Day 50: McKenzie Creek Segment (Part 2), Polk County

Day 50: Saturday April 10th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 6.4

Location: Center stretch of the McKenzie Creek Segment between McKenzie Lake to the south, and 60th Street to the north.
6.1 miles of trail covered, plus bonus 0.1 miles connecting route and 0.2 miles of trail

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McKenzie, McKenzie, I love you

McKenzie, you're pretty as a stream

With soft, flowing curves that are so full of life

McKenzie, I'll see you in my dreams

Someday when I'm walking in heaven

The woods will be lovely and green

And out there among all the low, gentle hills

McKenzie will be waiting for me

McKenzie, McKenzie, I love you

My heart longs for no one but thee

I'll always remember the sound of your voice

McKenzie, I'll see you in my dreams

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Our 50th day of hiking or biking on the trail. Where should we go? How about back to one of our favorite segments that we didn't finish so long ago? McKenzie Creek. Perfect.

This year we decided to get serious again about our hiking. We had already covered 30.9 miles this year - no small commitment given that I work full-time and it's only April 10th. We also bought our FOURTH set of Atlas pages, which arrived just in time for us to take off on a real hiking vacation. Nine days of hiking out west, to start closing the gap. 

Until today, we had hiked only the first three complete maps, out in Polk county, then had a gap from maps 4-17, representing 137.4 miles of challenge. But - if we can close that gap, then we will have hiked or bicycled every mile from St. Croix Falls to Langlade County. We decided to take nine days and see how far we could get. 

The biggest problem we faced was the weather. During the week leading up to our vacation it rained. Everywhere. All over the state. Not just a little - a LOT. Up to four inches in some areas we wanted to hike. we looked at moving our vacation to other regions of the state. No good. Rain was forecast for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and possible snow on Tuesday. There was no good answer, but at least it looked like if we went west, we might catch a break on Saturday and most of Sunday. So we dove into the car on Friday night, planning to go to the near end of the gap, finishing the Chippewa River segment on map 16 and start working our way west while the woods dried up a little. 

On Friday night, we drove to the parking area on Cty Hwy CC, only to find it 1) already occupied, and 2) an absolute mud-hole. The Firth Lake segment, as far as we can tell, no longer goes all the way to Cty Hwy CC. And, it no longer uses the 2-mile connecting route, but rather joins the Chippewa River segment midway, and everything north of the parking area is now a blue-blaze connecting route. Maps were wrong. Online resources were wrong. We called the IAT main office and they didn't know anything about it. The only place we found information was on the website maintained by the Ice Age Trail Alliance in Chippewa County, on an article called "New Trail Route At Firth Lake - Chippewa River Segment Junction" (which has since been deleted). 

We drove to the Parking area on the north end of the Chippewa River Segment, and it's still there, with good signage, but if the article is right the northern half of this segment was converted to a blue-blaze access trail. 

You may look back at the top of the post and wonder if I got my blog posts mixed up, but stick with me here. 

We weren't really sure if our plan was a good one, so we decided to drive down 250th Ave and take a look at the Parking area up by Firth Lake. This actually was a very good decision, because by the time we got the 2 miles down that gravel mud track, we knew there was no way we were going to get ourselves stuck in that mess, and we completely abandoned the idea of hiking in the area. Too much rain, turning otherwise reliable roads into a bad night waiting to happen. So we got out of there (happily without incident) and kept going west. 

We found a place that was suitable for van-camping, and stayed overnight on Friday. The overnight temperatures were supposed to stay above freezing, so we were plenty warm in the van. Then on Saturday morning we got up and drove to Polk County. Forget it. McKenzie or bust.

We drove our target vehicle all the way to McKenzie Lake, to the parking area we last looked at on 9/3/2013. It was here that we left off on our westward trek 8 years ago, and here we would pick it back up again. We drove our launch vehicle up to the parking area on Cth Hwy W and started south at 10:11 am, temperature 40 degrees. Day 1 on our nine-day adventure.

We were immediately worried. Right by the parking area it was obvious that vehicles had gotten into the mud and had difficulty getting back out again. The footing was poor. There was standing water. Fifty feet down the trail we could tell that it wasn't quite as bad, but for the first two or three tenths of a mile there were some bad spots to avoid. Then the trail dove quickly down a fairly steep embankment to a creek crossing, only to climb steeply back out the other side, and we were genuinely concerned that this would be nothing like our experience on the southern end of the segment 8 years ago. 

