Day 41: Sunday September 22nd, 2019
Total Miles covered for the day: 5.2
Location 1: Northern ~third of the Harrison Hills Segment between County Road B to the south and the First Lake Road end the of Segment to the north.
4.0 miles of trail covered.
Now that we're back to hiking again, it gets to be an itch. And just like the drive to finish Taylor County so many years ago (could it really have been six years?) we are now starting to look at Lincoln County and say, "You know - we can do this". It's a good feeling.
That's why when we woke this morning to discover that the promised rain-free day was going to be spoiled by lingering light rain in the morning, we decided to just go ahead and hike in the rain.
Only 35 miles separated us from having crossed the entirety of Lincoln county when we started the day. That sounds like a lot as I type it, but If you really stick to it, you can knock it out, even if you travel as slowly as we do.
Our target for the day was the Harrison Hills, something we have heard a lot about. It's another one of those segments we look at and know that if we're ever going to finish this whole trail, we're going to have to conquer this stretch. A little daunting. Especially the piece in the middle going over Lookout Mountain without any way to shorten the hike. We didn't tackle that today, but we did carve off the Eastern/Northern end of the trail, from the parking area at Country Road B to the north end. The main reason we chose this one for the day was that we were able to spend part of the time hiking with a group of people on the "Fall Colors Hike" sponsored by the Lincoln County IAT Chapter.
We started out in the morning by dropping off a car on First Lake Road where the Harrison Hills Segment crosses over to the Parrish Hills Segment on the county line between Lincoln and Langlade. Then we drove our launch vehicle to the end of Ski Hill Road. You can't tell from the IAT maps, but the satellite maps show you that Ski Hill Road gets you within a few feet of the trail, so you can park there to shorten up your hike if you want. Then we started hiking north. It was 11:00, and the temperature was in the high 60's, with just a hint of light mist. Perfect.
I'll drop a spoiler in here for those looking for general trail conditions. The northern half of the trail is relatively easy, with few significant changes in elevation. Hilly, yes, but nothing more than about a 30 foot climb or descent, and even then seldom very steep. The trail is well-marked, and offers delightful hiking. There are 4 or 5 unexpected creek crossings, one of which could easily be considered a ford in wet weather. There were no trees remaining on the trail to impeded your progress, and much of the trail is mowed, and wide enough to be used by a truck.
Now for the details. The trail started out going directly downhill until it crosses a tiny creek, and then a little more until you get to the edge of Chain Lake and take a sharp turn to the east along the shore. There are two very good campsites along the edge of Chain Lake, and I would happily stop at either one of them if I was camping. We were really enjoying ourselves with the cool air, the beautiful scenery, and the near total lack of bugs.
Eventually, we hiked up over a small rise and back down to the edge of another lake, where I think we encountered a very nice bridge. If this wasn't the place where the bridge was, just know that when you REALLY need it, there is a bridge. Phew! Then we went north again for a while in a slight uphill grade. I'm pretty sure this is where we encountered the hardest creek crossing. The water was flowing swiftly, it was between 8 inches and a few feet deep, and too far to leap across. We went upstream a bit until we found a place to cross on some branches, and it was still a near thing to keep Theresa dry.
The trail from there follows the edge of the stream in a long arc that goes around a hill just to the east. I hope the water is running when you're there, because it really is an idyllic little creek. Finally, we skirted the edge of another large pond area and headed up into the hills, where we caught our only real up-and-down hiking of this piece. We snacked a bit as we walked, rounded a bend, and before we knew it we were at the car.
This was the end to our adventure on the Harrison Hills segment for the day, but we did go back to the parking area to join the group for some cookies and juice. There is one thing worth noting, if you happen to be driving or walking Ski Hill Road. Between Bog Lake and Fox Lake on the north side of the road you pass an unnamed lake to the south. There is a very brief view from the road where you can see that the water level of the lake is actually about 4 feet above the road level. This is not at all an uncommon feature of ice age topography, but you seldom get to see it so up close and personal.
Running Total: 318.1 miles of trail covered; 30.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.
Location 2: Alta Junction Segment
1.2 miles of trail covered.
After the picnic, we had a little energy left, and a little daylight, so we decided to chip away at the county a little more by walking the short and uneventful Alta Junction Segment. We started out by walking the .2 miles at the very southern end, just so we could quickly get our car off County J. This was a modestly hilly piece of trail that has obviously seen some storm damage, but it's all cleaned up now. Then we drove to the north end at the parking area by Alta Springs and the Dunfield ghost town to walk the last mile.
The IAT Guide Book states that this hike travels along an old railroad bed that was created in 1908. It is true that the hike has the feel of walking on a railroad bed, but there is very little that has not been reclaimed by the earth. A few railroad ties are the only remaining evidence, as virtually the entire hike is within 4 to 8 inches of elevation from the surrounding water. The Prairie River runs to the west, but you won't see it. You will see water to both sides, however, and I cannot imagine walking through this section at any time of year where insects are a problem. Black flies, deer flies, gnats, horseflies, mosquitoes - all of them would make this one mile an absolute nightmare. As it is, there is very little to say about this walk, except that it is straight, level, and best hiked in late fall. In no time at all we reached our car, and we were done for the day. We touched our last sign of the day, got a few pictures, and went back to pick up the car.
Running Total: 319.3 miles of trail covered; 30.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 41.
Location 1: Northern ~third of the Harrison Hills Segment between County Road B to the south and the First Lake Road end the of Segment to the north.
4.0 miles of trail covered.
