Non-Hiking Day 3: Camping Near Straight River Segment, Polk County

Non-Hiking Day 3: Saturday, August 31, 2013

Location: Parking area near ‘Moh’s Mountain’, STH 48 and 95^th Street, Polk County, WI

This was Labor Day weekend, which ordinarily would have meant a lot more time available for the trail, but it was broken up badly because I had contracted to call a square dance on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 in Rosholt.  We planned and re-planned, checking weather forecasts, thinking about logistics – but in the end I just decided to take Tuesday off and have our three-day weekend starting on Sunday instead of Saturday.  Having three days in a row meant that we could travel to the parts of the trail that were a long ways off, so we packed up the bikes, the tent, the food and our hiking gear and headed back to Polk County, intent on covering as much trail as possible so long as it included finishing the rest of the St. Croix Falls Segment.  There was only 5.3 miles left of that segment, so we planned on hiking that on Monday, and instead starting slightly closer to home by parking at ‘Moh’s Mountain’ halfway through the Straight River Segment.  It’s a small parking area that has an off-shoot trail heading uphill to a remote campsite which we never bothered to see because it wasn’t on the trail.  The parking area is accessed by driving down next to a trail sign on a steep grassy bank that you can’t even see from the road without pointing your wheels off the edge intent on leaving pavement.  It’s a real leap of faith, and I didn’t do it in the dark until I had walked it first.  I went walking around with the flashlight looking at where the trail headed off in two directions, but I didn’t see any yellow blazes, and one section looked a little muddy so I stopped before I went too far.  We parked the best we could and slept the night in the van.  It was just about perfect as far as temperature goes.  One thing we had to laugh about was a pair of young ladies’ underwear hanging from a tree branch.  Apparently the locals thought it was a fine place to park as well.  Actually, from the number of cars that went roaring past this little country road we figured we must be on the beer run somewhere.  Crazy, how you think you’re in the middle of nowhere and find yourself overrun with humanity.  Running total: 108.7 miles of trail covered; 8.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of non-hiking day 3.

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Day 13: Mondeaux Esker Segment (Part 2); Jerry Lake Segment (Part 1), Taylor County

Day 13: Sunday, August 25, 2013

Location: Western half of Mondeaux Esker Segment, between the Parking area just past the northern tip of the flowage, west of the Mondeaux Dam and CTH E, Taylor County, WI

This time, there was nothing to slow down our early start time.  It had rained only slightly during the evening, so the tent was essentially dry when we got up at 6:30.  Because the forecast indicated it might rain, we packed up everything right away so that we wouldn’t have to pack a wet tent.  We were back at the starting point of our next section by 8:00 am, packed, fed and ready to hike.  The temperature was already 72 degrees.  The trail on the west side of the Mondeaux Flowage follows what is described as an ‘obvious esker’.  Once you climb atop this esker it feels as though you’re walking on an earthen A-frame, with a precipitous drop-off to either side.  Not like you’re going to fall off or anything, but this thing is truly a magnificent specimen of an esker.  This section climbed up and down a bit, but the footing was excellent, and there were stairs on the steep parts.  I’d rate it a ‘B’.  Another 1.6 miles of trail or so, and it was only 9:14 in the morning.  It was, however, already 76 degrees and humid.  Really looking to be a hot one.

At 9:30 am we parked at the place where the trail crosses Campers Road on the southwest corner of the flowage.  We hiked back north along the flowage on top of the Esker, and this hike could not have been more ideal.  The trail was absolutely an ‘A’ grade.  Easy, beautiful, well-marked – the only downside was that the temperature was now 80 degrees, and it was only 10:20 in the morning.  The whole of the west side of the flowage was truly beautiful trail, and some of the best we have enjoyed to date. 

We finally left the flowage and drove west to a place where Fire Road 100 crosses the trail deep in the woods between Campers Road and CTH E.  By parking here we managed to cut the segment in two pieces, but the driving was poor along this fire road, and I don’t recommend it without a truck.  Plus, it’s not really necessary.  The trail along this whole segment is fairly easy, and it wasn’t worth risking damage or getting stuck.  We left the van at 11:00 am (temperature now at 82 degrees and climbing) and hiked the 1.2 miles or so, arriving at about 11:30.  The trail rated a ‘B’ again, but the temp kept climbing and was now at 84 degrees. 

Next, we drove to the western end of the Mondeaux Esker Segment, so as to hike back to our van buried somewhere in the Chequamegon National Forest, and completed the last piece of hiking in the Segment.  We started this piece at noon (still only 84 degrees) and ended by 1:00 pm.  The temperature had now climbed to a liquid 92 degrees.  We did it.  Another 1.7 miles of trail;13 miles of trail over two days of hard, hot hiking.  Running total: 105.5 miles of trail covered; 8.1 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.

Location: Eastern 2.1 miles of the Jerry Lake Segment between CTH E and the remote campsite south of Mondeaux Ave along Forest Trail 350.

See – here’s where obsession leads to madness.  You would think we would be happy with our accomplishment and go home.  Trouble is, we were so close to the edge of the map in the atlas, we figured we would just hike that last two miles and off the edge.  That would cut down the Jerry Lake segment a bit, and we’d be able to mark off another completed map, right?  I think in the end we were influenced by how nice the trails had been so far all day.  Really – it has been ‘B’s and ‘A’s the whole way so far.  Why would the next section be any different?

Because it’s different, that’s why!  First we drove to the place where the trail crosses Forest Rd 102 near the North Fork Yellow River and hiked slowly back to CTH E where our car was waiting.  We started out at 1:45 pm with the temperature holding steady at 92 degrees.  We arrived at 2:45 pm with the temperature still at 91 degrees.  The trail rated a ‘C’ because there were a number of down trees, and a few boggy areas.  Not too bad, though.  But we were really starting to drag.

