Day 23: Sunday, February 16th, 2014
Location: Central portion of Janesville Segment, Rock County,
WI
We have spent the winter not walking the Ice Age Trail. Oh, we’ve wanted to. We have the equipment, the desire - we certainly
know the way. We just haven’t done
it. For one thing, the weather has been
bitingly cold. Unreasonably cold. Six times this year we have seen the
thermometer dip to more than 25 degrees below zero and stay that way most of
the day. Once I actually saw 30 degrees
below zero. Weeks have gone by where nightly
temperatures were double-digit negative.
On top of that, we have seen prodigious snowfall this winter, more like
the remembered and romanticized winters of my youth. Regardless, these are just excuses. The trail waits – and we have not gone
seeking. Not until today, anyway.
Without troubling the reader with details unbecoming a trail
blog, let us simply state that on the afternoon of Sunday, February 16th,
at approximately 4:00, after long absence and great deliberation (if little
actual preparation) we found ourselves parked in the City of Janesville at a
small stub of S. Lexington Drive, along with several other hikers and at least
one set of sledders. The fact that there
was anyone at all in this area on this particular Sunday was somewhat
amazing. While the temperatures had been
acceptably in the teens, there had been snowfall and wind off and on for
several days straight, and it was a little windy. We were, however, staring at a sign
identifying the well-worn path in front of us as undeniably some part of our
long-departed Ice Age Trail. It had been
sixteen weeks to the day since we last set foot on the trail, and we were
anxious and excited to get started again, even if only a short trip. We were geared up in our multiple layers,
both of us in snow pants and wearing our new leg gaiters for the first
time. If anyone reading this needs
encouragement to buy an item to add comfort to winter hiking, you can’t go
wrong with good, waterproof leg gaiters.
The trail in this area is literally flat. Paved in fact, if rumor is true, beneath the
hard-packed snow. We did actually see
bits of pavement and even a painted white dashed line peeking through at
times. Bikes, joggers, dog walkers and
ice-age-trail-hikers apparently are encouraged to travel on the right, and only
pass when there is clear visibility. Or
something like that.
There is one undeniable fact which most hikers
have discovered, or have had to plan their way around. You simply cannot hike a trail once with a
car. If you have only one car, or only one
manner of conveyance, you must hike twice. Once out – once back. Thus, we were forced not only by diminishing
daylight but also by logistical certainties to cover a shorter distance on the
trail than we might otherwise have accomplished. We walked a short distance north along the
trail/bikepath until we reached the bridge where I-90/39 passes noisily
overhead, and turned around. There was
no particular logic in choosing this spot to turn around, but it was easy to
find on the map, so that’s how far we went.
Then we walked east again, past the car, along Mohawk road, through
Blackhawk Meadows Park, across the busy intersection at (unmarked) E Racine Street,
past the Blackhawk Golf Course next to Blackhawk Park in Black Hawk’s Grove,
and along Palmer Drive until we reached Sharon Rd. We probably could have gone further, but one
of us, who shall remain unnamed, had to pee and found the prospect difficult in
an urban setting in the midst of a snowstorm.
We turned around and returned to the car. I calculated that we achieved approximately
1.3 miles of hiking, twice. Running
total: 209.5 miles of trail covered; 14.5 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 23.
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