotel experience is different than when we’re together in a cabin, but we can’t always have everything perfectly aligned.

Kent had shoulder replacement surgery about two weeks ago, so this hotel option worked out well for Kent and Lynn too. He can’t hike “off road” for a bit (risk of falling), so he’ll hang out while Lynn hikes with us. I will say it felt odd not having him along on the hike. They arrived at the hotel early Tuesday morning, and Lynn rode with us to rendezvous at the start with Dan, Tam and Gary who had already left a car where we’d finish our Tuesday hike.

There were a few snow flurries in the air as we set off hiking just after 10am. We all dressed in layers, but the 34 degrees with a high of 40 caught me a bit off guard and I had to get creative and layer in some clothes that I’d brought for hanging out in the evening!

Everyone started out in gaiters, which was good as it wasn’t long until we were detouring around or splashing through puddles. In fact, as we were traversing around 4H Camp Susan, the road was completely submerged so we hacked our way into the woods, up a hill, and bushwhacked back down to the trail.

A little more than three miles, and we were crossing Hwy 45 – which marked the end of the Highland Lakes Segment and the start of the Summit Moraine Segment.

We came upon the Jack Lake ski trails area, and a nice little warming shelter with a porta-potty. It had a stove and wood – we could have had a fire if we’d needed to warm up. We were glad to have a picnic table and took an extended break there. The terrain was like other cross-country ski areas we’d hiked before – nice wide-open trails, but hilly!

After a few easy miles, we came to a fancier warming shelter called the Spychalla Lodge. We didn’t need another break, but we took one anyway.

From there, we continued on to Veteran’s Memorial Park. My folks had checked this out already, so I knew to expect cute little cabins and a nice campsite – I thought we were just a few weeks too early for camping, however – plus we needed Wi-Fi for a few conference calls. Just outside the campground, we entered the Langlade County Arboretum, where all the trees were labeled – we found it to be quite educational. The trail wound around several beautiful lakes: Game, High, Low and Jack Lakes – said to be named by card-playing loggers that had previously inhabited this area.

Our guide book warned us of possible issues with floating bogs and beaver dams, but we had no issues. We arrived at our end point for the day about 3PM – could have gone further, but Jeff and I had a Zoom call to be on at 6:30PM that evening so we’d planned for just over 11 miles today.

It was a windy day, but we were mostly protected in the trees – the sound of the wind in the high pines was awesome. While it never got warm (although Gary was hiking in a t-shirt), it was a pleasant day. The woodland flowers were just beginning to bloom, but they were advanced enough to use my “Picture This” app to help identify them. The forest and lakes were alive with the sounds of birds including sandhill cranes, geese, several kinds of ducks and I really loved the sounds of the Ruffed Grouse as they were “drumming,” to attract females or ward off challenging males.

Back to the hotel, and we walked over to the Bowling Alley across the parking lot – always a fun experience and the place was hopping, and the food was ok.

Wednesday morning, we awoke to snow on the cars, and the temperature was 33 degrees as we set out. I was the navigator, but wasn’t paying attention as Gary, Lynn and I were in a deep conversation about Waunakee’s Community Study on race ... so we missed a turn and saw a bit more of Langlade County!

We did the car drop, and at the start, there was a moss-covered stump that I’d photographed Tuesday afternoon – what a contrast to now find it snow covered!!

We set out at a brisk pace, and quickly finished the last 3.5 miles of the Summit Moraine segment. The terrain was mostly wide, grassy rolling roads, but then it turned and climbed along a ridge. Someone had built steps out of large rocks – the first time I can recall seeing that. I imagine it was a lot of work to build that, but made the climb easier. We skirted several beautiful lakes, and saw a beautiful DCA site.

The trail paralleled Highway A for a stretch, where we got a few honks from cars going past. We crossed the highway and began the Lumbercamp Segment. The trail went through the Peters March State Wildlife Area, and I expected it to be wet, but aside from an occasional large puddle in the low spot on the trail, it wasn’t bad. No one got wet feet today!

We walked along lumber roads, mostly grass covered thankfully. We only came upon a short stretch where there was active logging with equipment present but no one working today. The roads there were muddier, but nothing like the mud soup that we’d experienced several weeks ago on the Highland Lakes Segment!

I slowed my pace a bit and immersed in the peace of the surrounds – enjoying seeing the new growth of the trees and flowers, and listening to the cacophony of the birds.

After six miles, we searched out a place to stop for lunch. We’d been spoiled yesterday coming upon several shelters and areas with picnic tables! We finally spotted a downed tree, and Jeff got out his saw and lopped off a few branches to make room for the seven of us. It made us all think about the lunch we had sitting on a log atop a mountain in Slovenia a few years ago!

We continued trekking, on the lookout for the “Hillbilly Hilton” that we’d read about in our guidebook. Its all that remains from the Norem Lumber Camp which operated from 1920 to 1938. The camp originally had several log structures, but the only remnant is the root cellar, which has been renovated (?) into a respite for hikers. There were several sleeping platforms, a table and shelves with various things that had left behind. Unfortunately, there was a lot of trash both inside and outside. In the event of severe weather, it’d be a good place to take shelter, but I’d have been more comfortable in a tent versus sleeping inside there!!

We had another snack, and the guys kicked into turbo mode, with Gary issuing a self-challenge to finish the hike by 3pm. Tam, Lynn and I hiked a more moderate pace, stopping to check out the ramps (wild onion, or wild leek) – the forest was full of them, and I’d never seen them growing in Wisconsin before. Made us wish we were cooking dinner tonight!

The trail left the primitive road and headed up of high-relief hummocky topography. Once again, we found ourselves stumbling over roots and rocks, which actually was a welcomed change from the monotony of the forest roads. We came upon the beautiful Baker Lake, with a steep boat launch and a wooden slide to launch a canoe or kayak – would be a great secluded place to paddle!

From there, we climbed up a steep hill to Hwy-52 and the endpoint of our segment (and the guys patiently waiting).

We hiked over 16 miles today, in just under 7 hours. Great pace, but not too challenging. Feels great to be able to put in these longer distances. Gary commented that we had “rain, snow, sun, and wind; everything but locusts!” All in all, a great day.

We picked up the car at the start and got back to the hotel about 4:30pm, where Kent was waiting for us. He walked around Antigo, but reported it was much colder and windier than what we’d experienced in the protection of the forest. Since we had a Zoom call scheduled with Donovan of Embark Explorations (our Kilimanjaro guide company) at 7pm, we decided to head out to dinner right away. Tam found the Fifth Avenue Restaurant in downtown Antigo that had a good-looking menu and great reviews, so we headed there. Like most placed up north, they’re a bit casual with COVID restrictions and masks seemed to be optional and they had no problem with our group of 7 people sitting at one table.

We had a great dinner, lots of food, my favorite Leinenkugel Creamy Dark beer, and Jeff and I got pie to go from the Dixie Diner next door (same ownership – same family operating both places for 75 years).

After dinner, we went back to our “suite” at the Holiday Inn Express and huddled around Jeff’s laptop for our call with Donovan (and George Sanchez, our BrightStar colleague from Austin TX who will be joining us in Africa). Donovan and his wife have a pact to live somewhere else in the world every five years. They’d lived in Tanzania at the base of Kilimanjaro, and are now living in Guatemala so he was logged in from there. The call went well, but a storm was approaching there – we could see the lighting in his background window, and as he predicted, he lost power towards the end of the call. We learned enough to get super excited for our September trek! I’m so thankful that Gary suggested this IAT adventure to help get us so comfortable with multi-day trekking and test out our cold weather gear in preparation for all the weather we’ll encounter on our 9 days on the mountain in Tanzania.