At 3:10 pm (90 degrees and holding) we parked at the place where the trail leaves Mondeaux Ave on the west, and attempted to walk the trail about 0.6 miles back to the car.  This tiny piece was among the worst we found all day.  It was so bad on the part where the trail cuts just on the south edge of Mondeaux Ave that most people probably don’t realize the trail is actually off-road.  Overgrown doesn’t begin to describe it.  ‘Suggested’ comes to mind.  ‘Un-breached’ might be a better term.  I’m guessing most people simply walk the road.  It finally ducked south for a loop through the woods to an area with essentially no redeeming qualities unless you’re terribly fond of bad trail through the marsh before returning to the road.  When we got to the part where it crosses the North Fork Yellow River on a gorgeous wooden footbridge with a bench to overlook the river, the trail was so non-existent it was essentially impossible to hike down to the bridge through the grasses and weeds.  Worse, the bridge was built so oddly that sadly almost no one gets down there to enjoy it.  I don’t have to say that this trail section rated an ‘F’ for oh-so-many reasons.  We finished this miserable little jaunt at 3:50 pm, and the temperature had climbed obstinately back up to 91 degrees.

Finally – and I do mean finally – we drove our car to a place along Mondeaux Ave where it intersects with Foot Trail 350, a 0.3 mile trail that connects with the Ice Age Trail just about exactly where the remote campsite is, about another mile or so westward on the trail from our last piece.  At 3:55 pm, we saddled up our gear, grabbed our walking sticks, and started putting one foot in front of the other.  At this point we were really questioning why exactly it was so important to get off the edge of the map, but we were determined, and we knew we could finish.  We sat down and took our last break at the remote campsite and assessed the damages.  We both had heat rash in varying degrees; we were both soaking wet, though not dehydrated.  Heat stroke wasn’t likely, but we were keeping an eye on each other just in case.  Off we set on the last piece of trail for the day.  I don’t need to elaborate on the trail conditions.  Let’s just say it rated a ‘D’, mostly because it wasn’t well-maintained, and there were a few places where trees completely obstructed the trail and they had been there a very long time.  Blazes were missing, footing was treacherous – not a great way to end the weekend.  But end it we did – 5:10 pm, and still 88 degrees of sopping wet heat.  Once again we changed our clothes and smiled weakly at each other as we realized we had actually made it.  15.1 miles of trail in two days, in blistering heat.  We were paying for it physically, but looking back only four weeks, I know we would not have been able to do this a month ago.  To the cars, to the road, to home and to bed.  Running total: 108.7 miles of trail covered; 8.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 13.

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Day 12: Mondeaux Esker Segment (Part 1), Taylor County

Day 12: Saturday, August 24, 2013

Location: Eastern half of Mondeaux Esker Segment, between Fawn Ave and the Parking area just past the northern tip of the flowage, west of the Mondeaux Dam, Taylor County, WI

You wouldn’t think we could find a way to spend more money while camping in a national forest, but we just happened to notice that nearby, someone was selling another bike rack.  Technically, we can load the bikes into the van on the inside, but frankly it’s a pain.  Having another rack we can use to carry stuff on the outside will make for much easier trips in the future.  Bike Rack for van: $125.00.  Running total: $1518.49.

Traveling to, looking at, buying and traveling back from the bike rack, and then driving both vehicles to the drop and start locations took us until 10:15 am.  A bit later than we really wanted to start, but the investment will certainly be of value later on.  The temperature was a cool 70 degrees, and we hiked a short 0.6 mile piece at the extreme eastern end of the Mondeaux Esker Segment, from Fawn Ave to Fawn Ave.  This section rated a ‘C’ on the hiking scale.

Over the course of the weekend, we came up with our trail rating system.  ‘A’ stands for ‘Awesome’, the best possible trail conditions.  ‘B’ stands for ‘Beautiful’, meaning a well-groomed trail with decent marking that may have some challenging spots but is overall a joy to hike.  ‘C’ stands for ‘Charming’.  You may find grassy areas, a number of down trees across the trail, a little occasional marshy or boggy walking, but all-in-all, a reasonable hike.  ‘D’ stands for ‘Degraded’.  This is a segment that was probably once in pretty good shape, but time and lack of use have allowed brushy understory to invade the corridor, trees have come down across the trail forcing temporary (or not so temporary) walk-arounds, there could be long segments with inadequate marking, and/or severe grade with inadequate switchbacks or dangerous rutting.  Numerous rocks or tree roots could also lead to this rating, though a heavy combination of these factors tends to force the rating lower.  ‘E’ stands for ‘Enthusiast’.  Only a real trail enthusiast could possibly enjoy the segment.  Any thick blend of the ‘D’ factors, with perhaps some flooding tossed in there will rate the segment an ‘E’.  Finally, ‘F’ stands for ‘Fanatic’.  These are the sections of trail that harbor basically all of the above, and probably include additional factors like smell, trails cut on the side of a steep hillside with no cut-in, crossing of beaver dams with gaps and holes hidden by long grass where you could fall through and break an ankle.  Sadly, the next section of the Mondeaux Esker Segment rates an ‘F’.

There was really no way to shorten the next section.  We drove to where Mondeaux Rd crosses the ice age trail at the southeast corner of the flowage and hiked east back to the car.  This section was so full of fallen trees, exposed tree roots, rocks, thickly overgrown swampy footing and every other kind of nuisance and danger that only a person bent on hiking the entire trail would bother to walk it once if they knew what they were facing.  I have no doubt that many people have fallen off of or through the beaver dam that lies in the middle of this section.  It was so overgrown with weeds and brush that it was nearly impossible to stay atop the dam, and some parts of it had holes that I could have fallen into up to my knees.  It didn’t help any that it was getting both hot and humid, but I cannot in good conscience recommend this piece of trail to anyone.  We started it at 10:55 am and ended at 1:53 pm, a total of 2.9 miles and three hours of arduous labor.  I say labor, because along this section of trail, I personally cleared no less than 50 logs and limbs that were blocking the trail.  I’m not talking branches, either.  I’m talking whole trees.  I cleared hundreds of smaller limbs.  I don’t think anyone had seriously worked on this section in years.  It will be easier for the next hikers, but with the rest of the section so bad, I’m not sure it was worth my time.  The temperature was now 76 degrees, and I was wet from head to toe with sweat. 