Now that we're back to hiking again, it gets to be an itch. And just like the drive to finish Taylor County so many years ago (could it really have been six years?) we are now starting to look at Lincoln County and say, "You know - we can do this". It's a good feeling.
That's why when we woke this morning to discover that the promised rain-free day was going to be spoiled by lingering light rain in the morning, we decided to just go ahead and hike in the rain.
Only 35 miles separated us from having crossed the entirety of Lincoln county when we started the day. That sounds like a lot as I type it, but If you really stick to it, you can knock it out, even if you travel as slowly as we do.
Our target for the day was the Harrison Hills, something we have heard a lot about. It's another one of those segments we look at and know that if we're ever going to finish this whole trail, we're going to have to conquer this stretch. A little daunting. Especially the piece in the middle going over Lookout Mountain without any way to shorten the hike. We didn't tackle that today, but we did carve off the Eastern/Northern end of the trail, from the parking area at Country Road B to the north end. The main reason we chose this one for the day was that we were able to spend part of the time hiking with a group of people on the "Fall Colors Hike" sponsored by the Lincoln County IAT Chapter.
We started out in the morning by dropping off a car on First Lake Road where the Harrison Hills Segment crosses over to the Parrish Hills Segment on the county line between Lincoln and Langlade. Then we drove our launch vehicle to the end of Ski Hill Road. You can't tell from the IAT maps, but the satellite maps show you that Ski Hill Road gets you within a few feet of the trail, so you can park there to shorten up your hike if you want. Then we started hiking north. It was 11:00, and the temperature was in the high 60's, with just a hint of light mist. Perfect.
I'll drop a spoiler in here for those looking for general trail conditions. The northern half of the trail is relatively easy, with few significant changes in elevation. Hilly, yes, but nothing more than about a 30 foot climb or descent, and even then seldom very steep. The trail is well-marked, and offers delightful hiking. There are 4 or 5 unexpected creek crossings, one of which could easily be considered a ford in wet weather. There were no trees remaining on the trail to impeded your progress, and much of the trail is mowed, and wide enough to be used by a truck.
Now for the details. The trail started out going directly downhill until it crosses a tiny creek, and then a little more until you get to the edge of Chain Lake and take a sharp turn to the east along the shore. There are two very good campsites along the edge of Chain Lake, and I would happily stop at either one of them if I was camping. We were really enjoying ourselves with the cool air, the beautiful scenery, and the near total lack of bugs.
Eventually, we hiked up over a small rise and back down to the edge of another lake, where I think we encountered a very nice bridge. If this wasn't the place where the bridge was, just know that when you REALLY need it, there is a bridge. Phew! Then we went north again for a while in a slight uphill grade. I'm pretty sure this is where we encountered the hardest creek crossing. The water was flowing swiftly, it was between 8 inches and a few feet deep, and too far to leap across. We went upstream a bit until we found a place to cross on some branches, and it was still a near thing to keep Theresa dry.
The trail from there follows the edge of the stream in a long arc that goes around a hill just to the east. I hope the water is running when you're there, because it really is an idyllic little creek. Finally, we skirted the edge of another large pond area and headed up into the hills, where we caught our only real up-and-down hiking of this piece. We snacked a bit as we walked, rounded a bend, and before we knew it we were at the car.
Unfortunately, we were running
about a half-hour late to meet our hiking group for the Fall Colors Hike, so
what we did instead was start our hike at the place where the trail intersects
with Ski Hill Road and headed south, knowing that we would cross paths with the
group eventually. About a quarter of a mile in, as we were walking south of
Bear Lake, we did meet up with the group, and spent some time catching up with
our friends and talking about trail conditions. It was a pretty good-sized
group, maybe a dozen or so hikers and one dog.
After
a short time, they finished their walk to the north, and we headed south to
finish the segment. We got to the parking area about the same time as they did,
since they walked back along the road while we trekked the trail they had just
completed. This last section of trail was much like the rest of what we
described above, a little up and down, around and over, but no river crossings
that I can remember. I do recall one place where the trail was steeply down and
up again, for no particular reason. If it was me I would do a 50-foot reroute
to avoid this particular divot.
This was the end to our adventure on the Harrison Hills segment for the day, but we did go back to the parking area to join the group for some cookies and juice. There is one thing worth noting, if you happen to be driving or walking Ski Hill Road. Between Bog Lake and Fox Lake on the north side of the road you pass an unnamed lake to the south. There is a very brief view from the road where you can see that the water level of the lake is actually about 4 feet above the road level. This is not at all an uncommon feature of ice age topography, but you seldom get to see it so up close and personal.
Running Total: 318.1 miles of trail covered; 30.4 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking.
Location 2: Alta Junction Segment
1.2 miles of trail covered.
The IAT Guide Book states that this hike travels along an old railroad bed that was created in 1908. It is true that the hike has the feel of walking on a railroad bed, but there is very little that has not been reclaimed by the earth. A few railroad ties are the only remaining evidence, as virtually the entire hike is within 4 to 8 inches of elevation from the surrounding water. The Prairie River runs to the west, but you won't see it. You will see water to both sides, however, and I cannot imagine walking through this section at any time of year where insects are a problem. Black flies, deer flies, gnats, horseflies, mosquitoes - all of them would make this one mile an absolute nightmare. As it is, there is very little to say about this walk, except that it is straight, level, and best hiked in late fall. In no time at all we reached our car, and we were done for the day. We touched our last sign of the day, got a few pictures, and went back to pick up the car.
Running Total: 319.3 miles of trail covered; 30.6 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 41.
.
.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment