Day 36: Underdown Segment (Part 1), Lincoln County

Day 36: Saturday August 31st, 2019

Location: Western 2/3 of the Underdown Segment, Lincoln County, between Horn Lake Road and the first intersection with Loop Road
4.0 miles of trail covered

Sometimes my feet don't agree with the maps. There are scales of miles that have been stretched, I think, and those are the ones that were laid down across this segment to measure how far it is from end to end. If the entire Underdown segment is only 6.3 miles, then I think my feet hiked the first 6.1 miles by the time the map said we covered 4.0 miles. That means the last 2.3 miles better feel like getting to the end of my driveway, or I'm going to think this whole thing is rigged. 

The day was absolutely perfect. 67 degrees, mostly cloudy, light breeze and not at all humid. We really hemmed and hawed about what segment to hike today. We were almost committed to hiking the Turtle Rock segment, but we read a few blogs describing that hike this time of year, and at the last second decided instead to knock off a couple miles of the infamous hills of Lincoln County. We figured the Underdown would be a great way to ease into it, before we tackled the long stretches of Harrison Hills, Parish Hills, and beyond. 

We decided to drop our target vehicle at the point where the trail crosses Loop Road, which seemed to be about 2/3 of the way through from the West, which was the way we were hiking. Then we drove to the western end of the segment at the end of Horn Lake Road and started east. It was 12:00 noon.  



I have no complaints about the trail. In fact, if all trails were like this one, I think more people would go about hiking the whole thing. It started out slow and lazy, a single track rolling over low hills, showing off the deep hollow kettles and steep hillsides as you go. 

Within a short time, we reached the sign proclaiming we were entering the "Enchanted Forest". I have to admit, the walking was very nice, and if you've read any other posts you know I am partial to hemlock woods. This is not the single most enchanting piece of trail I have walked, but the fact that it is wide and easy to walk made it very nice indeed. 

About this time we were passed by a horse (rider included) which explained the signs indicating that this was a multi-purpose trail. Along the way, the woods were full of all the typical trees and ground cover we have come to expect in northern Wisconsin. Sun dappled through the leaves occasionally, speckling the path as we went. Truly, we thought, if the whole of the Underdown segment was like this, we'd have no trouble finishing the entire segment by end of day. 

We walked for what seemed a very long time on this nice trail until we finally came to Mist Lake, which we knew to be just over 1/3 of the way. Here is where the time-space continuum first started to warp a little. That felt a lot longer than a mile and a half. Nice, easy walking and all that, but really? Only a mile-and-a-half? We hadn't even hit any of the real hills yet. Time for a break - we sat by the very appealing edge of the lake and let the dog drink her fill. We ate sandwiches and snacked on other stuff for a while, then started the first real climb of the day.

The hill just east of Mist Lake is not too imposing, but this is where the hiker needs to start paying closer attention to the trail. The IAT leaves the comfortable rolling horse trails, and starts sharing time with mountain biking trails, and then branching suddenly off of those trails, at times for no apparently good reason, only to join them again later. But I'm getting ahead of the story.

Partway up the hill, the horse trail goes forward, but the IAT ducks to the right and climbs steeply to the top of the hill. I have a suspicion that if you followed the horse trail, you would eventually encounter the IAT as it comes back off this peak, but don't do it. The climb is worth the effort. 

Note that the blaze on the left makes you think you should 'head on down the trail'

But this is one place where the trail veers sharply, making it easy to miss

As we worked our way up this narrow, steep piece of trail, we encountered the first of three snags across the trail, where three of the four of us (Theresa, Nicole and Joplin the super-dog) had to hop over, up, and around to get by. I pulled out my hand-saw and hacked my way through, clearing the path for the next person. This required about ten minutes, and I caught up with the group at the top of the ridge, sitting on the Leopold bench placed in memory of Phil Schaefer who was instrumental in developing this segment of trail. 

As we walked down from the top, we saw deer and a whole covey of ruffed grouse. I shall forever think of this as "Phil's Hill", and I found it to be far more enchanting than any other part of the segment. 



The trail goes north for a ways, crosses another horse trail, then rises another very small hump, then curves to the east before climbing another significant hill. There is a place where the trail takes a 90 degree corner to the right. This is where I encountered the second of three snags across the trail, and this one was much larger. Nevertheless, I decided to tackle it. As Theresa and Nicole hiked on, I stayed and sawed and dragged and cleared and sawed some more, until there was only one main log left laying across the trail. For whoever does the trail maintenance in this area, you're welcome. 