And then - organ notes and angels' choir singing - it all became wonderful. We never stopped to think about trail conditions the rest of the way south. This piece of the segment, the middle third, was a lovely 2.9 mile stroll along McKenzie Creek, with hardly a care in the world to bother you. There were no bugs, no big hills, no rocks, the trail was beautifully marked and easy on the feet, the view of the river was very pretty - truly a 10-out-of-10 experience. 

We met several hikers along the way. First, we passed a woman who exclaimed 'Oh! There are other hikers on the trail today!' She told us she had been hiking quite a while and seen no one as she walked north. We, on the other hand, were walking south and within three minutes passed a group of three hikers (men) whose pace would have them catching the woman long before Cty Hwy W. Then we saw a couple who were hiking along with purpose, obviously section hiking like we were. We didn't linger to talk to any of them.

There was actually one fairly significant climb, ending at N 45 37.098, W 92 18.001. After that it was all downhill. We crossed a small creek on a very nice bridge, and it was smooth, easy sailing until we reached the parking area. 

All hail the trail makers. They should make the whole trail like this.

Worth noting - when we reached the parking lot, we walked across the road, and for the first time since September 3, 2013, "touched the river", having made a physical connection to the part of the trail that we had already covered, leading all the way back to St. Croix Falls. It was only three maps, but it was 2,776 days, almost eight years, and there was a brief feeling of excitement that we were back where we started. The time was 1:15 pm, and it was 43 degrees. We were ready for more.

From here we drove our vehicle to the Parking Lot on the end of 60th Street, just south of Clam Falls. As always, the gravel roads had areas that were muddy and careful driving was needed, but most of the parking area on this spot was drivable. We were one of three vehicles there. The hikers were out and about. 

While we ate our lunch, we encountered the three men whom we met further south who had been hiking so quickly, just finishing the piece we were about to hike. A brief exchange and they were off to the east while we were going south again. We started down the trail at 3:30 pm, the temperature having climbed all the way up to 46 degrees. Another 3.2 miles of trail awaited us, and we were looking forward to it.

This parking area, by the way, is actually on the Clam River, not McKenzie Creek, and the first thing you have to do is cross a large wooden bridge spanning the rather fast-moving Clam River. Then you walk briefly along the water's edge, or in our case, through the water, because the trail was literally swallowed by the rain-fattened creek. We actually found a way around the water, but it was a near thing. Mud, mud, mud. 'Here we go...' we thought. 

And then as we climbed back up the other side of the hill  - organ notes and angels' choir singing - it all became wonderful. 

We hiked a few low hills, until we saw and then passed Dinger Lake. Theresa mentioned that if it was red, it would be called a Red Dinger. I said, 'What?' She said 'Red Dinger. Like Dead Ringer. Get it?' I got it. We agreed that the mind goes very strange places when you're alone with your thoughts while you walk.

We got to a low spot near the creek at N 45 39.771, W 92 17.201 and then hiked up a very steep hill, finally reaching a spot near N 45 39.553, W 92 17.507 that literally stopped us in our tracks. The overlook on the McKenzie creek below was worth a moment of silent reverie. We were staring southwest down a steep hillside, with the sun glaring directly on the creek in front of us and dappling through the branches. When the pain and the mud and the rocks are all forgotten, I will remember this view of the trail. 

We really enjoyed the easy beautiful walk along the blufftop with frequent memorable views of the river. Several places had benches, and we stopped often to enjoy the view. Theresa said that when she gets to Heaven, she knows that McKenzie Creek will be flowing there through the hills. I can't find a better way to tell you how beautiful it was.

We eventually made our way back down to water's edge at N 45 38.682, W 92 17.890, leaving McKenzie Creek  for the last time and making our way across land to the waiting car on County Highway W. We walked over to touch the sign, once again feeling the joy of 'touching the river' and extending our line eastward. The time was 5:30 pm, and it was 46 degrees.

Now that we have maps that more accurately reflect distances, we are taking credit for the trail mileage not claimed back in 2013, and the extra 0.1 miles of connecting route to the south.

Running Total: 370.5 miles of trail covered; 36.8 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 50.

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