Day 58: Chaffee Creek Segment, Connecting Route, Wedde Creek Segment, Waushara and Marquette Counties

Day 58: Saturday May 1st, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 4.4

Location 1: The Chaffee Creek Segment, between the I-39 wayside to the south and Czech Ave to the north. 

2.5 miles of trail covered with 0.6 miles extra hiking.

If you are ever given the opportunity to introduce someone to the Ice Age Trail - take them on their first introductory hike, for example - you should not, under any circumstances, take them to this segment. It wouldn't be fair.

It wouldn't be fair, for example, for them to walk along grassy, soft-footed trails, through picturesque and quiet wooded areas bordering stereotypical farm fields, with ecologically-minded paths making for easy climbs and descents, along a creek so clear you can count the pebbles on the bottom as it ripples along, through an idyllic copse of trees in the most unlikely of locations, only to cross the creek on a sturdy bridge complete with stairs before meandering through a field and to the waiting car, with flush toilets and vending machines waiting at the end. 

No, it would not be fair to them at all. It would be cruel to give that first-time hiker the impression that this is what the Ice Age Trail is like. It would only serve to draw them in, lulling them into a sense of comfort and longing that can only be satisfied by finding out what the next segment is like... and the next... until they, too, have a set of 105 colorful maps, with bits and pieces highlighted in different colors and dates noting when they were there, quietly muttering to themselves about how you suckered them in with this magnificent hike.. 

No - if you have the chance to take that new hiker on the trail for the first time, be kind to them and take them anywhere but here. 

The Chaffee Creek segment crosses under I-39, straddling then crossing the line between Marquette County to the south and Waushara County to the north. You would think this would make it easy to do a 'quick hike', dropping a vehicle off on one end, then popping over to the other end and hike away. You would think so, but you would be wrong. 

We looked at this inconvenient little segment many times, not quite sure the best way to deal with it. The problem is the southern end. It's located at a Wayside. On the I-Road. With no way to backtrack, and no easy way to get vehicles on both ends. 

One option, of course, is to walk in opposite directions, wave hello as you pass in the middle, and trade vehicles. Efficient, but not what we wanted. Another option would have been the out-and-back, a tried and true method used by many, that would have effectively doubled the distance. Then of course there's the third option of just going through the pain of dropping a vehicle at one end, driving to the other end and walking between, but that takes literally an extra 45 minutes of driving because of the complication of the highway. A fourth option would have been to use the short 0.2 mile blue-blaze spur trail at the end of 6th Avenue, walk the 0.6 miles down and then the whole segment to the north, shortening up the driving considerably but adding that extra 0.6 miles. A fifth option would have been to split it into two days, one day being an out-and-back hike of 0.4 miles from the Wayside to the intersection with the blue-blaze trail on some day when we happen to be driving through. We would have done that, too, except the day we stopped to do exactly that, there was so much poison ivy along the path we decided to skip it.

What we finally decided to do was to have one vehicle, mine, go to the Wayside, and have the other vehicle, Theresa's, go to the end of 6th Ave. I then hiked the 0.6 miles to the waiting car, and we drove to the north end of the segment on Czech Ave. and hiked the entire segment going north to south. 

This meant that only one of us had to walk the extra 0.6 miles, and even though this still meant a full 20-minute drive to get from the Wayside back to where we parked our launch vehicle, that time was our typical take-a-break time between segments where we relax a bit and get a snack and a drink. 

It was somewhere around 11:30 when I reached the wayside. I had already made careful preparations and was able to simply grab my waist pack and hiking stick and go. I wasn't really tracking time and temperature, because this was all the 'extra' hiking, and I would be coming back the other way with Theresa, and for a bonus, with our daughter Nicole and her wonder-dog Joplin. This part didn't really count.

Because of the twists and turns to get down to 6th Ave., I was able to get to the waiting car no more than 5-10 minutes after they had arrived. Then we all drove to the north Trailhead on Czech Ave where we snugged our car alongside the road and geared up. 

We started the hike at 12:00 sharp. The temperature was only 69 degrees, but the forecast was much warmer. 

