Day 55: 

Sand Creek Segment (Part 2), Burnett and Polk Counties

Connecting Route, Polk County

Day 55: Friday April 16th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 5.8

Location 1: All of Sand Creek Segment except for the 0.2 miles on the east end along 30th Ave. 
5.5 miles of trail covered

What a surprise!!

It really goes to show you that you can't tell what a segment will be like until you start hiking it, which we did on our sixth hiking day of our nine-day hiking vacation. 

Once again we woke up to a chilly morning, but at least there wasn't snow on the ground like there was two days ago. After a quick breakfast of same-old, same-old (hard boiled eggs, cold bagels and cold coffee) we dropped a vehicle back up at the large parking area on the east end of the Indian Creek Segment on 15th Street and brought our launch vehicle back to the corner of 30th Ave and 1 1/2 Street. 

We started hiking east to west at 9:30 am, temperature 41 degrees. The first thing you have to do is cross a plank bridge someone was kind enough to put across the ditch. The trail sign says 5.3 miles, but the official IAT map says 5.5. At our age, we're claiming the 5.5.

What we didn't know before we started - though could have seen if we had looked at satellite imagery first - is that the first three miles of the hike is spent along lovely logging road after lovely logging road, each as nice as the one before and the one after, winding casually through the forest, as though the people who plotted this segment were apologizing for making it 6 miles long and wanted to make it as easy as possible. 

I feel a little bad in that I don't have a better description of what we encountered during this three-mile stretch. The birds were fairly quiet this morning, although I do remember encountering a flock of small birds that I was unable to identify. They were something like the size of a sparrow, with the profile of a vireo, and they had white rumps and yellow tufts under they wings. These birds were curious about us, and traveled with us for a while as we hiked. 

I can also say that we felt like there weren't enough places to sit and take a break, or a have a snack, or just relax. There were plenty of blazes so you wouldn't get lost, but the roads just kept going with not even a downed log to sit on. Mr. Leopold would not be pleased.

Right before the trail crosses Sand Creek, at N 45 39.664, W 92 09.178, there is a short piece of trail that looks almost unpassable due to water, but if you walk on the west side of the trail between the trail and the very close creek, the ground is high and dry.

Then, at almost exactly the 3-mile mark, we crossed a very nice bridge over the top of Sand Creek, and came upon the sign that said, 'Welcome to Polk County'. We stopped for lunch in the sun and picked up our first batch of ticks. They were definitely out and about.

Here was where the trail took a sharp turn to the right, and left the logging/hunting roads for good. It started out as an ATV trail but that quickly devolved into a typical IAT single-track trail, which really wasn't bad at all. It was a little muddy in places, but by this time we were in Polk County, and that meant we had only three more miles between us and finishing the Segment, finishing map 5, finishing Polk County, and extending our 'touch the river' point all the way to Boyd Road. These may seem like small things, but it's those little rewards that keep us going. 

How did the rest of the hike go? It was ok. Not spectacular. There were no more bridges, and there were one or two hairy creek crossings that took more of a leap of faith than we like to use on muddy creek edges, but we made it through ok. The last 1.3 miles is a little more business-like, pointing almost due west and making its way with little heed for soil conservation. 

Really, we were disappointed by the choice of where the trail lay, at one point diving down a hill so steep they had to put in stairs. And then after crossing the creek, the trail went uphill. And more uphill. And then uphill some more. The trail went relentlessly uphill for nearly a mile, past some rather princely deer hunting stands and through some of the worst muddy spots on the whole segment, until finally peaking out almost within sight of the road. 

And then - literally 100 yards from the end of the trail - with the road in sight - for no discernable reason - there was a bench. No view. No creek. No purpose. Just a bench on the trail. The one we had been hoping to see for the last four miles. Right here at the end. We didn't even sit down.

We strolled out into the sunshine on the road at 3:15 pm, temperature 55 degrees, and touched the sign. The segment was over, but we still had 0.3 miles of connecting route to walk before we could close the gap, finish the county and metaphorically touch the St Croix River. 

