Day 29: Friday May 1st, 2015
Location: Skunk & Foster Lakes Segment (Part 1),
Waupaca County
Have
you ever been fishing, sitting in a boat, the sun starting to set in a
beautiful crimson wash, the air warm and inviting, a light breeze, no bugs, no
other boats in sight, nowhere to go and the rest of time to get there? Neither have I, but today, as I was hiking the
Skunk & Foster Lakes Segment in Waupaca County I think I got an idea of
what that might feel like.
I’d
like to wrap up this simply gorgeous region and lay it out in front of me every
time I go hiking on the Ice Age Trail. I
would have to call this one of the prettiest segments we have yet hiked. No – it IS the prettiest. Better still, one part of the trail can be
considered a Loop trail, even though it technically isn’t, and it can be
enjoyed using a single vehicle.
Today
was a busy day, and we didn’t get to the trail, ready to hike, until ten
minutes after 1:00, but the weather was still a pleasant 70°. We parked at the delightful parking area
located here
on North Foley Rd., and decided to walk the tiny bit of road (0.2 miles) north
until we reached the north end of the trail, rather than taking the blue-blazed
spur, mainly because the spur would have taken us to the middle of the
trail.
Once
we got past the short, straight section along Sannes Creek, we headed into the
woods on a beautifully groomed trail which rose and fell lazily to the tops of the
hills and then down again, offering spectacular views of the three spring-fed
lakes in the designated State Natural Area.
I think someone named ‘Skunk Lake’ to disguise how beautiful it is and
keep other fisherman away.
There were a delightful variety of spring flowers along the trail, including Duchman's Breeches and Liverwort.
 |
| Liverwort / Hepatica nobilis |
 |
| Dutchman's Breeches |
Another
neat feature are the many trail-side erratic boulders, perched like sentinels
at the top of one of the hills. I love
looking at these things and thinking about them riding passively along,
supported by 100 Billion snowflakes, until they are dropped gently in their current
resting place where they have remained for 11 or 12 thousand years, a mere
blink in the multi-million year life of the rock itself. It helps to ground me when I’m overestimating
my problems, and my importance in the world.
The
local population uses this area extensively, so ideal conditions would be to
hike here during the week, before 4 pm. As
it happens, that’s when we were there, so we met no one else on the trail
itself, even though there were other vehicles there with Ice Age Trail stickers
in the window.
We
ended our hike at 2:40, with the temperature holding at 69°, another 1.9 miles
of trail hiked. The trail comes out on
N. Foley Rd., and to get back to the car we had to turn left and walk the 0.2
miles back to the parking area. I found this
segment to be a very easy walk, and I rate this trail an A, my highest
rating.
There
have been changes to the Skunk & Foster Lakes Segment and the adjoining
Waupaca River Segment since the 2011 Atlas and Companion Guide were published,
so be sure to look at the new books if you want to know where to start and
end. Word of caution – the Google map
shows the trail ending in a different location than it really does. The 2014 trail guidebook is more accurate.
Running total: 232.1 miles of trail covered; 23.0
miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 29.
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