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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