Location 2: Connecting Route between the eastern trailhead of the Indian Creek Segment to the north and the western trailhead of the Sand Creek Segment to the South

0.3 miles of trail covered

Paved. Downhill. Easy walk. No traffic. We hiked south to north. Touched the sign. Polk County was done. So was map 5. 

Finished at 3:30 pm, 55 degrees

Running Total: 394.5 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 55.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.

.

Day 54: 

Timberland Hills Segment (Part 3), Barron County

Indian Creek Segment (Part 2), Polk County

Sand Creek Segment (Part 1), Burnett County

Day 54: Thursday April 15th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 5.0

Location 1: Westernmost piece of the Timberland Hills Segment, between the corner of 30th Ave and Lake 32 Road to the west, and the parking area on CTH H to the east.
2.5 miles of trail covered

Another wonderful day for hiking. 

We still had the other half of the dreadful Indian Creek Segment waiting for us to the west, but we wanted to give the woods one more half-day to dry out before we tackled it, so instead we targeted the western end of the Timberland Hills Segment. Once more we left a vehicle at the parking area on County Highway H where the night before we had been serenaded by the familiar 'who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all?' chanting of a barred owl. Come to think of it, this easily identifiable bird-call was a frequent companion as we walked late in the day out here in Polk, Baron, Burnett and Washburn Counties. 

Driving our launch vehicle to the designated parking area on the gravel intersection of 30th Ave and Lake 32 Road, we started our hike at at 9:05 am, with the temperature a chilly 37 degrees. We were hiking west to east, and it really wouldn't have mattered which way we hiked it because it was gloriously pretty. 

The Timberland Hills Segment may be the only segment in the entire trail that has the distinction of traveling in three different counties (Baron, Burnett and Washburn). If it isn't, I haven't found any others. The trail starts out on this end with a long, slow climb for about a quarter mile, then an easy meander through mature forest south for another quarter-mile or so before taking a sharp bend to the east. Then, after another four tenths of a mile it heads south again. I don't remember if this was precisely where it switched from being a walk along a broad, well marked multi-use trail that was mowed and groomed to being a more typical wind-your-way-between-the-rocks IAT trail, but it did switch over somewhere in there. 

At first we were thinking, "Here we go again", but it really wasn't all that bad, and the payoff was fabulous. Right in the middle of this U-shaped hike we found ourselves walking along the edge of a beaver pond, then on a tiny isthmus of land within a literal cluster of ponds. The number of waterfowl and swans was incredible, and it was just really neat to turn a full circle and see beaver lodges everywhere you look. 

The trail then eased up to the south edge of the largest lake in the bunch, and this was the one place where the amount of rain in recent days caused a problem. The trail takes you directly across the top of a very old and well-established beaver dam, except that the lake was literally full to overflowing. There was standing water on the trail, and literally no way around it. Starting at N 45 38.008, W 92 06.268 and going to N 45 37.993, W 92 06.233 - a distance of less than 200 feet - we relied on the many logs, branches and other debris people had placed in the water to get across. Thank goodness for waterproof shoes. 

On the other hand, once we had crossed we were rewarded with a nice Leopold Bench, and as we sat there taking in the lovely view of the lake, we noticed two loons. With some encouragement, I made what must have been the silliest imitation of a loon call ever made, and wouldn't you know it, these two loons were just curious enough to swim over and check us out. 

We spent the next 3 or 4 minutes frozen still as they paddled steadily over, swimming within 50 feet or so. When it was obvious they were coming no closer I tried one more call, which must have translated to "Get the heck out of here!" in Loonish, because both of them literally beat feet across the surface of the lake as they took off flying to the other end. Fun times. 

Shortly afterwards we rejoined the larger trail and walked a nice, easy path until we reached the famous Timberland Hills Lighted Snowshoe Trail. This was interesting, because we didn't know it was coming, and all of the sudden I looked up and in the middle of the forest there was a telephone pole with a street lamp on it. "Narnia!" Theresa said. 

