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 12th 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 19th 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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