Thursday, we woke to clearer skies, but still cool – the sunshine makes all the difference, mentally as much as physically. An easy car drop, we found ourselves at the start of Kettlebowl and hiking down into the bowl by 7:50AM.

The road opened up at the base of the Kettlebowl Ski Area, a nice little hill with some short, steep sections, served by several rope-tows, so that made me think of the nearby Paul Bunyan Ski Hill where I learned to ski!

Kettlebowl is a segment I’d read about as one where people had trouble getting lost so I was a bit nervous. It was rated a 4 / 4 so that got our attention as well. In reality, it was mostly wide forest roads, with numerous intersections. Perhaps in full leaf out, some of the signage is obscured, but we had no issues. We did have over 1000 feet in elevation gain, but easier to do with wide grassy paths versus narrow rocky trails.

Our group set off fast, which helped warm us up on the cold morning. After a mile, the layers started coming off. After about 3 miles though, I backed off a bit to enjoy the hike a bit more. Most of this area had been logged long ago, and has a successional forest of aspen and birch. Without leaves, we could really see through the trees – lots of hills, kettles, large rocks. We didn’t see wildlife, but I’m sure they saw us!

After about 5 miles we had a break – I went into the trees to find a large rock to sit on while I enjoyed the coffee I’d brought along with a fig bar. I really enjoyed the tranquility of being “alone” in the forest, knowing Jeff and my friends were just over the ridge – not exactly out of ear shot, so I had my “adventure with security” moment. I honestly cannot imagine doing these treks alone, but many people do. Our group is so compatible too, its ok for some to head out fast and work on cardio, and for others to linger back and talk or just enjoy the solace of the hike.

We completed the nearly 10-mile trek well before noon. We’d left two cars there, so Gary and Lynn headed back to Antigo to pick up Kent at the hotel, while Jeff and I drove Dan and Tam back to their car. We all met up at the Dixie Diner in Antigo for a hearty lunch. I was thinking cheeseburger of course, but their special today was a Pastie – either beef or chicken variety. My love of dough led me to choose that option – it was good, but very different than what I was used to. It had large chunks of beef and potatoes, while I’m used to more of finely diced version, more like a hash stuffed in a pastry.

After lunch, we drove back to the cemetery where the Kettlebowl segment ended to begin what’ll be a 30-mile connecting route (CR) – through the end of the Guthook West portion and onto the Central portion of the app! Since we had a great day and we were all feeling good, we decided to knock off 5 miles of the CR, and Kent walked with us – we felt complete as a group again!

I’d developed a small blister on my right heel yesterday, that was unusual. This morning’s hike, even though I’d had a Band-Aid on it, expanded it to quarter size. It didn’t prevent me from hiking; I hardly thought about it. But I’ll need to work on root cause (probably will have to give up pedicures and my foot softening lotion and build up my calluses before September)!

We had a fast 5 miles back to the tiny village of Polar, then a shuttle back to the cars and we were all on our way home. We’re still a 2.5-hour drive to our home – getting closer as the “crow flies,” but its still a remote location with small county roads to drive to get to our locations. After our 4 days next month, we’ll be within two hours – still too far for day trips, but that will come this summer.

IAT 5/20 thru 5/24/2021

So excited to be back on the trail - seems likes it’d been a long time since we’d been up north, and finally we are into full spring.

Earlier in the week, we got the sad news in that Lynn’s father passed away, so she and Kent had to cancel. George Sanchez, BrightStar owner from Austin who is joining us in Tanzania, had already made plans to travel to Wisconsin to hike with us, so we decided to go ahead with the trip, and several of

us have offered to Lynn that we’ll travel back up there in June to repeat those segments with her. Gary, Dan and Tam had met George in October of 2019 when he was in Wisconsin for the BrightStar owner’s conference, but Lynn and Kent still haven’t met him.

George flew into Madison Wednesday evening. Jeff and I picked him up, had an easy dinner at home and probably too much wine and bourbon since we had an early departure Thursday morning!

As we were approaching Antigo Thursday morning, Gary sent a text saying the meeting spot didn’t have a clear spot for parking, so he drove around and found the Town of Rolling Town Hall building with a large parking lot. The Knickmeier’s joined us there, and we shuttled to the Town of Polar to start our trek for the day. The weather forecast called for good chance of rain the next 4 days, so we were prepared with rain gear, and had to stop to don our poncho’s after just about 3 blocks!

Much of the next 12-15 days of walking will be on CR’s (connecting routes) with just a few segments (trail) here and there. We can walk faster on the roads, and when they’re quiet county roads, its also easier to carry on a conversation – so they’re not all bad. Once again, I was grateful for our group decision to hike the whole trail in consecutive sections – otherwise it’d be tempting to cherry pick the nice trail segments and procrastinate on completing the CR’s.

I like to walk the CR’s in my “trail runners,” and I use a fanny pack with water bottle holders. It also has space for snacks and rain gear. Today, I’d strapped on an umbrella, and that along with a light poncho worked great. The rain came and went – generally, if you took your poncho off, it’d come back!

At one point, Dan and Tam and I were walking three-abreast. I was on the left side, and to my left, I heard a deer crashing through the trees. To our dismay, she bolted onto the slippery asphalt right in front of us. Her hooves were slipping and she fell hard, onto her side – and then slid across the rest of the road. When she reached the right-side shoulder, she righted herself, stood, and bolted back into the woods. Other than gasps, we were all speechless. We walked to where she fell as there was a white swath left on the pavement – it was hair! Besides that, her hooves had made grooves in the asphalt. What a shock, but we were so relieved that she was able to get up and run off into the woods – no doubt, with some severe road-rash!

The rest of the trek was uneventful – quiet roads, some farms, mostly wooded areas. Our plan was to take a break and drive back to the Dixie Diner in downtown Antigo for lunch. Our original plan was ten miles, but we’d covered thirteen to our new parking spot.

As the Dixie Diner, we were greeted by the young waitress that said she remembered us from last month – not sure if that’s good or bad! It was fun seeing the menu through George’s eyes – but there we a lot of questions that we couldn’t answer. We’re not completely sure our waitress correctly answered the questions, but she got points for enthusiasm! She described “broasted chicken” as “like deep fried pressure cooker – like Kentucky Fried Chicken but better.” The oddest thing was a “Hot Hamburger,” which was white bread with a cooked hamburger patty, mashed potatoes on top of that, and gravy over everything. George also wanted cheese curds, and most of us had regular cheeseburgers or BLT’s. Food was so so, but it was great to have a break from walking the road, and as usual, we had lots of laughs.

After lunch, we picked up the Knickmeier’s car, then dropped it at the end of our route. We walked an additional 3 miles, of course with the rain coming just about as soon as we’d set out! Then a quick drive to the Dells of Eau Claire county park where I’d reserved a campsite for the next three nights. We knew it was going to be a rustic site (no showers, and vault toilets), but we were surprised to hear they still had the water turned off “due to COVID.”

Dan and Tam made dinner while we set up camp. Jeff and I took our Big Agnes two-person and gave the three-person to Gary and George (although before night fall, Gary decided he was going to hotel it in Antigo, as Dan and Tam had already planned that. It was a yummy dinner, and great together time anyway. Jeff and I had this blue sofa-thing that we’d gotten as a reward from MS fundraising. We had a lot of laughs watching Gary try to fill it with air.

Dan and George had started a fire, and we had a beautiful evening with no bugs. Only issue was I’d forgotten the chocolate for the S’mores!

Before the hotellers lefts, we scrounged all the water everyone had from their bottles and gave them the empties to fill at the hotel – needed enough water to make coffee and breakfast!