Then we looked around a bit more, and there were more lights. Not running, of course, because it was daytime and no one wants to snowshoe without any snow, but there all the same. The IAT follows one part of this lovely trail gently through the trees, fairly close to County Highway H, all the way back to the parking area where our car was waiting. 

One thing we noticed on this piece is that the bears seem to take exception to the light poles. At every pole where a light was attached you could see where the bears had scratched and clawed at the pole, about 6-7 feet in the air, and some of them were so badly damaged they had to be replaced. Theresa told me if I saw a pale-skinned woman riding a sleigh or carriage, I was to ignore her and under no circumstances accept any Turkish Delight. As it turns out the advice was unnecessary.

We ended our hike along this piece of trail at 11:19 am, and it had only gone up to 39 degrees. We couldn't put it off any longer. If we were going to close map 5, we needed to hike the other half of Indian Creek. Mustering both cars and our courage, we headed wet. I mean, west. Interesting typo... 

Location 2: Eastern half of the Indian Creek Segment between 30th Street to the west, and 15th Street to the east.  

2.3 miles of trail covered

We parked one vehicle on 30th street where we had parked before, and then our launch vehicle at the large and obvious eastern trailhead on 15th street. We started at 12:36 pm, temperature 42 degrees, and gritted our teeth as we headed down the open field and into the woods. 

Right away we could tell that the trail was muddy. In fact, we spotted what turned out to be a beaver track right there on the trail, though we didn't know it at the time. I wish I had gotten a picture of it, because it looked a bit like a human hand, maybe the size of a nine-year-old, but with webbing between the toes. Onward we went. 

But the strangest thing happened. As soon as the trail went into the trees, it became absolutely gorgeous! Easy walking past a farmer's field, then through a little grassy area, then up through some pines, walking on a soft bed of needles, then through a pine plantation just taking shape. It was so nice we wanted to stop and have a picnic, and would have except that we had already eaten lunch.

Right around N 45 40.292, W 92 11.810 we came across a mailbox. Or not a mailbox. It was a mailbox post, but instead of a mailbox there was an Ice Age Trail Ammo Can, with a log book for people to record their thoughts. I like the idea, and we had seen similar items before. I read a few of the comments, and apparently some people like walking through standing water in April more than I do. My advice - wear muckers, or knee boots. But I already complained about that end of Indian Creek a few days ago. I digress.

Right at this spot, the trail went from open and sunny to hiking through the wet forest. At least this time there was some elevation change, so the water didn't all stay in one place, but it was still not as nice a hike as what lay either to the east or to the west. After crossing a small creek, the trail plunges southward on an easy slope, eventually making it's way to the south end of two ponds that represent the headwaters of Indian Creek. It was here I feared the worst footing, but it turned out to be just fine, actually much drier than the stuff we just walked through. 

As we hiked the last half-mile or so to the car, I picked up a few of the geocaches sprinkled along the trail, although one or two eluded my brief searching. 

Typical Hepatica

We reached the end of the Indian Creek Segment - the middle actually, but it was the end for us - at 2:48 pm, and the temperature had crawled up to a full 51 degrees. We had been dreading this hike, but as it turns out it wasn't too bad, unlike its ugly twin to the west. 

Location 3: The tiny little piece on the eastern end of the Sand Creek Segment that runs along 30th Ave.
0.2 miles of trail covered

It was fairly early in the day, but we had already hiked nearly 5 miles, and didn't really feel like taking on another long segment. There was simply nothing close by that was a suitable length, so we ended up walking a tiny little piece of the Sand Creek segment that went along the road on the east end. 

We were planning to hike Sand Creek tomorrow - a six-mile segment with no breaks - and anything we could do to make that shorter was good. As it turns out there is just enough room at the corner of 30th Ave and 1 1/2 Street to park a small vehicle, so we did the two-car thing and walked off this two tenths of a mile of gravel road. It wasn't much of an accomplishment, and there's very little to say about it, but at least it meant we were only facing 5.8 miles in the morning. 

