Day 46: Harrison Hills Segment (Part 3), Connecting Route, Lincoln County

Day 46: Monday March 29th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 4.7

Location 1: Harrison Hills Segment between Turtle Lake Rd. to the north and Alta Junction Segment to the south.  
3.5 miles of trail covered.

For many long seasons we've dreamed of the thrill

Of the day we completed the Harrison Hills

Three segments of walking, we took in three bites

On three different days, three very long hikes

I recall Lookout Mountain's spectacular view

And the cute little campsites, Herb Schotz' bench, too

And the ATVs ripping around through the woods

I remember the ugly, the bad and the good

I remember the sun and the wind in the trees

And seeing more hills, thinking 'Oh dear God, please!'

I remember that feeling of reaching the car

Fourteen long miles, though it felt twice that far

I have heard others' tales of the ups and the downs

Of the ponds and the muck and the short work-arounds

And the hills - Oh! the HILLS! - Yes, they all mentioned that

Which is why, I suppose, it's not 'Harrison Flats'

On this day we declared, Once more unto the breach!

And we took on the last of the hills and the creeks

And we saw the storm damage, beheld nature's wrath

And we followed the blazes that showed us the path

Until at the end, for the very last time

We saw 'Harrison Hills' on the Ice Age Trail sign

And we patted it fondly - 'Good-bye my old friend'

Knowing we and the sign would not cross paths again

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OK - now that I've had time to wax poetic, I should talk about the hiking. 

If you've been following along, you will have read that we always looked at the 14 miles of the Harrison Hills, with a 7-mile stretch including Lookout Mountain, to be fairly imposing. However, knowing that we knocked out the two longest pieces and survived, it seemed like the perfect time to finally put a 'done' checkmark next to the segment name in the book.

It was a beautiful early spring day, and we drove two vehicles up to County Rd J at the north end of the Alta Junction segment and dropped a vehicle, then went back up Turtle Lake Road and parked at the designated parking area at N 45 22.591, W 89 31.584. 

The time was 11:42 am, and the temperature was 46 degrees. The sun was shining, and the wind was blowing. It was cool, but pleasant. 

Let me start by saying that this lower third of the Harrison Hills segment was by far the easiest hiking. I can't say it was the most beautiful, because it was often scarred by storm damage and logging, but it had the least amount of elevation change, and the trail was mostly not very steep. 

The biggest hill you face, if you're hiking east to west, is right at the beginning. All the way up, then all the way back down to Beaver Trail Road, before heading off into the woods. 

The snow wasn't completely melted from the little bit we had a couple days ago, so as we were walking we noticed we were following a GIANT. I'm pretty sure Bigfoot doesn't wear hiking boots, so I'll assume we were following a person, but those had to be size 16 shoes, and the stride, even through the snow, looked to be at least 40 inches to the step. This is a person who can really eat up the trail. 

As we were hiking, we came to appreciate the times we were out of the wind, because it was howling away at 18-20 mph, and there was a definite chill to it. It's not too bad when you're moving along, but it's a little brisk when sitting to take a break. 

As we hiked along, we were never very far from the ATV trails, and crossed one at one point. There were some ATVs on the trail, but for the most part they were far away from us. 

I typically have a lot to say about each segment I hike. Not so on this one, mostly because it was six days ago, and we've covered a lot of ground since then. OK - here are some highlights:

* There are a number of places where we had to cross boggy areas

* There were a lot of downed trees (I already mentioned that), but they had been cleared from the trail.

* Whoever had to come through here with a chainsaw to clean up - thank you for keeping the trail open. Well done.

* There were plenty of yellow blazes.

* The footing is good, with not too many roots or rocks. Unless it's boggy, then it's hopscotch time.

* The part of the hike that goes all the way to North Branch Prairie River is worth it. Just ask Herb Schotz.

* The very, very last little bit that crosses the horseshoe road and through the alder bog, then out onto Cty J isn't worth it. It shouldn't even be there.

All in all I would call this a successful day, except we weren't quite done yet. We finished hiking this piece at 4:22 pm, with the temperature all the way up to 62 degrees. 

Finishing the Harrison Hills should have been more of a celebration. Instead, it felt like reaching the end of a movie where you knew the ending half-way through, and it was about 20 minutes too long. We were glad it was over with, but only because it brought us one more segment closer to our goal. 

Even better, it meant we were finally done with map 30. OK - now that's worth celebrating.

Since it was such a long drive to get here, we decided were would kill off the rest of the day by biking a bit of connecting route. 

Location 2: Connecting Route fragment along Horn Lake Rd between Horseshoe Lake Drive to the north and the East end of the Underdown Segment to the south.  
1.2 miles of trail covered.

This is a short piece of gravel road that seems to run uphill in both directions. We decided to park at the southern end, then go back to the northern end to bike the short, winding and oddly hilly road down to the start/end of the Underdown segment. We biked most of the way, but had to walk up a couple hills. Nothing eventful, except we were inching closer and closer to finishing Lincoln County. 

Running Total: 342.9 miles of trail covered; 33.1 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 46.

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