Next we drove north to the intersection of 104 and 1588, where the trail was a mere 20 feet off the edge of the road.  We started at 3:00 (we had taken a leisurely lunch break to cool off and change clothing).  It was easy to locate by walking just off-road to the west.  We hiked south and the trail started out in really good condition, as though it had been carefully groomed and cleared for easy walking.  It rated a ‘B’ for the first couple hundred yards.  Then we returned to obnoxious, hazardous walking on the tree roots and rocky hummocks.  In one spot, the trail had gone through a recent re-route (I think) and it blazed along a steep, ankle-twisting hillside with little to prevent a fall if you slip.  By 4pm we reached the waiting vehicle, once again thankful to have conquered the section, which rated an ‘E’ overall.  Mondeaux Esker Segment was not looking like very much fun at all.

The next thing we did was drive to the Mondeaux Dam Recreational Area at the northern tip of the flowage.  We wanted to scope out the showers for later, which operate on quarters and are open 24 hours.  We decided to not try to hike the whole thing at once, so we drove down to the campsite at Eastwood Campground at 4:45 and jumped on the trail by using one of the many social trails headed down towards the lake.  This added about 0.25 miles of extra hiking in both directions, but it was worth it.  We hiked south along the eastern side of the flowage, and I’m happy to say this trail was delightful.  The sun was starting to get lower over the flowage, and the view of the lake was spectacular from this vista.  When we started out it was 76 degrees, but it had reached 80 degrees by the time we finished at 6:08 pm.  This was close to two miles of trail, so that was a pretty good pace.  I’d rate this piece of trail as a ‘B’.

We rapidly drove back north to the Dam, parked on the WEST side of the dam because it was free, and parking on the east side of the dam would have cost $20 (go figure) and started a very short bit of hiking at 6:15 pm, finishing at the campsite by about 6:45.  Finally, we drove beyond the dam to a nice parking area just west along Park Rd, to ‘round the bend’ so to speak and finish our day.  As it turned out, the walk was so short it was almost silly, but it looked longer on the maps.  Hand-in-hand, we walked to the sign at the edge of the dam and touched our weary hands to it.  It’s hard to say exactly how far we walked this day, except that it represented at least half of the 13-mile Segment.  Let’s say 7 miles of trail with an extra 0.5 miles of down-and-back hiking.  Running total: 99.5 miles of trail covered; 8.1 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 12.

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Non-Hiking Day 2: Camping near Mondeaux Esker Segment

Non-Hiking Day 2: Friday, August 23, 2013

Location: Eastwood Campground, Mondeaux Dam Recreational Area, Taylor County, WI

More about expenses: Added to the previous total of $1369.49: Two days Camping at Eastwood Federal Park: $24.00 (avoidable, but worth it).  Running total: $1393.49.

Today was a no-hiking, no biking late-night drive to the Eastwood Campground located on the east side of the Mondeaux Flowage, the target of our weekend.  It was too dark to do any hiking, so we set up camp, which cost $12 per night.  On the whole, this is/was the best-maintained campgrounds I have ever been to in my life.  Not a single piece of garbage could be seen anywhere, and our site was pristine and quiet.  The weather was warm, and we blew up the queen-size inflatable air mattress (heavenly!) and fell fast asleep.  Running total: 92.5 miles of trail covered; 7.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of non-hiking day 2.

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Day 11: Connecting Route 1 (Part 2), Marquette County; C.R. 2; Marquette Trail Segment; Portage Canal Segment, N. Columbia County

Day 11: Sunday, August 18, 2013

Location: Southernmost 3.5 miles of Connecting route between the Columbia/Marquette County Line and John Muir Memorial Park, Marquette County, WI

We had really wanted to finish Marquette County yesterday.  How awesome would that have been?  A whole County in a single day!  Didn’t happen.  We started out this morning actually riding north-to-south along the remainder of 12^th Avenue, down Grouse Road, and south on F to the county line.  That part took us all of about 50 minutes, but we just didn’t have it in us from the day before.  On south we went, into the next county.

Location: Connecting Route between Marquette Trail Segment and the Columbia/Marquette County Line, Northern Columbia County, WI

We continued rolling south on County F and then veered off on the nearly flat Fox River Road, which runs along the river for a long ways and then up a large hill before descending almost uninterrupted to Governors Bend County Park and the northern trailhead for the Marquette Trail Segment.  From here we had to do the car shuffle, drive back to pick up the van, drive down to the same location to drop off the target vehicle.  When we dropped the Prius off at the north end, we saw another car parked, and guessed that we may well meet other hikers on the trail.  Only time would tell.   We then drove south again to our next point of departure in the middle of the Marquette Segment.  Having now completed Marquette County, we set a new goal of getting to the City of Portage.   We were done biking, and all that lie between us and Portage was a few miles of trail along the Fox River.  We parked our van on Clark Road at a convenient ‘limited parking area’ and headed north along the trail.  Within two tenths of a mile, our guess was proven correct, and we met our very first legitimate ice-age trail hikers on the trail.  Over 80 miles of trail covered, and we met our first legitimate fellow hikers.  In fact, except for the clump of tourist-types on the Pothole Loop Trail at Western Terminus, we only met two other humans at all actually on the trail (still in St Croix in the park) and one other person at a parking area. 