I hustled along, past a big hole on the left, and was just catching up to the others as they started climbing the third real hill of the leg, only to encounter one more snag, a pine tree, obstructing the path. Trails went around in both directions, but this hillside was steep and neither walk-around was much fun. Out comes the saw, and once again I did my boy scout duty to leave things better than I found them. You may now hike past this obstruction and merely glance over and say, 'someone came through and cut that'. 

Let me add that I don't take particular pride in clearing branches and even trees off the trail. I do it because I can, and because there are many such people who have done far more than I ever will, chainsawing their way across the countryside, or swinging Pulaski axes until their fingers bled. I'm just doing my tiny part to keep it that way.

So a little farther along, we finally reached the shelter at Dog Lake, and what a wonderful place that is!! I can't say enough about not only the shelter itself, but the fact that it was clean, well-provisioned, and absolutely begging for someone to stay there overnight. There were boards hanging off the walls where people signed and dated their stays, but not a single signature or graffiti mark on the walls. There was a fire ring. A sleeping bench. Several Leopold benches. A shovel. A broom. There was a book to read. There was a tin with fishing lures and a lighter. There was a half jug of clean water. It restored my faith in humans. Some of them, anyway. We spent a little while there, but eventually had to go. I left behind a Ziploc bag with several long pulls of toilet paper, and off we went. 

The trail rolled off to the northeast, running up and over three different hills, each of which was starting to feel higher than the last. Twice the trail darted off the perfectly good mountain bike trail into the woods just to go a little higher on the hill. I was starting to wonder about the value of these departures, especially since they were a little tricky to spot and it would be easy to miss the turn-off in every case. 

Finally, with one more long, slow up-and-down that covered about a tenth of a mile, we joined up with the horse trail again for a rapid decent to our waiting car. 

Topography is difficult to photograph, but this shows the steepness of the hills, some of which you must walk, not "Under" or "Down", but up and over.

The time was 4:30 pm; temperature 64 degrees. 

Normally this would be the end of the story, but as we were getting the gear off and getting ready to leave, two hikers came through, about to start walking the very trail we just got off. We never got their names, but we did swap trail condition stories with them, and before they left, we refilled their water reservoirs with the water we had left in the car, a little over a gallon. They were appreciative, and told us they might decide to stay at the Dog Lake shelter, so having fresh water made a lot of things easier. We gave the shelter the thumbs up, and told them to have a great night. 


Running total: 261.9 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 36.

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Day 35: Averill-Kelly Creek Segment, Lincoln County

Day 35: Sunday August 25th, 2019

Location: Averill-Kelly Creek Segment, Lincoln County
4.9 miles of trail covered

Back when we started this hobby in July of 2013, our first day of hiking was out at the western terminus. It was 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, and we never even found the trail. Seriously. We had no idea what we were doing. Read back to the first entry in this blog. On our second attempt we did actually cover a bit of trail, so that is what counts as our "official" Day 1 hike on the trail. 

We were busy people at the time, and many things kept us from hiking.  But one day, when we were driving south from Manitowish Waters after putting in a culvert and driveway using shovels and wheelbarrows (yes, we really did that), we pulled out the trail maps and on a wild hair decided we'd knock out a tiny little piece of the trail. We drove our car to the parking area at the eastern end of the Newwood Segment and walked the 0.6 miles of gravel road down to the West end of the Averill-Kelly Creek Segment, and then back again. It was an uneventful and nearly meaningless hike, but it did set up some rather large expectations. I remember looking east into the Averill-Kelly creek segment and saying, "We're going to be back here someday hiking that."  From that day forward, Averill-Kelly became part of the mythos of our Ice Age planning. Someday, we would hike it. Someday. 

The segment, as described, seems imposing. Three creek crossings. 5.6 miles of difficult, unbroken trail. Were we physically up to the challenge? We decided we would focus our efforts on other parts of the trail further west, and tackle this when we were in better shape.

As time went by, we kept talking about Averill-Kelly. 'We could do it in winter, maybe, when the creeks have frozen.' 'If they freeze', we reasoned. Fast moving creeks often stay open in winter, Then what? Hunting seasons got in the way. Focus on other parts of the map. Averill-Kelly just sat there, unchanging.