The first part of the hike, going north to south, is a straightforward southward march across two tenths of a mile of open field, which at this time of year wasn't bordered by encroaching crops. It afforded a view to what lay ahead, a patch of forest that had not been converted to crops. Once again, I am in great appreciation of the farmers who allow a trail to cut through their fields, because it takes up an appreciable swath of land that is therefore not growing crops, which is money out of their pocket. Add to that the inconvenience of having to avoid plowing the trail and the sacrifice is even more noteworthy. 

Once we reached the woods we walked west across the face of it a bit then ducked in, headed south, and we noticed immediately that we were no longer walking through the great northern forests. Chaffee Creek is in Sand Country, and the trails show it. The walking is easy, the trails soft beneath your feet. 

I stopped to pick up a geocache while I was in this first piece, and we were through it in no time. By the way, if you are picking up the geocaches as you go on this segment, you're better off hiking south to north. You're welcome. 

Then, as we were leaving the woods to hike across the small piece of field in the back, it became apparent just how much effort was given on this well-maintained segment to providing easy walking. It would have been really easy to just march straight across this piece and have a short, but steep climb up from the field on the other side. Instead, the trail cuts far to the west to make the incline far less steep and nicer to hike. 

Somewhere along the way, we passed into the Mecan River State Fishery Area (older maps incorrectly label this the Chaffee Creek State Fishery Area). We followed the easy trail through sparsely forested, sandy soil, stopping once for a rest on a bench located at N 43° 59.128 W 089° 29.165. Then we were off again.

As we approached the northbound highway, with its ever-present drone of vehicles moving past, we came out of the woods and found that the ground beneath our feet became... weird. It felt rubbery, like we were walking across the surface of a balloon full of water. It wasn't wet at the surface, but you could tell we were stepping on a floating mat of soil and vegetation. 

Then we got to the creek, and Joplin (the dog) was really happy for it. She plunged right in, taking long, sloppy gulps of water, because the temperature had climbed up pretty significantly. It was nearly 80 degrees already, and it wasn't even 2:00 yet. 

Another benefit of Sand Country is that the water is clean and clear. I could see every detail below the swift-running surface. There's just enough silty mud to make it not too easy to get in and out, but it would also be very easy to get fresh water here in the event you don't want to wait the 20 minutes to get it at the wayside. 

The walk below the bridge was as you would expect, but immediately on the other side, between the northbound and southbound highway lanes, is a magical little copse of woods that you would never expect. There is a geocache in there as well, and probably the only one you will ever get on DOT land in Wisconsin. 

Then came the biggest surprise of all. As we approached the second highway underpass, we saw, not a bridge, but a culvert. A big, whomping-ass culvert that burrows beneath the highway, and has a rip-roaring creek running through the middle of it.

What the...? And yes, there too was the IAT sign, a little arrow fastened to the edge and pointing inside. 

Seriously? 

We had to get VERY close before we discovered that instead of having to slosh our way through the creek as we feared, there was a narrow sidewalk that ran along the creek on the inside, mere inches above the surface of the water. 

The photo doesn't give you a good enough picture of what you're dealing with. If it had been a little more rainy recently, the water would have been up and over the concrete, and there would be no way to stay dry. Word to the wise - if it's been rainy at all, you may want to choose to hike this one south to north to assess if you think this is passable. Or else, bring your water shoes. And I personally wouldn't want to walk through there if the concrete is below the waterline. That's a good way to turn into flotsam. 

Shortly after emerging from the tunnel, we met a couple who were hiking an out and back. I asked if they had ever been on the segment before, and they said no. I grinned, and told them that in about 100 yards or so they would see something that would make them stop in their tracks (see above image). But I shared with them that it would be OK, and they could keep going. I still wish I had been there to see how accurate I was.