This put an end to our fifth hiking day during our nine-day planned vacation. 

Running Total: 388.7 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 54.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.

.

Day 53: 

Southern Blue Hills Segment (Part 1), Connecting Route, Rusk County

Timberland Hills Segment (Part 2), Burnett County

Day 53: Wednesday April 14th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 4.6

Location 1: Northernmost piece of the Southern Blue Hills Segment, along Yuker Road.
0.8 miles of trail covered

Monday was a day of rain. 

Tuesday was a day of rain and snow.

Wednesday morning we woke up in the car and looked out to an inch of snow covering the ground. But we were determined to make the most of it. 

Yesterday we hiked nothing but connecting routes, and decided we would at least start the day that way today. Between the Northern Blue Hills Segment and the Southern Blue Hills segment is a 1.1 mile connecting route, attached to a 0.8 mile piece of the Southern Blue Hills Segment that walks along Yuker Road. We had looked at hiking both of these the evening before but decided it would be too late in the day when we were done, so we left it for this morning. The trail used to go straight through, rather than taking this horseshoe-shaped bypass, but there is now a 'Trail Closed' sign blocking the way. I'm sure there's a sad story there somewhere. 

We started by driving down Yuker Road to the place where it heads south into the woods and park a car, then drove back to the other end of Yuker Road near County Highway F. If you're doing this, by the way, don't bother looking for yellow blazes along Yuker Rd. There are none, except for one on each end. 

Yuker road is unremarkable. It's a gravel road. It's mostly level. It curves a little. And it cuts nearly a mile off of the 7.3 mile Southern Blue Hills segment, so it's worth doing for old travelers like us that don't like segments that long. 

Location 2: Connecting Route between the the Northern Blue Hills Segment to the north and the Southern Blue Hills Segment to the south.  

1.1 miles of trail covered

Hiking done, we drove the van to the southern trailhead of the Northern Blue Hills Segment. I dropped Theresa off, then went about 1/10th of a mile or so farther west to park along the road where it was a bit wider. We hiked that piece of road from north to south.

Even though County Highway F is a paved road, and one of the few roads that cut through this part of Wisconsin, we saw literally no traffic in either direction as we hiked along the road. We had chosen to hike it from north to south, though it wouldn't have mattered which way we went because it was down in the middle and uphill on both ends. 

And here we actually saw yellow blazes. The hiking was chilly, because the snow hadn't completely melted yet, but the sun was out and the worst of the weather was over. And there were one or two things to enjoy along the way. Theresa noted a particularly pretty creek and woodland area, where the birds were singing, and everything just felt like it was coming to life. We heard the cranes and the geese flying around, and woodpeckers hammering at trees. There were a lot of birds, actually. And the sun was on our faces. I've had worse days. 

I also noticed an abundance of aluminum cans along the road, just ripe for salvage. When I'm done with the trail I'm going to write a book called 'Hiking the Ice Age Trail Connecting Routes for Fun and Profit". Or maybe not. Time to move on.

Location 3: The middle section of the Timberland Hills Segment, between Boyd Ln to the east and the end of Skinner Rd to the west.
2.7 miles of trail covered

Instead of nibbling away at more connecting route, or walking another part of the Tescobia Segment, we decided to head back to the west end and try our luck at a little bit of trail hiking. We decided to risk hiking some of the Timberland Hills Segment, adding to the tiny amount we had hiked on Tuesday. (Was that only yesterday?)

We parked our van back down at the end of Skinner Road, and drove the car up to the very nice parking area on Boyd Lane to start our hike south. We started at 3:15 pm, and the temperature was 44 degrees. A beautiful day for hiking. 

Let me just say that this was an absolutely beautiful trail with one huge draw-back. They apparently ran out of yellow paint while putting out blazes, because there were stretches where you could walk two tenths of a mile without seeing a single yellow blaze in either direction. Considering how the IAT has a propensity to careen wildly off a perfectly nice and hikable multi-use path into the woods and along some Billy goat trail full of rocks, it's only natural to keep your eyes peeled for just such a diversion from common sense. 