The novelty wore off quickly, and we kept hiking.  The trail wasn’t too bad, but it was not terribly well marked.  In fact, if it weren’t for the numbered bridges (numbers 3, 2, and 1 in this part) we wouldn’t have known we were on the right trail.  1.4 miles with literally no yellow blazes.  Not like you could get lost walking through the marsh, but still…

The hike was long and hot.  It was in the 80s again.  Next, another 2.9 miles more along the river to cover the south end of this Segment.  We drove to the Parking area north of the Old Indian Agency house in Portage, parked in the shade, and started walking north along a path that we knew by looking at the maps would follow the river exactly.  If this sounds pleasant, you’ve never been there.  A very brief history: The southern end of the Fox River passes within about a mile of the Wisconsin River.  The Wisconsin River flows south, to the Mississippi delta and into the Gulf of Mexico.  The Fox River flows north, and through the Great Lakes to the St Lawrence Seaway.  That means there is a continental divide between those two waterways, creating the original ‘Portage’ of the city of Portage.  But, in their infinite wisdom, some fool back in the mid 19^th century decided to dig a canal between the two rivers and create an alternate commerce route.  In order to do that, it was necessary to dredge the Fox River wider and deeper to make it viable for larger boats, and so the river walk is actually miles and miles of walking on the esker-like dredge tailings along one side of the river, with few trees and less mercy from the 88 degree temperatures we were hiking through.  If not for the dredging, this would have been an impassible marshland, and if not for the 18 additional bridges (21 in all) through the segment, it would be impassible to this day.  Along the way you can still see the old log bridges built by the Boy Scouts in the 1950s, and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the picked-over carcasses of those who attempted the crossing before in the summer and fell to the oppressive heat.  It was a very, very long walk, and once again, there were NO yellow blazes.  Only the bridges, with their ice-age logos, gave any hint to the hiker that they were in the right place. 

The end could not have come soon enough.  What a miserable crossing.

Location: Portage Canal Segment, Northern Columbia County, WI

We drove down to park at the location along the Portage Canal Segment where the trail leaves the streets in the City of Portage and heads along actual trail.  We parked at the intersection of Griffith St and E. Mullett Street, and started walking north.  The trail cuts through a nice piece of woods along the river, ducks under Hwy 33 across a dubious bridge, and through a nice parking area on the north side of 33.  From there, the trail goes north along the Portage Canal, which has long since fallen to disuse and was permanently closed decades ago.  (The canal, not the trail.) I have two things to say about this particular piece of trail.  It is one of the best groomed trails I have seen yet, and it is definitely the worst marked.  The trail enters a large, open area stating that the trails in the area are maintained by a local snowmobile club.  Several trails head off from the open area.  NONE are marked with Yellow blazes.  Sure, the trail is supposed to follow the river, but is this really the trail?  Are we supposed to cross the river on the footbridge?  We hiked over a tenth of a mile looking for blaze.  Nothing.  Finally, I hiked ahead, convinced I would see yellow eventually, and I did.  Over three-quarters of a mile down the trail, there was a single, broken bit of yellow plastic nailed precariously to one side of the tree.  Not another mark, in either direction.  I hiked back and found that Theresa had come my way, but we complained the rest of the way how poorly that trail was marked.  Finally, at the north end, we saw another blaze, hidden on the underside of the footbridge railing coming the other direction.  We turned around from that location and saw a trail heading straight forward from the end of the bridge.  The real trail turns right.  If you missed that arrow under the railing, you could walk an unknown distance before realizing you weren’t headed the right way.  I’m sure many people do.  And the next blaze is over a mile away.  Unbelievable.

Finally, our last bit of trail for the weekend.  We drove through Portage (the trail through Portage is really difficult to follow in places) and parked on the south side of the bridge on Hwy 33 where the segment theoretically begins.  We found no sign there, but on the north side of the bridge is a sign, so take your pick.  From here, we got back on the bikes and rode north across the bridge and through town, arriving at our van about 5 pm.  We retrieved our two vehicles, celebrated with an ice cream cone and headed home.  Running total: 92.5 miles of trail covered; 7.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 11.

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Day 10: John Muir Park Segment; Connecting Routes 2 (Option 1, Part 2) & C.R. 1 (Part 1), Marquette County

Day 10: Saturday, August 17, 2013

Location: All but the final 1.1 miles of the Connecting Route between John Muir Park Segment, and the Marquette/Waushara County Line, Marquette County, WI and John Muir Park Segment, Marquette County, WI

We woke up in the morning comparatively refreshed, and drove both vehicles to Dakota Ct where we started the day before.  (Dakota COURT, that is, not Dakota Ave, not Dakota Drive, not Dakota Circle, boulevard or any other variation.  Someone really needs a broader outlook on life.)  We dropped the van and went about five miles down the road to the Krentz Cemetery on 7^th Ct.  There was some long discussion about whether we should bike back to the van, as planned, or reverse the situation and bike the other direction.  One thing we had learned is that it’s easier to bike downhill than uphill.  I had the impression that we would be going up a long uphill segment.  Reversing course would have cost us about 25 minutes of driving time, one-way, and another 15 extra minutes when we were done reorienting ourselves to our southward journey, and so in the end we decided to do it south to north the way we were.  I think the hill was a phantom, because when we got back to the van, we both said, ‘Where was the hill?’  Lesson learned.  Unless it’s really obvious, just go with it.