A very short while longer we reached the intersection where the spur trail goes to 6th Ave, but per plan we hiked as a group southward, crossing the river one final time on a beautiful permanent bridge. The trail here, by the way, dances across the Waushara/Marquette County Line a few times as it goes beneath the highway, but once having crossed the bridge, we were in Marquette County for good. The trail comes out of the woods, and meanders through a large, grassy field, through an ancient gate (we guessed 50 years, at least) that was no longer functional, and along the exit ramp for the wayside. Two tenths of a mile later, we reached our destination. We touched the sign at the wayside at 1:57 pm, and the temperature had officially reached 80. This completed Marquette County for us.

On to the next location. As planned, we drove the 10 minutes south to Westfield to take the first available exit, then worked our way back north to the next hike.

Location 2: The Connecting Route between the Chaffee Creek Segment to the west and the Wedde Creek segment to the east, along Czech Ave, Waushara County

0.7 miles of trail covered.

There isn't a whole lot to say about this piece, because it's a 0.7 mile paved road that runs in a straight line. So instead I'll mention all the wildflowers we saw on the previous hike. Hepatica, lilac, wood anemone, spring beauty, strawberry, blood root, trillium, and many more. 

We also saw butterflies, which have come out in abundance in the last seven days. And so have the ticks. Mother nature always tosses in a few thorns with the roses. 

We hiked this stretch between 3:30 and 4:00, and the temperature had reached 86 degrees by the time we were done. May 1. 86 degrees. Sheesh.

Location 3: The Wedde Creek Segment, Waushara County

1.2 miles of trail covered.

To be perfectly honest, we walked this in two pieces. And there's already more to the story.

When we drove north from Westfield, we took the path on the east side of the highway, and ended up blowing past the turn on Czech Ave, and then even past Cypress Road, driving almost a mile and a half north along the connecting route before we realized we had missed the turn. A minor inconvenience, but on the way we passed a south-bound solo hiker enduring the heat and the roadway. After we turned around, we decided to pull over and ask how she was doing, if she had enough water, that sort of thing. 

As it turns out, though she had the appearance of a through-hiker, with all the gear, she was out on day 2 of her first solo overnight hike. Let me just say that I completely understand her trail-worn appearance. It was getting ridiculously hot for May 1, and she was walking in the sun on the highway carrying a BIG pack. In the end, we only gave her some dried banana chips, which she dug into as we drove back to our intended starting location. 

We parked along Czeck Ave at the intended Parking area for Wedde Creek, which actually sits in the middle of this extremely short segment. We hiked the very short spur trail (less than a tenth of a mile) and hiked the 0.4 miles to the west between 2:54 and 3:30 pm. This piece of trail, though a tiny bit more hilly than Chaffee Creek to the west, was nonetheless gorgeous and easy walking, with trees, flowers, birds - all the good stuff. 

As we hiked, the temperature continued to climb, rising from 83 to 86 degrees in that span. 

When we finished, we continued westward along the road to do the connecting route (see Location 2 above) before reaching our car and repositioning ourselves for the other half of the Wedde Creek segment. 

We managed to park our vehicle near the north trailhead on Cypress Road, which was no small feat. We were headed north to south. The time was 4:15 pm, and the temperature had reached a humid and generally unpleasant 89 degrees.

It was in incredibly pleasant walk but for the heat. There is a bridge across Wedde Creek, though it is in very bad shape. Wedde Creek was interesting, another fast-flowing clear creek, but the mud here was a little more prevalent, and the creek pushed a broad and winding split-channel through the bottoms. There were marsh marigolds a-plenty, and we also saw a significant quantity of skunk cabbage, showing that the area stays very wet most of the year. 

I'm told that if you hard-boil skunk cabbage through several cycles of boil-rinse-dump-refill and boil again, there are parts of it that won't burn holes in your tongue when you eat it. Let me know if you every decide to try that recipe.

There is another geocache along that creek, too, but there was far too much mud and water for me to get out there and find it. 

Again, the trail here is absolutely wonderful. If it weren't for the heat and the newly emerging black flies it would have been perfect.

We finally ended our hiking day at 5:00 pm, and the temperature was finally dropping - to 88 degrees. 

Running Total: 406.3 miles of trail covered; 37.5 miles ‘extra’ hiking/biking. End of Day 58.

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