I'll tell you up front that there are no such changes in direction. The whole trail through this piece of the Timberland Hills Segment remains on broad multi-use trails that are groomed in wintertime for skiing. So the anxiety-inducing lack of yellow blazes can be ignored, to a point. Even so, I remember one intersection I came to where the trail split both left and right and there was no blaze in sight. If not for the fact that we had downloaded a series of GPS coordinates to our phones to use as trail guides, we could have easily gone a quarter or a half-mile in the wrong direction, only to have to back-track and try the other path until we finally spotted a blaze.  That, and ONLY that, is the only thing worth complaining about on this piece of trail. Now to the good stuff.

As we hiked, the gently rolling hills often went past lovely scenery, and we heard and saw many swans, geese, ducks (mostly buffleheads), cranes, woodpeckers, chickadees, phoebes, hawks, and many others. There was a cabin along the route that apparently is available for rent, at least in the wintertime. I'm not sure about summer. It might be worth asking. 

Of course, there were places along the path where persistent water made the area a bit muddy, and it was occasionally necessary to bypass a puddle by walking a little into the woods, but nothing too difficult. 

One oddity we saw was that along the trail, when rocks occasionally stuck up into the path, the tops of the rocks had been painted orange. We had great fun debating the purpose of the painted rocks. Was it because they intended to come through and remove the rocks that were marked? Was it because they needed to lift the lawnmower blades a bit when they got to the rocks? In the end, though, I think Theresa got it right. She theorized that the rocks were painted orange in an effort to forewarn skiers in case the snow got a little thin. If you see orange on the trail, stay away from it if you don't want to damage your skis. 

 

We ended our hike at 5:34 pm, the temperature a balmy 46 degrees. 

Running Total: 383.7 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 53.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.

.

Day 52: 

Timberland Hills Segment (Part 1), Barron County

Connecting Route, Blueberry (Tuscobia) Segment, Washburn County

Day 52: Tuesday April 13th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 3.9

Location 1: Tiny snippet of the Timberland Hills Segment between the Parking Area on CTH H to the west, and the end of Skinner Road to the east.
0.5 miles of trail covered

This was actually day 4 of our hiking vacation, but only the third day of actual hiking. Monday was so bad we just went home and watched it rain. All. Day. Two and a half hours of driving. Each way. 

Just for the record, the weather today was lousy. When we woke up, the temperature was 29 degrees, there was frost on the car, and it was supposed to both rain and snow later in the morning. The region we wanted to hike had received over 4 inches of rain in the last week, and things were looking... bleak. Solution? Stay out of the mud and walk the connecting routes. 

Since we were parked next to roughly a half-mile of roadway, where the Timberland Hills segment runs along Skinner Road, riding the county line between Burnett and Barron counties before dipping ever so slightly into Barron, we decided to hike just this tiny little piece before going off in search of other connecting route bits to hike. 

I don't know what time we started. I don't know the temperature. I remember that it was cold and we could see our breath, but there was no ice on the puddles that riddled the gravel road. We hiked east to west, finishing by crossing CTH H and walking to the blue-blaze trail that ducks behind the absolutely outstanding parking area on CTH H. If you're anywhere in the area and need a place to stop and relax - this is it. 

Mission accomplished - moving on.

Location 2: Connecting Route between the East end of the Timberland Hills Segment on Leach Lake Road to the west, and the West end of the Grassy Lake Segment on Pershing Road to the east. 

2.5 miles of trail covered

The next thing we did was drive east. Since we had done everything to the west already that wasn't a trail, we headed to the 2.5 mile connecting route between Timberland Hills and Grassy Lake. This also had the very nice effect of walking us off the edge of map 7, in the event we were able to complete Timberland Hills before the week was over. 

"Do you want to walk with the icy, howling snizzle wind in your face, or on the back of your neck?"

We chose to have the wind at our back. 

We dropped a vehicle on Pershing Road, then drove back to Leach Lake Road. No starting time. No ending time. It was cold.