The biking was actually really pleasant.  We were serenaded by Sandhill Cranes the entire ride, and it was a gently rolling countryside, filled with oak, hickory and maple, and other northern hardwood forest standards.  Another five miles south, we rode the bikes from Elk Lane (Right by Elk Drive, North Elk Drive and South Elk drive) up 8^th Dr to Elk Ave (I’m not kidding) and up 6^th Dr until we got to CTH J.  CTH J is just flat-out dangerous for bicycles.  We tried to ride it but speeding cars, flying gravel, and our very lives kept flashing in front of our eyes, so we turned off to the safety of Old J and 7^th Ct where the most dangerous thing we faced was a tractor and someone’s farm dog.  We crossed J and rode up E/7^th Court back to the Prius.  Once again, I’d have to say the trip was beautiful.  The fields and trees and red-painted barns really make you feel like you’ve found Wisconsin. 

South again to Packwaukee, where we stopped for a burger and a beer.  Well – Theresa had a beer, I had a diet Pepsi.  I can’t say much for Packwaukee as far as restaurants go, but the burger at the bar wasn’t bad at all.  A charming ride through town followed, then up CTH C, then CTH ZZ (aka 9^th Ave) a bump over on Ember Drive and then half a mile north on 8^th Drive to the waiting van.  What’s to say?  The day was lovely, but Theresa’s new bicycle had the same problem as the old one – too-hard seat.  It was better than the original seat on the previous bike, but we decided we’d put the comfy seat on when we got back home. 

Just south of Packwaukee is Buffalo Lake, which because of the amazingly dry season was more like Buffalo mud flats.  Hundreds of White Egrets dotted the mud as far as the eye could see, but there sure wasn’t much water to be had.  We drove south and parked at John Muir Memorial County Park, where exists the ONLY hiking segment in all of Marquette County.  Because it was relatively hot, and it was about 1:30 in the afternoon, we decided we’d get out of the sun (biking) and walk the trail in the shade before we biked back to the car.  In theory it was a good idea, but much of the trail was in the sun anyway, so we didn’t exactly escape the heat.  The trail was well-marked and fairly easy walking, but it was too hot to enjoy, and we were happy to have it over with when we were done.  We didn’t see any of the pitcher plants or the poison sumac as advertised, but we did see the biggest blueberry patch either of us have ever enjoyed picking through.  Back at the van, we got the bikes out, and rode north again to Packwaukee, another relatively pleasant ride on seldom-driven roads, but there was a long uphill stint on CTH D just before rounding the bend towards Packwaukee.  It was 4:30 pm and the heat of the day was finally at its peak in the low 80’s.  Oh well – a long downhill slide into town and we were back at the Prius.

Here’s the problem.  There was some daylight left, but Theresa was utterly spent, and we were both too grungy for words in places better left unmentioned.  We were not far from Portage, so we drove south looking for a place where we could shower, bathe, or at least wash up a lot.  When we got to the Wisconsin River, we realized just how dry it has been lately, because the river was a trickle, and there was no privacy there anyway.  We found no parks with water, and when we went to the fairgrounds (which show showers on the Atlas map) we found everything shut down completely.  We found the showers, but they were locked.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Like following elephants to the mud hole, I started looking for ANY source of water.  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a car wash.  I know what you’re thinking, and no, we didn’t walk through the car wash.  Don’t get me wrong.  It crossed my mind.  But I figured where there’s a car wash there’s water somewhere, and then I spotted it!  Between the car wash bays was a sign that said, ‘Pet Wash’.  Before you jump too far ahead, or start judging – what would you do if you were two-day grungy and had no access to a shower?  Go to a motel and ask how much they would charge for a shower with no overnight stay?  Come back to the river at night and hope no one was watching?  Yeah, we thought of those too, but in the end, the pet wash seemed like a fine option.  Just needed quarters.  Which we didn’t have.  And the Change machine was busted.  Back to the van, I scratched up $2.25 in quarters, and that bought us exactly four minutes of water.  It’s amazing what two people can accomplish in 4 minutes or less. 

We bought A&W Root Beer at a drive-up, then drove back north.  I had a pretty good idea how I wanted to finish the day.  There is a point just south of John Muir Memorial County Park where you crest a hill.  We parked the van there, and then basically coasted about ¾ of a mile downhill to the park and the Prius.  Best piece of biking we did all day.  I mentioned before there were Sandhill Cranes around.  We heard them ALL DAY, saw them in fields, saw them fly overhead – it was wonderful. 

We drove south again along the connecting route looking for a place to camp in the van.  We found it just north of Rainbow Road along 12^th Ave.  Not the prettiest place around, but good and private, and quiet as the forest.  Before we called it a night, we walked hand-in-hand a little over a mile to the van, then drove wearily back to the parking area to sleep.  Not bad – 24.5 miles of biking and 3.7 miles of hiking for the day.  Running total: 79.7 miles of trail covered; 7.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 10.

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Day 9: Connecting Route 1, Waushara County; Connecting Route 2 (Option 1, Part 1), Marquette County

Day 9: Friday, August 16, 2013

Location: Connecting Route between CTH CH at Marquette/Waushara County line to beginning (southern) point of the Chaffee Creek Segment, Waushara County, WI, plus the northernmost 1.1 miles of the last connecting route in Marquette County

Expenses needs a little more updating.  Add to the previous total of $809.37 (not counting gasoline): Mosquito repellent: $23.72; Yellow Marking Paint: $4.59; Two traveling pillows: $7.55; Twin air mattress with batteries: $49.51; New bicycle for Theresa: $474.75.  Running total: $1369.49.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day for hitting the Ice Age Trail.  Unfortunately, I had to work.  We prepared the night before for a rapid departure, though, and after a too-big dinner at home, loaded up both vehicles and the bicycles and headed for the Marquette/Waushara county line.  I should say something about the new bicycle for Theresa.  The one she was using was OK, but it didn’t make her feel safe.  By the time we got done adjusting everything, she felt like she was riding too high, and felt top-heavy.  The new bike had a different design, and she’s lower to the ground, and happier.  Hard to put a value on safe, but $475 seems like a good deal to me.