Just before dark, I saw a black cat walking down the road. As he/she approached, we could hear her meowing. I went out to see if she would approach me, and she was very friendly - rubbing against my legs. She followed me back to our site, and stayed with us about 20 minutes - jumping onto our laps and also onto our picnic table - sampling the left-over cheese curds and macaroons! Then she moved on. Jeff checked with the other campers to see if she belonged to them - they said no, but she’d visited them too. She seemed well groomed and healthy, not like a feral cat, but comfortable in her surroundings!

We retired to the tents about 9:30p, it was mostly quiet, save a hot rod truck now and then zooming down the nearby highway.

Overnight there was rain, mostly light, but some heavy. We stayed dry and snuggly in our two-person tent.

I awoke just before my 6am alarm, and dressed for the day, donned my raincoat and left the tent. It was a beautiful peaceful morning, with no one else up and about from the 4-5 campsites that were occupied.

Due to our limited water supply, first priority was a French press of coffee - then we used a little water for instant oatmeal (mixed with yogurt and homemade granola). Just a little water left over to do the dishes, and Tam brought water for our bottles and camelbacks for today’s hike.

We set out in two cars; really nice that the car shuttles are easy this section of our trek! We walked a quick 4 miles of CR before entering the Plover River segment. Of course, we got about a quarter of a mile and the rain started. We quickly donned our ponchos, yet the rain remained light.

Shortly after starting the segment, most people stashed their rain gear. The canopy of the trees was thick enough, and we got a few drops, but not much to worry about, and the day was heating up.

The segment had varied terrain - hills, beautiful large granite erratics, swamps, boardwalks, areas that had been logged. I’d thought the spring wildflowers along the road were amazing, but in the forest, it was truly magical. I found myself dropping back to just get lost in the beauty of the day: flowers, a cacophony of birdsong, and a comfortable warm day.

We crossed the Plover River a few times, once with a rock-hop, and I know I wasn’t the only one in the group that wished it had been more challenging!! Towards the end, we walked across really cool boardwalks, twisting around the trees. We lingered to look at the swamp a bit, but it was just starting to get buggy so we kept moving.

After the segment, we drove back to camp and ate lunch, which gave us the energy to push on to do the easy 3-mile CR and Dells of Eau Claire River segment. Its always fun to be camping on the actual route!

The Dells of Eau Claire was beautiful, but on a gorgeous Friday late afternoon, it was overrun with people! Few were walking on the Ice Age Trail, but there were dozens gathered along the river – some fishing, most just messing around in the water. Many of the rock formations reminded us of Devil’s Lake – but the beauty was accompanied by the awesome sound of the water rushing over the rocks. We lingered along the river, then a footbridge brought us to the other side, where we picked up the pace as fast as we could over rocks and roots. That side of the river reminded us a lot of the Grandfather Falls segment along the Wisconsin river.

Back to camp for dinner – Jeff and I had made the fixings for a burrito bar, so there was time to have a beer and snacks and unwind before dinner. After two long days, Jeff and George decided to head down to the “beach” above the dam and bathe in the Eau Claire River – they came back refreshed. Tam took a shot at inflating the “air sofa,” and the video Gary took was hysterical as the smoke from the fire gave it a mystical effect. We had a great dinner and lots of laughs. We got a text from Lynn letting us know that she and Kent were going to join us for the next two days – great news!!

The hotel gang left, and Jeff, George and I enjoyed some time around the fire – turned into a gorgeous evening. Friday night, and the campground filled up, but nothing too rowdy.

Saturday morning, we had a little more time since we were meeting Lynn and Kent at 9AM at the start of the Thornapple Creek Segment. We had a plan to make eggs and pan bread for breakfast, but there was an issue with the stove (gas leak in a valve?) and we were lucky just to heat a little water for oatmeal and coffee. When the hotellers arrived, Dan and Jeff borrowed some tools from the neighbor and took the stove apart, but it’ll still need some work. We shuttled two cars to Hatley, and drove back to meet Lynn and Kent. Hugs all around – so great to have the gang all together.

Kent is doing well mending his shoulder, but still playing it safe skipping the segment treks – he’ll join us tomorrow on the CR. We had 0.8 mi of road and we started out fast. When we turned to walk an easement along a farm field, I stopped to put on my low gaiters – good thing because we were soon slogging through a swamp. The swamp had 18” high grass, and soon we were picking ticks off our legs – ugh. We always joke that Dan is a “tick magnet,” but George gave him a run for his money today! We probably had about a mile of the ickyness, but soon we were out to logging roads and farm fields and it was better.

Being Saturday, we encountered 5 people – that’s a lot for the northern sections of the IAT. We stopped to chat with two folks for a bit – a women from the Twin Cities and her brother from Sheboygan. It was their first day of hiking the IAT, but they were excited to hear our tales and are going to try to do the whole thing too.

We moved seamlessly to the Ringle Segment, and were disappointed in no segment signs on either of todays sections. We encountered some boy scouts that were doing trail maintenance – fun to chat with them a bit and thank them for their work. The Ringle Segment was well maintained, with sections of thick woods with eskers, and also sections that went close to homes and farms. We went past a house where a guy named Tim was on his riding lawn mower. He stopped to entertain us for a bit with stories and jokes.

Eventually, the sound of the birds was replaced by the sound of heavy machinery. At first, I thought we were hearing Highway 29, but it was actually the sound of equipment at a landfill. The trail skirted the edge of it, and as we got downwind, the smell was awful. From there, we turned onto the Mountain-Bay State Trail and walked that to Hatley. The day was sunny and warm – well above 80, and the trail was in the sun. By the time we got to Hatley, we were parched. We got into the cars and went in search of cold beer – which we found around the corner at the “Barrell Inn,” along with some local color. We had a beer, and Jeff and George bought a six pack to go and we headed back to camp with a plan to meet the gang for pizza in Antigo that evening.

I joined Jeff and George for a river-bath – it was cold, but refreshing and felt good on my feet and sore muscles – three days with long miles so far! We had a beer at our camp, then drove to meet the others at BB Jacks in Antigo (recommendation from the bar earlier). We had fried appetizers, salads, and too much pizza. None-the-less, we followed it with a DQ stop anyway. Lots of laughs. On the drive back to the campground, we checked out an auto museum as well as a yard with some really bizarre sculptures. Both were attractions that we’d buzzed by a few times already, but this time I was driving!

Back to camp, I opened a bottle of wine and we had S’mores with dark chocolate – yum. We stayed up around the fire for a bit, yet its no wonder that I had trouble falling aslee

p when I did go to the tent (beer, pizza, ice cream and s’mores!!!).

Sunday morning, we had a plan to meet the gang at 8am for a few hours of road walk. We got up early, packed up the tent. Jeff was getting the stove ready and I found that the French press had broken in its box into many little pieces of glass. I grabbed my phone and found a café 10 miles away – so we woke George up, packed up quickly and headed to Trucks Place in Birnamwood where we found a friendly waitress and great food.

Perfect timing – we all arrived at our meeting place at the same time. Quick shuttle back to Hatley and we were trekking along County Highway Y – which will be a CR that we’ll have to complete next time, but we knocked 5 miles off today.

Dan and Tam, and Lynn and Kent were going to drive back to what we’d hiked on Thursday so catch them up a bit, we headed back towards Madison to get George to the airport. Along the way, he actually found he could switch to an earlier flight which would get him home at a decent hour.

During these few days, I reflected on how awesome it’s been to experience the northern IAT for all 4 seasons now. I don’t have a favorite – there are things I like and don’t like about each of them, but what I like best I guess is the variety.

It was neat to share with George and find that I do have a pretty good knowledge of many plants and the forests in general. I can recognize an old native forest, and can easily see when one has been logged and replanted. I’m sad when I see invasive species introduced to pristine forests, but I know how easily it can happen. I’m not so great at the geological terms that go with the glacial landscapes, but I’ve learned a few things (eskers, erratics, kettles, moraines). As we walked along the edge of quite a few farms, we saw great examples of fields with rocks – some that look like they’re being “farmed” for landscaping boulders. Farming in northern WI is tough – not just due to the shorter growing season, but wow what a lot of rocks!

We had a great variety of IAT experiences for George over these 4 days, everything but a beaver dam crossing and hiking in the dark! It feels like an accomplishment to be getting closer to home. We have five days planned in June, and after that we should be able to make day trips.

IAT 6/22 thru 6/26/2021

Seems like a quick turnaround as I accompanied Lynn and Kent earlier this month to make up the two days they’d missed.

We were scheduled to meet Tuesday morning at 9am at the car drop site, but because of an easy drive and long daylight, most of us arrived at 8:30am, even with a coffee stop. We redirected Dan and Tam to meet us at the start.

We continued walking the County Highway Y Connecting Route (CR) that we’d started last time. These next 100+ miles are mostly CR with a few trail segments scattered in. It’s all part of the deal, but it can be a grind.

We’d planned today so we’d walk about 10ish miles, get to the cars, then drive 3 miles to a lunch stop. We set off fast, and it was great to turn off Hwy Y onto lesser traveled country roads. We had abundant sunshine and cooler temperatures - just in the sixties, so a perfect summer day!

It took us just over 3 hours to knock off the eleven miles. A grueling pace, but we always start off fast when we’re back together again, and there was also motivation to just “get er done” and get to lunch!

Dan had researched and found “Jen and Tonics” in a little village called Franzen on Hwy 49 - and it did not disappoint! It was a classic Wisconsin Northwoods bar with a small grill and French fry machine. We were greeted by Jen’s mom, who got us drinks but then had to leave to go to a doctor’s appointment, leaving just Jen to tend bar and cook. About a dozen regulars came and went during our time there, and she was also preparing “to go” orders. She was busy, but not stressed or rushed. She kept up a fun banter with the regulars, telling one guy “shut up and give me your money!” She was all businesslike when taking our orders, yet even though she had an extensive menu, special orders from our vegetarian seemed to throw her for a loop! Most of us had bacon cheeseburgers and they were awesome. Unfortunately, Jen was too busy for us to ask about the “Tonic” portion of the bar’s name (we wondered if that was a partner, or just a clever play on words?).

After lunch, we went back to pick up the two vehicles from the start and drop them seven miles down the road at the Lions Camp. Our after-lunch pace was a bit slower, but the perfect day continued. We arrived back at Lions camp about 5 pm - 18.5 miles for the day and thoroughly exhausted!

Gary decided to “commute” from home for this trip - his wife Rose had a fairly major surgery two weeks ago. So, he headed home and the six of us piled into Kent’s SUV for a shuttle back to our vehicles.

We’re staying 3 nights at “Country Mission Farm” which is an old farmstead near Mosinee owned by Regan and Ann Pourchot. Ann is Tam’s sister’s ex-husband’s sister. They hiked with us for the day last October, and we found them to be likeminded adventurous souls. Their “farm” is a bit out of the way, but it was worth the extra miles to see them, and experience the operation that they’ve established! They have a Christmas Tree farm, and have renovated an old farmhouse that is just down the road from their house. They rent out the “farm” through VRBO, and are really invested in providing a great relaxing country experience for their guests. They had chickens, guinea hens, a white domestic turkey named “Lola,” and juvenile goats named “Linus and Lucy.” They’re even working on creating a pond for swimming / paddling!

Tam and Dan made a great dinner of salad, BLTs and grilled cheese appetizers. It was nice to have Ann and Regan join us for dinner, but we missed Gary. Regan and his sons did the Northern Tier bike ride with his sons in 2011, so it was fun to rehash some of those stories.

Wednesday morning, I awoke in time to do a little yoga session on the porch before others were awake. We fell into our easy breakfast routine and were out the door to meet Gary at our assigned meeting point, which was today’s end point (a sand and gravel plot on Highway 161 and Trout Creek Road). We left Gary and Kent’s car there, and all 7 of us shuttled back to the Lion’s Camp in the Knickmeier’s vehicle.

We set off about 8:45am, roughly 5 miles of CR, 5 miles of trail, then another 5 of CR. It was sunny, warm and humid. Most of us agreed that we needed to take more breaks than we did yesterday, and that made the day easier on my body for sure! The CR’s went over many small trout streams (Little Wolf River and Tomorrow River), and we found that the guard rails made great spots to sit, enjoy the river, and have a snack.

There were few cars on the small roads we were walking and we were grateful for that. We started noticing the various types of waves we get from the drivers (and sometimes passengers) when we wave to the oncoming vehicles. Sometimes, its just a cool nod of the head, sometimes just one finger, often all 4 fingers (like the thumb is holding the wheel), sometimes its an actual wave (hand off the steering wheel) and my favorite, was a peace sign. All in all, the oncoming drivers were courteous and moved way over, or slowed way down when there was oncoming traffic.

Today’s segments were New Hope – Iola Ski Hill. We were so happy to be on the trail again – it felt so soft after 25 miles of pavement!! The first piece of New Hope was short lived, then we were back on the road for about a half mile, then back on the trail, then a road detour around a piece that was reportedly flooded. It was enough variety that it was enjoyable.

We entered the Iola Ski area and it was reminiscent of the several other cross-county ski areas we’d been through – lots of hills and trail intersections. This one had some “trail art,” which honestly, I found it too creepy to photograph (stick people in various poses and “snakes” made out of drain tile with wooded forked tongues). The part that made the Iola Ski Area unique was their 100+ year history as a ski club specifically for ski jumping! We had lunch on a nice patio of the Iola Winter Sports Club, and looked at a few of the ski jumps at the base there, but we didn’t notice the massive jump until we were walking away from the area and looked back – it loomed over the trees!!

Also noteworthy was we hit the official 500-mile marker of the IAT (west to east)! We made up words to “500 miles” and sang that for a while, but didn’t record it.

We went up and over a huge ridge, and over a few more trout streams, but the rest of the road walk was quick and we were motivated to power through. The guys were up ahead, and the ladies lagged behind. We saw a few deer, chatted with a guy mowing the parking for the trout stream and were greeted by a lady enjoying the solitude of the day from her porch. We wrapped up and were back at the farm by 4pm.

Another great dinner as Kent and Lynn brought pulled pork and potatoes (their specialty, which is funny due to Lynn being a vegetarian), served with a great salad and chocolate for dessert. Regan joined us for dinner, and shared plans to renovate the old barn into an event center – they sure are creative people!

After dinner I went outside and sat near the chicken coop to see if I could get Lola to approach me and let me pet her. Just as Ann said, she walked over and leaned into me. I never thought I’d be petting a turkey in my life! Up close, she was really interesting. She had this rope like thing hanging on her check (Ann said that’s a beard!?), and the colors and textures on her head were really beautiful. Up close, her beak and the size of her talons were a little frightening to me, but she leaned into me and closed her eyes and sort of purred.

I went into Linus and Lucy’s pen – they have a smart double door entrance via the barn so they don’t get out! They’ve been socialized so well and are so sweet to be around – watching them play just made me so happy. Beautiful night on the farm.

Thursday morning, a thunderstorm came through while we were having breakfast - the perfect time for rain to come! We headed out at 7:30 AM in just a light rain. I wasn’t paying attention to the driver and we took a little detour through downtown Stevens Point, but we still made it to the rendezvous point with Gary just after 8:30 AM. We dropped two cars at the finish and Dan drove the seven of us to the start. It wasn’t raining, so we had the quandary of rain gear versus no rain gear; most of us went without. We headed up the highway and of course then the rain started so we scrambled for ponchos, rain gear and umbrellas. The rain was light and only lasted a few minutes but it made things very humid and layers were coming off as we hit the two-mile point. We seemed to be lacking the nice breeze we’d had the previous days, but we were primarily walking on marvelous small roads winding through wooded areas.

The connecting road continued through farm area and woodlands and when it was open, we were relieved to find a breeze. Some fields were alfalfa but most were corn and beans. Despite the drought the fields looked really healthy but we also noticed that nearly every field had an irrigation system installed, and it was interesting looking at the various models of those close up.

We climbed a few hills and went past an area of cottage area around Rollofson Lake, which seemed odd after all the farms. About 5 miles in we stopped along Peterson creek one of many trout fishing creeks that we’ve crossed over the past few days. We sat on the bridge and ate our lunch and then we continued walking. The group was tired and we splintered off into pairs however Gary continued to walk ahead at a really fast pace like he always does.

We went through some really awesome beautiful wooded areas and then again came out to some farmland. We were surprised to see a dam or Peterson Creek which made a little pond right on the farm - seemed very unusual (established prior to the DNR I’m guessing!). The cows were gathered under trees seeking shade, probably knowing that it’s going to rain again. One cow stood up and did a perfect down dog which he held for a few breaths and then proceeded to do the yoga pose “cat.” I waited for her to do the cow pose but she didn’t do it.

We turned onto a busier road and Jeff and I were in the back we were surprised to see a dog come out from behind a barn barking at us and running onto the road. It was the closest a dog has come to us on the whole trail and we were a little bit frightened by it. Jeff continued to yell at the dog to go home and his deepest voice, while I reached for the mace spray in his backpack. We were all glad we didn’t have to use the mace.

About 10 miles and we finally got to the trail portion of today’s hike. Before going into the woods, we sat on the road and had another snack and the guys had a nap. It was awesome to get back into the woods although it was hot and humid with no breeze. The soil was sandy and soft to walk on. It felt so good after 10 miles of walking on the road. The spring flowers were done, and other things were just beginning to bloom. Most impressive were the ferns!

We were on the skunk and foster Lakes and Segment which actually went through past several lakes: Skunk, Mud, Foster and Grenlie Lakes. It was a roundabout segment and soon we were back out on a little bit of CR until we entered the forest again and the Ice Age trails Farmington drumlins section. I don’t know if we saw any drumlins there but I do know we saw a massive ant hills bigger than some of the erratic rocks!

The segment skirted several farm fields but it was still better than walking on the road. Much of the second half of that segment was walking over an area that had been logged years ago but still left with a lot of scrap which was just starting to grow over and be a little bit less ugly.

I retired my old “transition” sunglasses that had been my adventure staple for the past 15 years. They got to the point where they would no longer get dark in the sun and they also had a broken piece that I would hold together with a croakie. I bought a new pair of glasses have good dark UV blocking lenses without the progressive gradients (bi and tri focals that my 60-year-old eyes need for every day functioning). I left them back in the cabin today because I thought they would be too dark for the grey day. So, I was wearing my glasses with transition and progressive lenses today. They work fine on the road and are great when I’m reading the map or my phone, but the bi/tri-focal lenses are a little challenging for on the trail - walk you have to learn to hold your head just right or you stumble over the roots and rocks, so consequently I slowed my pace, which allowed me to absorb the beauty around me anyway!

One of the coolest parts about being in the woods alone is the sound of the birds. I can’t identify what kind they are, but the variety of songs and calls is so soothing. On this segment though, we were getting close to Highway 10, which made for a constant din of highway noise. Not only that, but a train track runs parallel to Highway 10 and seemed to have a lot of activity given the noise of the train whistle. You lose some of the “middle of nowhere” mojo with that kind of sound.

We walked along the edge of a farm, and past a lot of unique deer hunting shacks before we were out on the road again. We passed a large dairy farm where the cows were in their stanchions, but one was standing on her back legs, very interested it us – it looked so funny. We crossed the railroad track and also ran across the very busy and fast four-lane Highway 10, which is the major thorough fare between Stevens point and Appleton. Once safely across the highway, we entered the Waupaca River segment where we climbed a steep hill and found an awesome old cabin where hikers could spend the night. About another mile down wonderful packed sand trail we came along the Walpaca River and shortly after that the side trail the parking lot. It dawned on me that one thing this group hasn’t yet done is swim in the middle of the day – that would have been a perfect spot, but our group is pretty mission focused and I’m glad just to get regular breaks – a swimming break might have pushed it too far, but it was hot and humid and that river looked like paradise.

Back to the farm, we showered relaxed and put together enough leftovers to make another awesome dinner. As we were cleaning up after dinner, Tam and I noticed that the sky to the south had turned a spectacular orange color. We went outside and watched the clouds move with spectacular pink purple orange colors. The weather radar showed a storm traveling through a band from Stevens point to Waupaca, so it cut just south of us. Beautiful night and Reagan had already put all the animals to bed. We went back in and Jeff and I, and Tam and Dan had a little dance party in the kitchen, practicing the West Coast Swing that we’re working on in our Friday night dance classes. Ann came by and we chatted a bit and said our goodbyes to her. We talked about playing a game but honestly no one had the energy for it. We made a plan for tomorrow’s route and everyone drifted off to read their books and go to bed.

Friday morning, I was up at 6 AM hoping to get a little yoga in before the routine of the morning. While it felt great to stretch, by the time we were hiking at 9 AM I was still really stiff.

Ann & Regan’s place is 40 minutes from where we’re hiking now and they had another reservation for the weekend so we packed up this morning and will stay one night at the Ramada inn in Waupaca for the segment. We had breakfast and we’re packed up and leaving the farm, with a final goodbye to Linus and Lucy before 7:30 AM. By 8:15 AM. Lola and the chickens were still cooped up in the hen house (Regan said if they get them out too early, they still have a chance of being lost to foxes and owls). We rendezvoused with Gary at the spot where we’ll end today. We left two cars there and then drove to the start. I had a Google maps breakdown and accidently lead us to our halfway point, so we had a longer drive than expected but got to see some of the route. Just before 9am we arrived back at the Waupaca River segment and hiked the final half mile of that before punching back out to the road for an easy CR hike to the next segment.

It was about 65° when we started, but very humid it was also a little foggy. We were glad for the cloud cover and hoped that our breeze was going to pick up again today. We walked about 2 miles on the road and then turned into a really cool strip between two farm fields that were parallel to Highway 54. What a relief it was to us to not have to walk on Highway 54 and to be able enjoy the farm fields from that little vantage point of the strip of land. It looked like tobacco growing on one side, and a variety of vegetables for a nearby “farm market” on the other side. There were raspberry bushes, as we’d seen along the trail for the past few days, but these had some ripe berries and I grabbed a few as I walked along – yum.

We turned right and then crossed Highway 54 and there we found a detour sign saying the trail was closed because of water up ahead. We’d seen the “high water” alert on the Guthook app but we didn’t really understand that the trail was going to be closed. Disappointed, we turned and walked up Highway 54 which was kind of nasty and had to do a detour around that piece of the Hartman Creek segment. It was an unexpected 2.5-mile road walk, which also added mileage to the end of the day as we still had to hike to where we’d left the cars. Moods were down, but Lynn and I dragged back and got lost in conversation which always makes the grind bearable. We had a snack and restarted the Hartman Creek Segment. While it goes through Hartman Creek State Park, we saw little of the park facilities, and didn’t see a creek! The segment ended up being through beautiful pines with an occasional oak tree, with a sandy but not too soft trail which was just a blessing on our feet. While it was humid, it didn’t feel too hot – the shade from the trees was just right, the air felt like it had so much oxygen and the singing of the birds - once again we were walking in paradise.

About 10 miles in, we stopped at what was a “P” on the map, but was actually just a gravel forest road. We spread out and had lunch / naps there. Jeff and Dan propped themselves up against the bank, in what we later discovered was probably a tick hangout (they’re both tick magnets anyway).