OK, there was more than that. The parking was decent on both ends. We passed by some very curious horses on our way through. Most of the walk was gravel roads, except a bit in the middle where it went past the graveyard on Brickyard Road, and the Pottery Shop on the other side of the road. We didn't stop at the pottery shop on the way by, but we did stop before we left the area and bought a mug. We had on literally every layer of clothing we brought with us, and we needed them all, including Theresa wearing the waterproof double-layer snowmobile mittens I keep in the car for winter emergencies. It turns out I didn't have the right kind of hat along, so I pulled my neck gaiter up and over my ears. 

In the end, we made it with very little trauma. Neither one of us wanted to be in the woods on a day like that. Thank goodness for the connecting routes. 

Location 3: The old Blueberry Segment, now denoted as the easternmost 0.9 miles of the Tuscobia Segment, between Balsam Lake Rd to the west and Loch Lomond Rd to the east.
0.9 miles of trail covered

Finally, we stopped near Birchwood, WI to walk the 0.9 mile Blueberry Segment, only to discover that the Blueberry Segment no longer exists. It has now been absorbed by the Tuscobia segment. It's a pleasant walk down Featherstone Drive, then along a path next to the road. As I understand it, this was named after a spur on the blueberry line railway, and it runs on the opposite side of the road from the Tuscobia State Trail. 

The Tuscobia Trail runs on for many miles, finally ending at Park Falls in the middle of Price County, but the IAT leaves it after only 11 miles, where a connecting route continues south for another 2.4 miles. We chose not to hike that piece, but instead drove on to our intended parking/camping place for the evening. 

Running Total: 379.1 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 52.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.

.

Day 51: McKenzie Creek Segment (Part 3), Indian Creek Segment (Part 1), Polk County

Day 51: Sunday April 11th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 4.7

Location 1: Eastern End of the McKenzie Creek Segment between the Eastern Trailhead at County Road O to the East and 60th Street to the west.
1.6 miles of trail covered

This was day two of our planned nine-day hiking vacation. Yesterday we hiked part of the McKenzie Creek Segment to the south, and we had only 1.6 miles of it left, from the east trailhead to the end of 60th street, where we spent the night sleeping in the van. 

When we got up, the temperature was somewhere in the high-30s. Not bad. The only thing I missed was hot coffee, but thankfully we had cold coffee from home. 

 

Leaving behind our vehicle at 60th Street, we drove to the trailhead on County Rd O and started our hike at 9:30 am, with the temperature all the way up to 46 degrees. 

The easternmost part of the trail is not as magnificent as the rest of the McKenzie segment, but it's still a spectacularly well-maintained piece of trail. It was easy to see that the trail-makers and trail-tenders have done a fabulous job of maintenance. The footing was easy, the trail well-marked, and I particularly appreciated the parts of the trail that went through recently logged regions (within the last 10 years), where huge effort had obviously been put into keeping back the encroaching aspens and berry bushes. I know just how much work it is to keep those things at bay, and even when we were walking through a tunnel of new growth, the trail was free and clear, with a good 3-4 feet clear on both sides.  

1.6 miles melted away before we knew it. 

We reached our waiting car at 10:45 am, and had to say goodbye to the McKenzie Creek segment for the last time. It's definitely one of our favorites. It was still 46 degrees, but the wind had picked up a bit. It was cloudy and there was a chill in the air that foretold of rain to come. The first hints of mist started falling as we got into the car to drive to the next launching point.

Location 2: Western half of the Indian Creek Segment between 30th Street to the east and 50th Street to the west.

3.1 miles of trail covered

We took an easy drive to our next destination, heading straight for the parking area on 30th Street, splitting the Indian Creek Segment basically in half, planning to hike the 3.1 miles back to the car on County Road O. Getting to the launching point did involve a lot of gravel road, and true to form, there were still some muddy areas and soft spots to avoid, making the driving poor. If only we had known that the driving was the least of our concerns. 

We hated this hike.