The plan was to bike as much of Marquette County as we could manage over the 2+ day weekend, since Marquette County is essentially ALL connecting route.  By 7:00 pm we dropped one vehicle off at the end point, a dead-end stub alternatively called 5^th Rd or 6^th Ave, depending on which map you use.  Then we raced the setting sun up and around in a circle until we reached Dakota Ct, dropped the Prius, and biked rapidly up CTH CH until we reached the edge of Marquette County (about 1.1 miles), and then rode the 3.2 mile connecting route at the beginning (south) end of Waushara County.  CTH CH is a relatively dangerous piece of road, where lots of folks were heading out to their favorite watering holes around sunset, and we were happy to get off that particular piece of highway.  East on CC, then Czech, Then 5^th Rd then 6^th Ave.  Too dark to do anything else for the day except camp, that’s what we did.  We went and got the Prius, and came straight back to the end of 6^th Ave.  It was full-on dark when we got there, and so we just pulled off the road in a quiet place (as quiet as we could find next to the highway) and pulled out the twin air mattress for the back of the van.  This was our first camping effort in the van in about 10 years, so we were a little out of practice.  Nevertheless, the presence of the air mattress made all the difference in the world, and we were soon both sawing logs.  It was a MUCH better experience than tent-camping on the hard, hard earth.  Running total: 51.5 miles of trail covered; 7.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 9.

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Day 8: Wood Lake Segment (Part 3), Taylor County

Day 8: Sunday, August 11, 2013

Location: Wood Lake Segment, between Bear Ave West and North Loop Road, Taylor County, WI

The earth is a very unyielding bed.  No matter how cheerful the campsite may look, how serene the fire, how silent and natural the surrounding forest, a county park is sure to provide a hard-packed, unforgiving surface virtually guaranteed to make you ache anywhere you have bones.  It’s bad enough if you sleep on your back, but if you sleep on your side, or folded in any other position, it’s immeasurably worse.  Don’t get me wrong.  We own an air mattress.  We just didn’t bring it.  We got up, stiff and sore, wishing that we had taken ibuprofen the night before, and dragged ourselves into our clothes.  Breakfast was a brief affair, and we saddled up and started walking.  This was the result of a bit of brilliant planning on Theresa’s part.  We had parked the Prius a few miles down the trail, and were able to hike directly there from the campsite, since the trail actually came within 100 yards of where we slept.  A very nice piece of trail led south and then east along the edge of Wood Lake, and it was a gem of a hike, as advertised.  Relatively easy walking, well-marked trails, and even though it felt longer than the 2.1 miles I guessed it to be, we actually got to the car sooner than I expected.  Only two more segments faced us for the day, and they were both shorter than the one we had just finished, if only barely. 

We drove the car about a mile back to the west along Cutoff Road (the real one) and parked where it intersected the trail leading back around the north side of Wood Lake, so as to complete the loop around the lake and walk back to the campsite.  Again, the trail was lovely, and needed only minor grooming as we walked along.  We got back to the campsite feeling a little tired for not having slept well, but took a nice rest packing up the tent and having some late lunch. 

Finally, we got back in the car and drove to the intersection with the real Bear Ave East, or north as I like to think of it, and hiked the last couple of miles back to the car to complete the Wood Lake segment, a total of 12.1 miles broken into three day’s effort.  Except that we weren’t really happy.  We hadn’t actually connected the dots in the middle.  Rather than driving back to pick up the van and call it a day, we drove back to Bear Ave Middle and walked the 0.7 mile gravel road bypass around the closed segment at Gus Johnson Creek.  Even if every foot of trail wasn’t covered, we can say honestly that we walked the entire segment, from one end to the other, and actually did some extra in-and-out hiking on a closed segment.  Running total: 47.2 miles of trail covered; 7.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 8.

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Day 7: Wood Lake Segment (Part 2), Taylor County

Day 7: Saturday, August 10, 2013

Location: Wood Lake Segment, between Bear Ave West and STH 102, Taylor County, WI

Why in the world did we drive BOTH vehicles home?  We could have left one sitting up in Taylor County and saved the gas and the alone time driving.  We won’t do that again, if we can help it.  Today we got up, drove BOTH cars back up to Taylor County, and planned to resume our hiking.  But – change of plans (again).  Today, we brought our camping gear with us, planning to stay at the Wood Lake county park.  We decided we should once again start with the longest piece of trail first thing in the morning, and it worked out rather well.  We parked the van at STH 102, and took the Prius onto the gravel roads that only show up on one of our three maps, looking for the place on the trail that theoretically crosses somewhere north of Bear Avenue.  Long story short, it doesn’t exist.  Don’t waste your time looking for it.  We drove through rutted gravel two-track roads of deteriorating condition until Theresa wisely put a stop to the madness and said she wasn’t going any farther.  Convinced it must be ‘just around the corner’, I got out of the car and jogged onward.  This little side trip cost me about a 0.4 mile jog in one direction to a nice hunting shack, and a 0.4 mile jog back to the car to report that no, the trail doesn’t cross this track anywhere.  A waste of time and energy.  Back to Bear Ave where we should have started in the first place, we started our day once again almost an hour later than we should have, and hit the trail.  The length of this first piece is up for interpretation.  One sign says 2.1 miles, another says 2.5, and my legs felt more like 3.  On the map, the little squiggly covers two miles as the crow flies, with significant north-south and up-down variegation, so I’m sticking with at least 2.8.  Of note: There is one area of the trail that crosses a marshy area which was marginally marked, and there is only one good way through.  The correct way is to cross the stream directly in front of you using the rocks which are at least partially hidden by long grass, sedge and raspberries.  Then, cut a hard left along a causeway-like logging road which itself has been cut in two by water and must be hopped across.  The WRONG way is to try and ‘go around’ either to the left or right.  It starts bad and gets worse, although we proved it could be done.  Across this area going west, the trail darts north into the woods.  This corner was very difficult to spot, so with a little saw-work and yellow paint we made sure the next hikers would have an easier time of it.  The rest of the segment went without incident.