We travelled through the Emmons Creek segment as a dispersed, quiet, tired bunch. It continued to be beautiful primarily pine forest, with occasional openings to oak savannahs and prairies with flowers just starting to emerge. After that, we still had three more miles to slog along the CR. I changed into my walking shoes and stashed my sandy low hikers in my pack – that gave me a fresh feeling in my lower extremities and Tam and I powered through the last three miles, talking about books we’re reading, the time went quickly. Gary, of course, finished up first, changed into dry clean clothes, and drove back to check on us and offered to carry our packs to the finish. We all encouraged him to leave, but he wouldn’t do that until we all arrived at the finish. Its just the kind of guy he is.

Gary left for home, we piled into Kent’s car and he shuttled us back to the start. Then a quick 10-minute drive to the Ramada Inn in Waupaca, where we were glad to grab showers, pick a few more ticks off our packs, get a cold beer from the cooler and relax.

We gathered at 6pm and headed to what we’d heard was the best gathering spot for dinner – Clearwater Harbor on the Waupaca chain of lakes. We got a great table on the deck, overlooking the docked pontoon boats and watching the bar crowd. We had a good meal, and hung around for the entertainment to start at 8pm, Brad, a one-man show. Brad was a great cover artist and we had a nice exchange going with him from our table next to the stage. We also had a view of the TV and watched the Brewers win in extra innings, and the Bucks get off to a great lead in their playoff game. We could have stayed all night, with the great music and people watching, but we left about 9pm, the practical thing to do.

The forecast called for 90% chance of rain all day Saturday, so it wasn’t a disappointment to wake up to a rainy day - the kind of day where it is just going to rain all day.

The Ramada had a breakfast, but we had our bananas, Greek Gods yogurt and homemade granola so we ate that in our room while we watched the local news. The news was out of Green Bay, which was surprising, and I didn’t expect that until we got to the end of the IAT. But it must be closer than Wausau, the next biggest media market.

The hotel coffee was awful, so I took to Google to find a coffee shop in Waupaca, and found a Dunkin’ Donuts a quarter mile away … otherwise it was going to be Café Karuba at Kwik Trip! I took a load down to our car and did my coffee run (drive) in a steady rain. Jeff was waiting in the portico with the rest of our stuff when I returned, and our fellow adventurers were there loading their cars as well.

We drove down Highway 22 through Wild Rose and scoped out a few spots there to come back to for lunch, and met Gary at what would be the start to the Deerfield segment. The rain remained steady and we caravanned two vehicles to our starting point at County Highway AA and 15th Avenue.

We donned various rain costumes and settled in for a hike in the rain. It was a fairly steady rain, and around 70 degrees, so I struggle with being too hot which can be worse to me than being damp! I had on my low hikers and added my low gaiters (which I’d normally not wear on CR), hoping they’d keep my feet dry (they didn’t). I wore my backpacking poncho which isn’t completely waterproof, but good enough. With that and my pack cover, my pack stayed dry. I also carried an umbrella that’s normally in my car; I’d only use an umbrella on CR as I always use hiking poles on the trail, but rarely on the road. Also, on the trail, an umbrella gets hung up on trees. But with 11 miles of CR today, it was great to be able to use it. Jeff started out in rain jacket and rain pants, but got too hot with the pants so they had to come off! He was also using an umbrella, but without a poncho to deflect the water, he had water pooling inside his pack cover, which dripped down to his shorts then! However, he was the only person with dry feet at the end of the hike so he had that going for himself!

We walked about 4 hours to do the 11-mile CR. It was the longest I’d ever hiked without taking a break or having a snack, but they were buried too far in my pack under too many layers of rain protection – and it never really stopped raining, it’d just rain heavier at times. Traffic was ok, and we walked a lot along wooded roads – some with lots for sale, but I didn’t see an attraction to the lots unless you want to live like a hermit in the woods.

My feet were wet, but it was a cushy kind of wet, not a blister forming wet. Of course then, Jeff came up with the “walking home in soggy old shoes” line from Jim Croce’s “Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues.” We worked hard to come up with other lines from that song, and we came up with some, but couldn’t get the melody. As we’ve done with other adventures, we can come up with lines to other songs on his “Greatest Hits” album, but we only have the tune to “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” when we are not singing along to the actual songs with Jim. It sure kept our minds occupied as we were slogging along (in soggy boots).

Our plan was to hike the 11 CR, drive back to Wild Rose for lunch, then hike the 3.7-mile Deerfield segment. With a high misery factor (7 on my scale), the group voted to bag it for the day. We shuttled back to get the vehicles at the start, then on to Wild Rose for lunch. I’d looked at the Pioneer Pub online and thought that looked great. However, when we got to town, that looked super busy. No waiting at the Chatterbox, but perhaps there was a reason for that? We were the only patrons in there, which should be a bad sign that one should pay attention to. The only staff person, RC, tried hard, but he had a creep factor that I couldn’t see beyond. We’d already ordered by the time I saw the state of the bathroom and part of the kitchen. Even though we were warm and dry, my misery factor remained high and I mainly just ate my French fries as my sandwich was horrible.

It was just over an hour back home from there. We detoured to the Dairy Queen in Wautoma on our way home (made up for the yucky lunch).

All in all, it was a great five day stretch on the IAT. We hiked over 74 miles in 5 days, and the long days pushed us mentally and physically. While we aren’t able to train for the altitude that we’ll encounter hiking Kilimanjaro in September, the mental toughness we’re developing on days like today is what will make us successful!

UPDATE ON COVID:

We've all had our vaccines now, so we're completely comfortable with each other, and sharing tight quarters in the car shuttles. I'm surprised about the anxiety I feel as the world opens up and I get used to being “busy.” I feel that I’m fine in setting boundaries, but yet, its just such a different feeling than being at home with Jeff, communicating with the outside world via Zoom. Now we can go to concerts in the park, have face to face meetings, etc. All of a sudden, I’m out of the house 3-4 evenings each week – good, but just so different!! Scheduling our hikes is getting more difficult as people get busier too.

Friday, July 9

Happy to be back out on the Ice Age Trail!! We’re hiking without Gary as he had to fly back to New Jersey for a funeral today, but with luck will see him tomorrow. Our rendezvous point was only 70 minutes from our house so it was nice to be able to leave just after 6 AM and get to the meeting point before 7:30 AM. Even though we’d just seen everyone, we were excited to be together again. Jeff had to gently shepherd us into the cars, reminding us that we had all day to talk and swap stories and we should get going.

We left two cars at our meeting point and got into Dan and Tam‘s SUV and drove to the start of the Deerwood Segment, where we left off on that rainy Sunday just a few weeks ago. We were delighted to find it looking much different today - it’s a perfect Wisconsin summer day. It was about 60° when we started out, with plenty of sunshine.

We hiked 10 miles before a lunch break - wonderful segments (Deerfield, Bohn Lake and Greenwood) through pine trees, around beautiful lakes, with short road walks mixed in. This combination allows us to cover pretty good ground because we can really book it on the road walk and stop and enjoy when we’re in the woods a little bit more. We took two different snack breaks this morning which was really helpful because I was used to having a long drive to drink my coffee and gradually eat my breakfast. I brought along my small thermos of coffee and that was really great to wash down a cliff bar with hot coffee. Another unusual factor is that we encountered several couples – still so strange to see others on these amazing trails. One couple was out with their 11-year-old dog, and said they walk this 4-mile loop every day. The other couple had three grandchildren along and they had buckets and were just going blackberry picking. We chatted with them for a while and Tam told the kids to pick enough berries so grandma could make a blackberry cobbler. Grandma said “shut up,” which gave us all a great laugh and reminded us of Jen at the bar a couple weeks ago who told a customer “Shut up and give me all your money.” In addition to a couple snack breaks I ate a lot of ripe blackberries along the trail (yum) and found myself hoping that the café at lunchtime will have blackberry cobbler.

