Day 1, Take 1: Friday, July 5, 2013
Location: Interstate Park, St. Croix Falls, WI
“Let’s walk the Ice Age Trail”, she says. OK, fine. 1200 miles – that should take us, oh – the rest of our lives.
Our first day on the trail was not really our first day on the trail. I should explain. Theresa and I had a square-dance calling gig out in Western Wisconsin on the 5th of July, 2013, a Friday. The event didn’t start until 7 pm, so we felt we had enough time to do something productive with the rest of our day. Instead, we decided to do something completely unproductive. In the past, we had talked about walking the Ice Age Trail. I thought, ‘Can’t finish if you don’t start’. So, with very little planning or preparation, we headed for the beginning of the trail. We drove up to St. Croix Falls, headed for the park and asked where the trail started. We had just enough time to go to the beginning, walk a very short distance, and head for the gig in Woodville. We were informed by the two friendly people at the front gate that they didn’t really know where the trail started. They offered maps of the park, which didn’t help much, but we paid the $25 for the annual park sticker and went to the next stop, the Ice Age Center and Gift Shop. Here, we thought, we could get on our way. The young girl behind the counter, however, was also unable to tell us where to go to begin our journey. She offered us more maps, and wished us good walking. Time was short. We studied the maps, made a decision, and headed for the boat landing. There, we thought, we could begin our trip by dipping our toes in the water, turning around, and walking east. Which we did. We also spotted a nearby trail, the River Bluff Trail, which we were certain would get us going in the right direction. We walked up the steep trail to a breathtaking view off the top of the bluff. Mosquitoes were fierce. It was hot and humid. We were out of time. Our journey begun, we walked back down the hill and headed for the car. End of day 1, Take 1.
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