Once done with this rather longish-feeling segment, we drove to ‘Bear Avenue Middle’, the second of three places where the trail crosses Bear Ave, found very good parking along the road and hiked down a broad logging road of a trail for about a half a mile.  The problem was, the trail left the logging road about a quarter-mile into the trip and heads west into the woods, so we actually blew a quarter mile past and had to back-pedal until we found the turnoff.  This was at least partly funny, because only a week earlier we had spoken to someone who alluded that he had made the exact same mistake.  Out came the paint and the saw again, and this corner, too, became much harder to miss. 

The segment hiked fairly well until about a mile into it.  The western ¼ mile of this piece, however, has seen no less than four major trees come down across the trail which are in serious need of a chainsaw.  I cleared paths through, under, or around the first three snags, but the last one was just silly.  I followed the beaten path of many wanderers up the hill and around this one.  Definitely a place that should be visited by trail maintenance volunteers.

Our next piece gets a little harder to describe.  According to the Atlas on page 26f, we were headed for the place where the trail crosses cutoff road, north of Bear Ave.  There is a short sub-segment that goes around and across Gus Johnson Creek, which we planned to hike east to west.  Two problems.  First, the trail section is closed due to beaver activity.  More on that later.  Second, the Atlas has all the roads in this area labeled incorrectly.  The part that goes north from Bear Ave on the Atlas map that is labeled ‘Cutoff Rd (Primitive Road)’ is in fact where Bear Ave continues north.  The third crossing of Bear Ave in fact occurs up there.  The other road on the Atlas, labeled as Bear Ave between Cutoff Rd (Primitive Road) on the west and, uh, Cutoff Rd on the east, is actually Cutoff Rd, and not Bear Ave.  And the one labeled Cutoff Rd at the east end of Bear Ave is actually North Loop Road.  If you’re lost, so were we.  Let’s try again.  In reality, Bear Ave cuts north and crosses the Ice Age Trail just west of Gus Johnson creek, up near the north bend.  Cutoff Rd then travels from Bear Ave to North Loop Road, which is the north-south road that ends at Wilderness Ave just south of the trail, but east of Wood Lake.  Actually, it gets worse.  Wilderness Ave does in fact make it to this intersection, but instead of continuing east from there, the name of the road changes to ‘Ice Age Trail’, even though the map still labels it as Wilderness Ave.  Cute, but confusing.  It’s like writing a story with two different main characters named ‘Bob’. 

Back to the hike.  We parked the car up on Bear Ave east (north?) and walked to the trail head, where we met our first ‘Trail Segment Closed’ sign.  Apparently, a beaver dam caused a washout of the bridge across Gus Johnson Creek, and they recommended walking the road basically back the direction we just drove to get here.  In the end, we both decided to hike the segment just to see if the wash-out was still a problem.  After all, it has been fairly dry weather lately, so maybe we could get across after all.  Truth be told, it was my idea.  Theresa would happily have gone around.  We learned two things on this little jaunt.  There are a LOT of people who help to clear the trail of fallen branches, and trail closed signs pretty much mean the trail is closed.  Not that one can’t hike down to the creek and look across the beaver dam to the other side, but it’s definitely an out-and-back hike.  When I got down to the creek (which was a long way downhill by the way – I wouldn’t want to try hiking stuff like this when there’s snow on the ground) I heard the unmistakable slap of a beaver tail – the very varmint who probably caused the problem in the first place.  There was not one beaver dam, but several in this area, and the erstwhile bridge floated forlornly in the middle of this black water backwater looked more like a misplaced pallet than a safe crossing.  We stared across.  Theresa knew all along there would be no crossing.  I figured with the right shoes and the right attitude, the crossing could be made on one of the beaver dams, but they were fairly flimsy, and not yet water-tight.  It could be very wet, and for no good reason.  We hiked back up and out, around the branches and one enormous fallen tree which directly crossed the trail at the exact point of a 90 degree turn, and went back to the car.  Rather than hiking the connecting route, we decided to count the in-and-out as sufficient and mark the segment ‘done’.  We drove to the second car, then dropped the Prius off at the next place we planned to walk to, and took the van to the campground at Wood Lake County Park.  The camping turned out to be free of charge, and really quite nice.  We laid out our tent, started a little fire, did the wash up and dinner thing, and went to sleep fatigued but happy with our day.  Running total: 41.5 miles of trail covered; 6.9 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 7.

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Day 6: East Lake Segment (Part 2); Wood Lake Segment (Part 1), Taylor County

Day 6: Friday, August 9, 2013

Location: East Lake Segment, between CTH D and Beards Lane, Taylor County, WI

I haven’t been keeping a running total of the expenses related to our new hobby, but perhaps I should.  Let’s see – park sticker - $25.  IAT Companion Guide - $25.  Hotel - $65.  IAT Atlas - $35.  Two new Bicycle Seats - $42.12.  Bike Rack for vehicle - $369.25.  Trailer Hitch for smaller vehicle - $208.00.  Stihl hand saw - $40.  Gasoline for driving to and from trail segments - $$$.  And they say walking is a cheap hobby. 

Today we decided to go back to Taylor County and finish hiking the rest of the East Lake segment, which was a 4.7 mile sub-segment east of Beards Lane and west of CTH D.  This was our longest uninterrupted hike to date, and it felt like it.  The weather was absolutely ideal – sunny and 65 degrees, light wind to keep the bugs away.  We dropped one car off at Beards Lane, and made an attempt to drive to the parking area at CTH D.  Road construction forced us into a long, ill-conceived detour which eventually got us where we wanted to be, but not without dirty looks from several construction people that we passed while driving on a closed road being actively graded and repaired. 