Six years have passed. Twice we have taken 'breaks' of 500+ days between segments. Finally, a week ago, we started hiking again. We hemmed and hawed about what segment to do this weekend. Averill-Kelly has shrunk somewhat in the eyes of the official route-keepers, now registering only 4.9 miles in the 2017 books (somehow the trail was magically 0.7 miles shorter) but it has loomed ever-larger in our minds. It was a mental block more than a physical one. We started researching the segment once again, and - SHOCK! - according to Google Maps, there had been a change to the segment, showing that rather then three creek crossings, there were now only two!* And from what we read, one of those was a rock-hop. Decision made. Though we were less prepared for a long-ish hike than we were years ago, we decided today would be the day.

* You can't always trust Google Maps

So we loaded up our gear, picked up our daughter and her faithful dog, Joplin, and headed out to slay the dragon. 

Our gear for this trip was this:  Food. Water. Walking sticks. Water shoes. Bug repellent. Leg gaiters, to ward off ticks. All gear treated with Permethrin. (Our memory of the ticks in this region of Wisconsin was still firmly in place.) Rope. (Always bring rope when you're far away from everything.) Emergency first-aid supplies. Small towels (to dry off with after creek crossings). Check, check, check.

We decided to hike the segment east to west, to put off as long as possible the creek crossing where it was necessary to change shoes, socks, and leg gaiters. Driving down Country Road E, which my car still remembers from the many times coming here to hike the segments to the west of this spot, we dropped one vehicle at the western end of the segment, at the very spot we stood and stared into the woods six-plus years ago. A new sign. A little better maintained. Mowed, even. A good sign. Then we drove back to the eastern end on Burma Road, touched the sign, took our photos, and started the day. 1:17 pm, temperature in the low 70's, mostly sunny skies. Perfect day for hiking.

The first half-mile of the segment is rocky, mucky in places, and picks its way through a canopy of oak, maple, ash and other mostly hardwood species, with thick undergrowth. 'Six miles', we thought, because in our minds that's what you get when you round up from 5.6. 'This will be a challenge.' Though the going was slow, the ground was basically level and we made steady progress.  It wasn't too bad, as long as you didn't turn an ankle. There were a few small trees down over the trail, but I cleared those away with my hand saw and we kept moving. 

A quarter mile in and we reached the first creek crossing, Kelly Creek, and as advertised it was possible to rock-hop from one side to the other, though the rocks were quite slippery. The second quarter mile was much like the first, with few mosquitoes, but a persistent cloud of black flies that never went away the whole day.

Then the trail turns sharply north for a quarter mile or so, and you reach an intersection with a long logging road or file lane. This was an unexpected pleasure, as the trail became much less rocky, and offered a long-straight way through the woods. Even better, our cell phones were able to pick up a signal out here, so I was able to bring up a satellite map to view our progress via GPS. This northern section was a little less than a mile in length, and it was here that we encountered the only trees (two of them) across the trail that were of any consequence at all. This is in itself a testament to how much maintenance had been done on the trail after the summer storms, as we encountered many places where significant chainsaw work was needed to open the trails up again. 

There was one notable 'puddle' in the road, which is apparently a permanent resident, since the official trail is routed around it with a little side route through the woods. Good thing, or it would have been necessary to count this as a fourth, knee-deep water crossing.

As we reached the corner where the trail turned to the south, we were delighted to discover that it continued to follow a fire lane, so the going was much easier than we had anticipated. Also, since this area gets a bit more sunlight, due to more recent logging in the past, there were ample blackberries to eat as we meandered on our way. Of course, with ripe blackberries come bears, and we started seeing frequent bear scat along the trail. At one point we even got a fabulous footprint in the mud of both front and hind paw from an average-sized bear.  We kept a careful eye out the rest of the day for any possible encounters. There were none, but the dog alerted several times to smells, and we were always on watch. 

Finally, we reached Averill Creek. And it was not waist-deep as we feared, but only a swift-moving stream not more than calf-deep at the worst, if you stay near the edge where people have repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to create stepping stones. Before crossing, we sat down on the near shore and ate our lunches, having reached this spot with little difficulty, and knowing that once we crossed the creek we were only about a mile and a half from the waiting car. 

We all removed our leg gaiters, socks, and hiking boots; put on our water shoes, and picked our way across the slippery stones to the other side, where we could have thrown our belongings rather than carry them if we had wanted to. The water was surprisingly cold, and I realized I wouldn't have wanted to do this on a 45 degree day. Once we reached the other side, we sat down again, took out our towels, dried our legs and toes, put our socks, hiking boots, and leg gaiters, packaged and stowed the wet gear, and put our hiking packs back on again. It all seemed a little silly, we thought, to go through all that work and fuss just to cross a little creek, but we were happy to have made the preparations anyway. 