The summer wildflowers are really starting to come in to full bloom which attracts a myriad of different kind of butterflies, including many monarchs. As we were walking through the pine forest, it was very quiet due to the sand and pine needles underfoot and we heard buzzing in the trees. While we couldn’t see a beehive, we’re pretty sure that’s what we heard. We walked probably another hundred feet and had the same thing. It was really cool and it made me think made me think of Winnie the Pooh and the way he would sing to the honeybees and try to float along with a balloon to get the honey from the hive in the tree!

After 10 miles we came out through the woods right where our cars were – always, thankful for that! We climbed into the two cars and drove about 7 miles to Coloma where we went to the Red Hill café for lunch (except we all had omelets). This is an Amish area and the café served an Amish wheat bread with our omelets, the best bread I’ve had in a long time! One of their specials of the day was a ‘double caramel chocolate roll muffin’ which sounded a bit too decadent, even for me. Like all establishments these days the café was probably short-staffed so it took a long time for us to order and for our food to come, so it was about 2:30p before we shuttled the cars and were back on the trail. With full bellies, it was off to a slow start as we started again down the connecting road.

This afternoon we finished the Greenwood segment had a short road walk and started the Mecan River segment. The area was designated Mecan Springs State Natural Area, and the trail was gorgeous but we didn’t see much of the river, which is always disappointing to me.

We all had several wood-ticks today, but we’re getting used to them and no one seems as freaked out as last year. Other than a few flies, and some intermittent buzz-bys from deer flies, no other bugs – no mosquitoes, which is a bit unbelievable!

At one point the trail today came out into a farm field and there was a fabulous prairie easement between two cornfields and that we were allowed to walk through. We rousted up some sand hill cranes, always majestic to watch them take off and fly away. The prairie flowers were just starting to come into bloom and the view was breathtaking to me. There were spots in the cornfield where the probably original oak trees still stood and rocks were piled up and you could just imagine the settlers clearing the fields and piling up the rocks. And we think we’re working hard out here just slogging along the trail, silly us!

With our dallying, it was nearly 6 o’clock before we got back to the car – 17.5 miles for the day. We had a quick shuttle to pick up the other two cars and soon we were back in Coloma for a bathroom stop at the gas station. Jeff and I picked up root beer floats at the A&W that was attached to the gas station. The other two couples stopped at a restaurant in Coloma for dinner, but Jeff and I decided to head home and tend to our cat. We arrived home about 7:30 PM completely exhausted. I had all I could do to eat a little leftover salad, re-supply my pack for tomorrow run a hot bubble bath and then crawl into bed shortly after nine.

A late-night text from Gary said he was stranded in Charlotte, North Carolina which is pretty far from New Jersey, and further from Wisconsin. On our drive north today, we learned he was now in Detroit, which is closer, but he still wasn’t going to make the hike today. That made us all sad because we’re a little lost without him, but we pressed on anyway. We were all at the rendezvous spot at 8 AM, and we took two cars back to Highway GG in the middle of the Mecan river segment and we were hiking by 8:30 AM, an easy early start.

This part of the Mecon river segment actually paralleled the river, winding around through oak and pine forest, on another absolutely gorgeous Wisconsin summer day. The ladies and I lagged behind a bit, using my “Picture This” app to identify some of the flowers. We were hiking through an area that had been logged several years before, which was now growing a bunch of pretty flowers and berries most of which are poisonous to humans of course.

Over the past two days, much of the trail had vole or moles that had burrowed trails than intersected under our trails! We were a bit perplexed by the volume, but actually, it made for softer trails. Jeff figured there must be a lot of grubs in the area for them to be eating!

We had a great morning enjoying the hike along the river, stopping once at a bench to take a coffee break and enjoy the scenery. We ended the Mecan River segment and had 2.3-mile road walk. It was warm but we had a nice breeze. We walked through a little village, Richford, which seemed to be primarily an Amish settlement. We walked through the edge of a cemetery with really old tombstones -many of them that you couldn’t even make out the writing anymore. I heard a “clap clap clap” on the pavement behind us, and there was an Amish farmer in a horse and buggy – that was a first for our connecting route walking! Soon we heard another, but that one was a horse pulling a farmer in a really uncomfortable looking cart!

We arrived at the start of Wedde Creek segment, and took another sit-down break – most of us taking off our boots to cool our feet after walking on the hot road. It was a shorter segment, through another gorgeous pine forest and a meadow with lots of wildflowers and butterflies. I lagged behind the group taking photos and just embracing the joy of the day.

After that we had 0.7-mile CR to the Chaffee Creek Segment which will be our last segment for about 40 miles. On this segment we crossed underneath Highway 51 again (we crossed from west to east just south the Tomahawk sometime last winter). For the next couple days will cross underneath Highway 51 back-and-forth a few times until we get to Portage and then will finally turn west and get into familiar territory for us.

We backtracked about a half mile to visit the Rest Stop on I-39/51 – kind of crazy, but always great to have a flush toilet! We hiked through the last of the Chaffee Creek segment, crossing the creek again. We went through another pretty meadow with lots of butterfly activity. We ended up at an official trail parking at a cul de sac, and chatted with a guy there that appeared he was going to do trail maintenance, but actually was doing some work on a friend’s adjacent property. There was trash there that indicated the cul de sac may be a party site. I had a trash bag in my pack, so I pulled it out and started cleaning up the space. Down the road just a bit, there was a branch of a tree nearly blocking the road – the guys got out Jeff’s saw and cleared the road – probably the first time in nearly 600 miles that they cleared a tree on a connecting route!

We had about 1.5 miles CR to get back to Kent’s SUV. We picked up enough trash to fill up TWO bags on our way, always feels good to leave it a little better than we found it. Just don’t get what’s in people’s minds that they just throw trash out the window.

Felt great to be done early. We shuttled back to the Mecan River segment to pick up the other two SUVs, and then to the gas station / A&W in Coloma again. We were home just about 4pm, which was awesome.

For reasons that I don’t understand the Ice Age Trail has a bifurcation, and at the end of our day today we reached that spot of the northern bifurcation. We have opted to take the eastern route which will lead us to Portage, where we’ll walk Levee Road on the south side of the Wisconsin River, south over the Baraboo Bluffs, and we’ll pick up a trail again just around Parfrey’s Glen and that will take us to Devils Lake. The western bifurcation like the eastern in that its mostly CR with very few trail segments. It goes through Baraboo and rejoins the trail at the north side of Devils Lake.

Throughout the hike, we’ve had a lot of Kilimanjaro logistics chatter – its both exciting and anxiety provoking, but I’m so looking forward to that trek – just 9 weeks out now.

Sunday morning, we met at 8AM in Westfield. Shocking to arrive 20 minutes early and find the Knickmeier’s’ already there!! And no Gary, but soon after we arrived, Kent and Lynn pulled in, and Gary soon behind him. Definitely a first! We were all glad to have him back with us today. We left 3 cars in the parking lot of the “Bent Rail” brewpub, where we planned to have lunch. We shuttled north to where we’d left off yesterday, another gorgeous day. I figured we had about 10 miles to lunch, and we were hiking by 8:15am. Even though it was all CR, I managed to pick up a wood-tick during my “quick trip” stop in the woods before we started!

We walked through a lake/resort area, which was odd after days of farms. There were people out running and road cyclists out enjoying the morning – felt kind of normal to us, but different from what we’ve been seeing.