We started our hike, and ended about 4 pm getting gratefully back to the car.  It took about an hour longer than we expected it to, but then we were doing trail maintenance along the way.  We brought a lopper and a saw, and had the opportunity to remove many a hindrance to perfect trail conditions.  About halfway through, the lopper locked up because the nut which holds the two pieces together got too tight, and there was no way to loosen it.  The trail was actually very good, and though the mosquitoes were plentiful we remained deet-covered and mostly bite-free so all went well.  Then something truly noteworthy occurred.  We were walking along, just west of an excellent bridge that had been built along the trail when Theresa looked down and spotted a socket from a socket set.  This by itself is not remarkable, except for the size.  It was an 11/32 long-tube socket.  Just exactly the size I needed to un-stick my lopper, and long enough that I could get a good hold on it with my gloved hand and untwist the nut, making the lopper functional again.  I’d like to thank whatever guiding spirit provided that one for me out in the deep forested north woods.

Location: Wood Lake Segment, between Tower Road and North Loop Road, Taylor County, WI

The original plan was to move west, and begin taking on the Wood Lake segment from the western edge, but it was later in the day than we expected, and the first bit of Wood Lake segment was about 3.5 miles of uninterrupted wilderness, so we opted instead to go to the far eastern end and hike the last (first?) 1.0 mile piece between Tower Road and North Loop Road.  We had a decent break driving the cars to both ends, so when we began hiking we took off at a vigorous pace, all things considered.  We found ourselves hiking briskly through a beautiful piece of trail, with excellent markings and little in the way of obstruction.  In fact, we got to the car so fast we considered hiking some more, but chose instead to drive our vehicles home and get a good night sleep and an early start in the morning.  Running total: 36.1 miles of trail covered; 6.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 6.

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Day 5: Grandfather Falls Segment (Part 1), Lincoln County

Day 5: Sunday, August 4, 2013

Location: Eastern Half of Grandfather Falls Segment, Lincoln County, WI

As we reached the end of our Sunday at home, and far too late in the day to be considering it, we decided to jump in our car and drive up to Lincoln County to hike the eastern half of the Grandfather Falls segment, through the Merrill School Forest.  The Grandfather Falls segment is cut in two, with the eastern half being a 1.6 mile in-and-out dead end trail.  We parked in the Newwood County Park parking lot, and stepped immediately onto the trail.  It was already feeling dark in the woods when we started hiking at 6:30 pm, and I figured we needed to hoof it the whole way.  It’s no fun hiking in the dark, and we didn’t have flashlights.  In hindsight, this was not a bright plan.  But – we were motivated, and we hiked fairly quickly down the trail.  Once again, this was not the most frequently used segment of the trail, and once again it was less-than-ideal hiking.  The blazes through this section were painted in odd places, and sometimes it was hard to locate the next one, though it was nearly impossible to get lost.  We hiked until we found it difficult to believe we had to keep hiking east, since it felt like more than 1.6 miles.  But there was nothing for it but to keep going.  The trail joined with a gravel road for a while, and past an educational building dedicated to Nels Evjue.  Then, it leaves the gravel road for another short stint through the ever-thickening woods, finally reaching a sign stating ‘End of Ice Age Trail’, just past a treacherous crossing of a boggy, rocky stream bed.  We reversed course, and like most hikers (I imagine) bailed out on the trail, and instead walked down the length of the gravel road and back to the highway the easy way, perhaps taking only a mile or so instead of 1.6 miles.  In our case, it was also the safest route, because by now the woods were looking very dark indeed.  Put flatly, we lucked out.  If we had been hiking through that darkness until 8:30 at night in August it could have put a whole different spin on our day.  Another lesson learned the cheap way.  Running total: 30.4 miles of trail covered; 6.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of Day 5.

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Non-Hiking Day 1: Working on the Plover River Segment

Non-Hiking Day 1: Saturday, August 3, 2013

Location: Plover River Segment, Marathon County, WI

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day.  We volunteered to join the Mobile Skills Crew putting the finishing touches on the northern extension of the Plover River segment, from Hwy 52 where the previous segment ended to CTH HH.  The weather was great, and we spent a wonderful day learning exactly what it takes to build and maintain a beautiful trail along very difficult terrain.  As first-timers, we were given the illustrious title of ‘loppers’.  We were handed our Stihl hand-saws and loppers, and told to make the trail beautiful.  Remove offending branches, cut down small trees, that sort of thing.  Actually, we were given better instruction than that, but we worked fairly independently among a group of about 40 people with a wide variety of trail-making tools who were very good at what they did.  I liked many of them, and they were older than I would have pictured.  Most of them had been on site, camping and working on the trail, since the previous Wednesday.  We got just the barest hint of the amount of work they put in, and the results were delightful.  I don’t really know how much trail we walked that day, but I think we nearly made it a mile down the trail at least, hacking off limbs and uprooting small trees that would later grow into bigger problems.  When we were done for the day, we hung around and had an excellent dinner cooked by an elderly volunteer who was decidedly revered by the crew for the meals she was able to prepare.  Theresa and I met a charming young woman from the Chicago area, Jamie, who had once worked up in the boundary waters, and at the same lodge Theresa worked at all those years ago.  Theresa said it was like meeting herself.  She got gooseflesh when she discovered that Jamie worked at exactly the same places she did.  They knew many of the same people, even though a couple decades separated their paths.  Small world.  We decided not to tally any part of the trail today, because we would just go in and walk it later, anyway.  We didn’t touch any signs, so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.  Also – we picked up a copy of the official Ice Age Trail Atlas.  Another great tool, and necessary if you really care about your hiking.  

Running total unchanged: 28.8 miles of trail covered; 5.3 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.  End of non-hiking day 1.

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