Packs on, we started on down the trail again. I could see from the satellite map that the trail now walked along the north side of the Newwood River, where it neared a large house and then crossed what must be a new bridge to get back to the south side. We walked approximately 300 feet and...

No.  No no no no no.  Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It can't be real. The trail... but... the map! The satellite map! Google Maps!  NO!!! What have you done?  

You can't always trust Google Maps. Or the satellite maps on your phone. Or any other piece of technology. The trail is the trail, and the trail goes where the trail goes. There is no new northern route. There is no bridge over Newwood River. Laughingly close to the first creek crossing over Averill Creek, there is a second crossing over the slightly deeper Newwood River. Still there. Nothing's changed. 

"*Filth* it", I hear Theresa say. "I'm not going through all that again!" Straight into the water she goes, hiking boots, gaiters and all. I had to laugh to myself a little, because after all the years of dreading, planning, the purchase of a new pair of water shoes for her specifically for this very water crossing, she just plunges headlong into the river and marches to the other side. 'Hell', I thought. 'We could have done that six years ago.'

Our daughter decided to just go barefoot. I changed back into my water shoes. 'Why not?' I thought. 'I've got them along'. 

After this final creek crossing, the route became a little more like how it had started, a narrow rocky path winding through the woods, but a bit less rocky than before. After a brief time we rejoined a larger logging road, and ate blackberries as we headed nearly due west the last mile or so before reaching the car. Over the course of the day, we saw no large animals and precious few birds, but we encountered many kinds of mushrooms, and I have sprinkled photos of them throughout this post. 

The time was 5:45 pm; temperature 67 degrees. 

Running total: 257.9 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 35.

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Day 34: Thornapple Creek Segment, Marathon County

Day 34: Sunday August 18th, 2019

Location: Thornapple Creek Segment, Marathon County
3.0 miles of trail covered

Today was supposed to rain. Last night's forecast said rain by 4 am lasting all day until 5 pm. Not a problem, because we have plenty of rainy day activities to do around the house. But then I woke up and made coffee, and at 8:30 I suddenly realized it wasn't raining. 'OK', thinks I, 'maybe I can get the lawn cut before it starts raining.' I knew I was out of gas, so I put the empty can in the car and headed for the gas station. A quarter mile down the road, the skies opened up and it started pouring. 

I got the gas anyway. Then I got home and started catching up on my blogging, since I was seriously delinquent in posting some of the details from previous hikes. At about 10:00 I noticed the rain was easing off considerably. By 11:00 it had stopped completely. 

"Hey Google - is it going to rain today?" Nope - all done raining.

My mind starts thinking about that tiny, little section on Map 40 that we didn't finish yesterday. But I stay on my task, and keep blogging. By 12:00 it was almost sunny. 70 degrees. Light breeze. Our daughter calls.

"What are you guys doing?"

Long story short - time for another day of hiking. 

Today was going to be shorter, if for no other reason than we had not actually planned on hiking today, and it was already noon, plus we were just a little weary from yesterday's hiking and biking. We left home at about 2:30, really planning just to hike the northern half of Thornapple Creek Segment, about 2 miles. Here's why.

Even in the guidebook, there is a warning for hikers. 

"Note: This rough and rugged stretch is often wet and may be difficult to pass. Hikers may bypass this area - and must bypass it from Sept 1 to Dec 31 for hunting seasons - by continuing south on Thornapple Creek Road and then heading east on Partridge Road." 

They publish warnings. They put up signs. How bad could it be?

We decided to find out.

After dropping a car at the north end of the segment, we drove the route of the suggested bypass and parked at the end of Partridge Road, which is now actually Gold Dust Road. We were chased by a farm dog who couldn't believe his luck that he had something to bark at today, and when we were parked his owner came driving down to see if we were dumping garbage. He was all smiles and friendly when he saw we were just hikers. A little mosquito repellent and we were on our way. Not sure what time it was when we started, exactly. 4 pm?

When starting on this piece of trail, from south to north, it is not at all imposing. It is long, level, broad, and actually mowed recently. For nearly a mile in a straight line, it is possible to walk along what is obviously a fire lane, which remains in fairly good repair. So far so good, we think, knowing that things can get muddy fast. At the point where the trail cuts west into the woods, it got a little thinner and grassier, but still, not a bad trail. There were some spots where the mud puddles are clearly a year-round feature based on the cattails and water lilies, but I have definitely hiked worse trails. 