We started out at 11:40 am, where the temperature had dipped slightly to 44 degrees and a barely noticeable mist continued to fall. 

To be honest, the first part of the hike wasn't all that bad. It was steep and hilly, but the footing was OK and we had no trouble following the blazes. Then, about four tenths of a mile in, the rain started to pick up a little. Theresa stopped dead in her tracks. 

"We're not that far in," she said. "Should we just call it a day and go back?"

I'm not sure when I will ever learn to trust her instincts. 

After hiking the glorious and well-groomed McKenzie Creek Segment, I reasoned, 'How bad could it get?' I also wonder when I will ever learn to NEVER ask this question about the Ice Age Trail. It can get bad. It can get very bad. It can go from the best day hiking to the worst day hiking in the stretch of 1 mile. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

"I think we should go on," I said. 

Yup. It was me. All me. I take the blame. 

We hiked on. At about 6 tenths of a mile, we were walking past the edge of a long, wire fence strung through the forest. I think about how much work it is to carry even a light pack and a hiking stick a half-mile into the woods, and I look at that long string of steel fence posts driven into the ground every 15 feet or so, and I ask myself, "Why?" Can you imagine how much work that would be? We hiked on. Steep hills. Very open forested area with little understory. It needed some selective cutting. 

For the benefit of anyone hiking the Indian Creek Segment after 4 inches of rain in a week, the center part is bring-your-own-scuba-gear wet. From N 45 39.830, W 92 13.849 in the east to N 45 40.425, W 92 14.430 in the west, the trail cuts across a flat, miserable bog, with more water than trail, and more mud than trees. Nearly a mile of misery with no way out but through. At times the water was six inches deep, right next to a sodden tree sticking up from the water with a proud yellow blaze on it. If clump-hopping was an Olympic sport, we were in it to win it. 

Do we go around this way or that way? Does it matter? There was water cress growing in patches in every direction as far as the eye could see. Where there was no water, there was mud. If we counted all the times we crossed the trail, bushwhacking from one side to the other, back-tracking to try and find the best way through this Tolkien-esque quagmire, we would probably have to count an extra half-mile of hiking. We just wanted it to be over. 

Did I mention that Theresa was wearing a brand-new pair of hiking shoes? 

Eventually, though, the mud gave way to a small rise, and we hiked our way up onto the less-muddy terrain. Miraculously, we had found a way through that mess with only one completely wet foot, having gone just a little too deep into the mud and taking water in over the top. I hadn't even noticed, but by now the weather had turned from persistent drizzle to a steady rain. Everything was wet. Including us.

The trail then cuts very close to the end of 325th avenue, and in fact we could have parked there and cut this piece into two parts, but had chosen not to. I wished now that we had, because at this point the hike would have been over, but as it was we had another 0.7 miles left to go. 

We laughed out loud when we went another 100 feet or so and saw our first bridge crossing a tiny little creek. One we could have easily crossed with no trouble at all. We hiked on. A quarter of a mile later we thought we might get another bridge, but it turned out to be a rock-hop across the stream. 

A little further on, we passed an uncelebrated but noteworthy point on the trail; the northernmost point. Located at approximately N 45 40.656, W 92 15.278, this point is as far north as you will go anywhere on the whole IAT. There's an arrow nailed to a tree there to indicate that the trail cuts to the south. I took out a pen and attempted to write 'Northernmost point on the IAT' on the sign, but only managed to get most of the first two words onto the wet plastic before the pen showed more sense than I did and gave it up for the day. We didn't linger. 

We were a quarter of a mile from the car, and we couldn't get there fast enough. We hiked up one last low hill, and slid down the other side in sight of the road, and our car, ahead of us. Out of the gloom of the trees we could see that it was seriously raining now. It was 3:00 pm, and the temperature had climbed back up to 48 degrees. We touched the sign, reconnecting with the far away river that we felt like we had just finished wading through, and fell into the car. 

Tomorrow's forecast is rain all day - we're going home. 

Running Total: 375.2 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 51.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.

.