Time passed quickly; seems we never really run out of things to talk about since we’re such a compatible group! It’s also ok for someone to be out front alone when they want to move, or lag behind when they want space. We took a few snack breaks, but mainly just moved. True to form, I was a bit off in the math using the Guthook app to estimate the distance, and it was actually 12 miles. It was warm, but generally with a nice breeze and we arrived at the brew pub about 12:30pm. Like everywhere, they were short staffed – in fact, had a note on their menu asking for patience and offering rewards of free beer for employee referrals. We had a delightful waitress named Tanya, and had some great beer and good food. Patience was required though, and it was after 2P before we were back on the road. Gary and I shuttled his SUV just 3 more miles down the road, and we set off hiking about 2:30PM, and knocked it out in about an hour. Half of it was on a busy County Highway J, so it was great to turn off onto a smaller road, past a few farms and to Gary’s car.

We volunteered to bring Tam and Dan back to their car, which gave us an opportunity to detour back to Coloma and get another A&W float for the drive home. Made for a perfect day! We got a text from Lynn that I-94 had a backup, so we diverted to Portage and took a slower more leisurely route home.

August 21, 2021

Forecast called for thunderstorms this morning, so we were ready with waterproof clothing, ponchos, gaiters and umbrella. The morning started out cooler, and although we had some light showers on the drive north, it wasn’t raining as we started out. We had a few intermittent drops of rain throughout the day, but no real rain. However, it did become very warm and humid!

We trekked just over 9 miles to Portage, arriving just after 11am and time for a car shuttle and late breakfast at the diner. We walked along the Fox River for a while, which was extra special to me having grown up in Green Bay and Oshkosh along the Fox!

After lunch, we drove to the trail head where the Portage Canal meets the Fox River. It was a wooded area, so we experienced mosquitoes for about the first time this year so we covered ourselves in Deet products! We were delighted to find that we actually had a bit of a trail along the Canal. There were story plaques along the way, but our group was moving fast due to mosquitos!! Here is what I learned later, thanks to http://www.heritageparkway.org/sites-directory/portage-canal/

The Portage Canal connects the Fox River with the Wisconsin River at the City of Portage. Named for the historic 1.5 mile “portage” between the two rivers, this piece of land was the only break in the entire Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, which connects the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Constructed between 1849 and 1876, it was the dream of investors that the canal would make the Fox-Wisconsin corridor the greatest water highway through the middle-United States.

This divide in land was formed by the outwash of glaciers nearly 11,000 years ago, where the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers curve into opposing horseshoes. The portage is geographically important because it divides the southwest draining Lower Wisconsin River, which eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico, and the headwaters of the northeastern draining Fox River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Used by Indians for thousands of years, the land between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers was known as “wauona,” which means “the place where one takes up his canoe and carries it on his back.”

One of the first mentions of the portage is found in the journals of Jacques Marquette in 1673, on his journey to find the Northwest Passage with Jean Nicolet. From the Fox River, two Miami tribesmen guided the team to the Wisconsin River. He recorded a portage of 2,700 paces, through this marshy divide. In the end, Marquette would remark that this was the only stretch of land they would have to cross, from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River, making it one of the most famous and historically important portages in the entire country.

As the region’s population continued to grow throughout the 19th century, the success of modern canal systems in the East prompted investors to begin looking at creating a canal between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. The canal would create a continuous water route, enabling goods to be easily transported through the corridor.

Construction of the canal was slow and marked by difficulty. Planning began in the 1820s, and on March 7, 1837, the Portage Canal Company was formed. However, after months of digging by hand through the muddy terrain a shortage of funds forced the project to close.

In 1838, canal work was handed over to the U.S. Government, and after Wisconsin admitted into the Union in 1848, the state took over the project. In 1849, a new route was chosen for the canal, which is the present one. After misunderstandings between the contractor and the state the project was transferred to the fox and Wisconsin Improvement Company. Work progressed slowly, and the project was finally abandoned.

The Army Corps of Engineers revived construction in 1874, finally declaring the canal complete in 1876. Upon completion, the canal was 75 feet wide, 7 feet deep, 2.5 miles long with a draw of 6 feet.

According to the Fort Winnebago Lock Tenders book, from 1878 – 1908, the canal was used heavily by large boats, some of 300-ton capacity, and pleasure crafts. In 1851, however, declining use forced the closure of the canal. The Fort Winnebago Lock was demolished and the Wisconsin River Locks were welded shut.

In 1981, ownership of the canal was transferred to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Several efforts have been made by the Portage Canal Society and City of Portage to save and revive the canal. The south bank of the canal is now part of the National Ice Age Trail. In 2006, a significant renovation began, which included cleaning up the canal and creating a pedestrian walkway.

In elementary school in Green Bay, we learned about Marquette and Nicolet, who were among the first to arrive in Wisconsin. I recalled hearing about the important river routes for trading and working on discovering land to the west, and it was neat for me to be walking along the route.

We walked about a half mile, and a sign said the trail was blocked at the Railroad bridge and IAT hikers should use Hwy 33 to detour. Well, we didn’t want to walk on the highway, we wanted to walk on the canal path! The path was mowed, and our Guthook app didn’t have a detour so we decided to go for it. Under the RR bridge, the path was on a boardwalk that was falling apart, but we were able to pick our way across it without wet feet. We walked about another 100 yards and an Amtrak came speeding over the bridge – so glad I wasn’t under it at the time or I’d have probably freaked out and fallen into the scuzzy water!

We came to a spot where a fence blocked our path, and we could see that there was serious construction ahead. We walked along the fence and came to a street, and in a few blocks, we were able to rejoin the paved path. After about another half mile, we came to the end of the canal. We climbed a levee and had an awesome view of the Wisconsin River. Then a short walk through a beautiful Portage neighborhood, back out to Hwy 33 and over the Wisconsin River, before turning onto Levee Road.

Just over 14 miles in today – another great day!

August 24 and 28,2021

We’re in the hot and humid days of August, but we’re all so excited about our trip next month that our feet hardly touch the group. We started out early on the 24th and stopped into a former colleague of Kent and Lynn after a fast 8 miles down Levee Road.

From there, we headed down county roads towards Baraboo. Spectacular clouds were forming to the west, and we were glad to get to the cars and drive into Baraboo for a lunch break at the Log Cabin (known for their pies!). After lunch we were back to knock off another 5 miles for a total of 17.8 miles for the day.

Several days later we were back where we left off, and climbed over the Baraboo bluff. We were now in very familiar territory, roads we’ve driven and cycled, and trails we’ve hiked many times. Just the same, it felt different hiking from Parfrey’s Glen into Devil’s Lake State Park as part of this IAT journey.

We’d planned to take a lunch break at the North beach, and it was a zoo as we’d expected on a hot August Saturday! Tam and I quick changed into swim suits and dove into the lake. A friend of Lynn’s who’d hiked Kilimanjaro several years ago met us there, and hiked with us up and over the west bluff and around the south side to where our cars were parked. It was tempting to jump in the lake again, but we settled for car shuttle (and ice cream at the ferry crossing).

Nearly 17 miles again and we’re all feeling awesome!

Monday September 6, 2021

Last IAT hike before our trip to Tanzania! Robin joined us for a tough 15 mile day - nearly 2000’ of climb!

Gorgeous day, mostly segments. We’ve traveled from the ferry to Devils Lake dozens of times, by car and bicycle. We had no idea what gorgeous territory we were driving by! Amazing woods and prairies and we enjoyed this hike today. We "hiked" over the ferry, and most of us indulged in ice cream as we waited for our ferry.

On the other side, we climbed to the Steenbock Preserve, where Jeff and I did some volunteer trail maintenance last February (cutting and burning trees to restore the prairie). From there, we did the Gibralter Rock segment, ending with an amazing view of the valley.

That's all we're going to do before our trip to Tanzania - Kilimanjaro- here we come!

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go”

- T.S. Eliot