After a half mile enjoying the deep woods and the light breezes, we reached the power line section, which heads due north again under the crackling canopy of electric wires. Here at this intersection we saw another information kiosk/log book, and we opened it up to discover that someone had hiked that same section today, north to south, and left notes about the trail ahead. "Passable, but wet in places. Many streams crossing the trail - logs poking out into trail - maybe better in winter if not too much snow? Black bear sighting."

Awesome! Looking forward to it!

So we looked north, and even here we could see that someone had come through recently with a brush hog or something and tried to keep a path mowed through the thick weeds. Amazing. That's what I call trail maintenance dedication. 

The walking at first was still pretty good. A lot better than we expected, really. Then the trail took a sudden turn into the woods, and that's when we started feeling like Frodo and Samwise in the dead marshes. 



OK, it wasn't that bad. In fact, it wasn't any worse than some of what we encountered along the southern end of the Plover River segment just to the north. But it definitely took some careful walking. If you look on the IAT maps, this is that little bump that extends west and then east again near the top of the segment which I now know is a way of avoiding ... something worse ... had they continued straight north under the wires. I'm starting to have doubts that the area under the wires was worse. I hope this is on someones someday list for trail improvement. It could stand some love.

Finally, we headed back west again, where we encountered a sign saying we were a quarter of a mile from the section of private land that closes during hunting season, a mere two weeks from now. Hence - why we are hiking it today. Along the way, there is one more little run-in with a creek, but if you take your time you can find the boarded walkway that leads you to... A NEW BRIDGE!!  Wow. Didn't expect that one. But very welcome. Onto the private land, up through the woods, along the edge of the field (saw some deer there) and around the bend, and there was the car. Boo yah!! Take that, Thornapple Creek Segment!! Wet and overgrown? HAH! Is that all you got?? Your mama wears galoshes!!

We paused for a while at the car, had a little snack and thought, how about tackling the last mile to the south? After getting ourselves geared up for battle and coming through so easily, it seemed only fitting to go down and finish the rest of the segment. So we drove down to County Road N and out to Fire Lane Road where we parked the car and headed north to kill of the last of Thornapple Creek. 

This section is a road. Most of it, anyway. The gravel is wide and well-tended. We could have driven our car along here, and obviously many people do. After 3/4 of a mile or so, the gravel ended and it turned into a two-track, then cut through a corn field, always as north as the aurora borealis. Last, it dove into the woods for a leisurely stroll the last couple hundred yards until we found the car waiting for us. Easy Peasy, and happily so, because even the dog had lost the wiggle in its step. 

Running total: 253 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 34.

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Day 33: Eau Claire Dells Segment (Part 2), Plover River Segment (Part 2), Marathon County

Day 33: Saturday August 17th, 2019

Location: Eau Claire Dells Segment (Part 2), Marathon County
0.3 miles of trail covered, 0.2 miles Extra hiking

Finally, finally, finally we are back on the Ice Age Trail. Maybe for real this time. 

Today we planned for, prepared for, and took steps to return to the Ice Age Trail, going back to the place we most recently covered and traversing around over bits of Maps 39, 40, and 41. We brought two vehicles with us again, so once again we were taking this thing seriously. 

Even better, we brought along our daughter Nicole and her super-pup Joplin. We were out celebrating Joplin's 8th birthday, and what better way to do it than take a nice long walk along the IAT? 

We started out by parking on Sportsman Drive, at the very end of the Eau Claire Dells segment, so we could knock out this little 0.3 mile section we didn't get to a year and a half ago. There is no official parking there, but the gravel road is amply wide and parking is easy and safe on the shoulder. We were surprised to see no sign marking the end of the segment, or beginning if you're traveling east to west, which is how we were taking this tiny piece. No matter. We grabbed our gear, touched the sign, and started north. It was 12:15 in the afternoon, sunny and 77 degrees. 

The trail was relatively well-used, skirting a field and heading slightly downhill in a direct bee-line to the river, where we found ourselves crossing a dam that moderates the flow of water through the dells. Turning west, we walked along the north shore of the river, close enough enjoy the beauty and in a couple places close enough to walk down and step out onto the rocks, or even into the sandy bottom of this clean and beautiful river. You can't NOT love this piece of trail. 

After far too short a time, we came to County Road Y and crossed into the Dells of the Eau Claire Park, where all the people gather to enjoy the astonishing beauty of the dells. The Ice Age Trail guidebook does a great job of describing how these dells were formed and the types of glacial features visible here, but all that is completely overshadowed by the emotional impact of standing here and watching the water go by. We walked to our other car waiting for us, and made for the next leg in the adventure. It was 12:45 and still 77 degrees.

Running total: 243.1 miles of trail covered; 28.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. 

Location: Plover River Segment (Part 2), Marathon County
2.5 miles of trail covered, 0.2 miles Extra hiking

Next, we dropped off one vehicle at the southern end of the Plover River Segment on Sportsman Drive, and drove the other vehicle to the nice parking area at the intersection of Village Road and Hatchery Rd just to the north, where we hiked back in October of 2013. That was our Day 22 hike, and oddly enough that was the day we were out here with our daughter celebrating her birthday. Funny how that goes.

We got ourselves geared up, touched the sign at 1:45 pm, and started down the blue-flagged access trail, about 0.2 miles to a T-intersection. Where we had previously turned north, this time we headed south to complete this lovely piece of trail. In all fairness, we had been here before, back in 2016, but only to go far enough to get a geocache that was slightly down the trail. That was one December evening, after dark, but that's a story for another blog.

Today was a little muggy though the temperature was still only 78 degrees. The trail was in fantastic condition for the first three-quarters of a mile, with only a couple small trees down from recent storms. I cleared those out for future hikers, and we enjoyed the easy, level walking. At that point we encountered the Plover river itself, the only time where direct easy access can be gained alongside the trail. The water here is amazingly clean and clear, and Nicole and Joplin enjoyed splashing around in the sandy shallows as the river cut its way through the lowland. 

For the next quarter mile or so, we plucked our way along the stream, where the trail conditions are admittedly spotty. Recent rains left this organic spongy soil in moderate to poor condition, and there were places where leapfrogging from log to rock to root was the only way to avoid sinking in up to your ankles. The only thing I can say in favor of the experience is that there were shockingly few deer flies, and the mosquitoes were being held at bay by a minimal application of deet. 

After a while, the trail turned up a modest slope and topped off on a long esker, where it wound through the forest giving a nice view on both sides. At roughly the halfway point there was a bench with a logbook that you are encouraged to sign, and we did. We stopped there for a brief snack and then went on.

The second half of the hike was uneventful. We did see some deer, and the walking was pleasant, with few up-and-down areas. Eventually we started cutting through a recently logged area that was thick with new growth of quaking aspen trees. This led into a traipse across an open savannah and finally back to our waiting vehicle. It was 3:50, and the temperature was largely unchanged, at 78 degrees. We had completed our second section of the day, and we were ready for more. 

Running total: 245.6 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.

Location: Connecting Route between southern/western end of Plover River Segment and eastern end of Eau Claire Dells segment, Marathon County
3.5 miles of trail covered

We now found ourselves 3.5 miles due East from where we started the day, along Sportsman Road, with two cars and two bicycles. We certainly could have found a way to do it differently, but to save time we came up with a plan. After picking up our second car, we left vehicle 1 at the same place we just ended the last segment, and Theresa started biking west. I took daughter and dog to the other end, where Theresa was biking to, and started biking east. Nicole and Joplin enjoyed the river again while Theresa and I crossed paths on bicycle and completed this 3.5 mile mostly-gravel connecting route. The hills were not intimidating, and overall the terrain was basically level. by 5:15 we had completed this section, about 45 minutes after we started. It was still warm and sunny, and we headed to the next connecting route.

Running total: 249.1 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.

Location: The Road portion of the Thornapple Creek Segment running along Thornapple Creek Road and County Z, ending at the southern/western end of Eau Claire Dells Segment, Marathon County
0.9 miles of trail covered

Second verse, same as the first. It worked before, so we did it again. We dropped Theresa off at the great parking area at the southern end of the Eau Claire Dells segment near County Road Z and Thornapple Road, and she biked south while I drove to the northern tip of the Thornapple Creek segment to bike back the other way. With mostly level ground I had barely gotten started and found myself crossing paths with Theresa on the paved road. 15 minutes later that experience was over, and we reconnected to discuss the rest of the day. It would have been nice to have hiked a little bit of Thornapple Creek to take us off the edge of Map 40, but in the end we decided to call it a day. We were all starting to feel dog-tired, and Joplin looked the part. Enough fun for one day.

Running total: 250 miles of trail covered; 29 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 33

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