Day 92: Emmons Creek Segment, Connecting Route, Portage and Waupaca Counties

Day 92: Sunday, August 15th, 2021

Total Miles covered for the day: 13.0 

Location 1: The Emmons Creek Segment  

2.6 miles of trail covered, plus 3.6 miles extra biking

A week has gone by since our last hike. Funny how that seems like a long time right now. I don't remember why we didn't go hiking yesterday, but today was a nice day and we were off and running. 

We are reaching the point where we don't have very much trail left that we can snap off on a day-hike. Before today we had about 30 miles left in the Central Wisconsin area, from Emmons Creek down to the Mecan River, and by the end of the day there was only about 17 miles left. Add that to the 25 miles or so up in Langlade County, and that's all that's left of the trail that is closer to us than a two-hour drive, one way. Sooner, rather than later, there will be no such thing as a day trip.

To minimize expenses this time around, we decided to go with one vehicle and two bicycles. We started by driving down to Emmons Creek Drive to leave bicycles at the north trailhead, then drove down to the parking area on Stratton Lake Road. We started hiking north at 11:30 am, temperature already 78 degrees and humid. It hasn't been easy to get away from the humidity this summer. 

In case you're curious about the mosquito nets, they were worth every penny, which wasn't nearly as expensive as all that chemical repellant. And repellent doesn't do as good a job of keeping bugs out of your eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Besides that, if you accidentally get a little mosquito netting in your mouth, it doesn't taste bad. All in all, I recommend it for anyone hiking in the summertime. 

The northernmost 0.8 miles of the Emmons Creek segment is an easy hike across sandy, well-maintained trails. It starts off with a relatively slow, steady climb, that gets just a little steeper the further in you go. There is a bit of erosion in places, but not severe. 

Once we turned east, the trail leveled off, and the path became a real stroll. Then, in the middle of nowhere, we found this bench, complete with concrete pad. 

At the peak, where the trail turns northwest after a slow 180 degree U-Turn, the woods have been thinned out a bit by not-too recent logging, and it was possible to see quite a distance along the trail. After a steady, mostly downhill stroll we found ourselves back at the bicycles. It was 12:05 pm, and the steady beating sun was making its presence felt. 

Our next trick was to ride our bikes down as far as the car to have a bite of lunch. To get there, we had to go up the hill on Emmons Creek Road, which was lengthy, gravel, steep and hot. We walked most of the way up. 

After lunch, we continued our bike ride down to the southern trailhead, where we were greeted with a curious sign. 

The Murry Creek Segment, official though it may look, is NOT a part of the 'Official' Ice Age Trail. The tiny white sign tacked to the side of the post informs hikers of this. I find this curious, because there are plenty of other loop trails along the way. I wonder what quirk of political haggling made this one non-Canonical? I may never know.

But - across the road there was the trailhead sign for Emmons Creek and we started the second leg of the hike at 1:07 pm. It was now 82 degrees, and it was very humid indeed. 

The hike starts out by going steeply and relentlessly uphill for about two tenths of a mile as it walks a line between two pieces of private property. The steepest parts are shared briefly by a frequently visiting ATV, unfortunately, which contributes to modest erosion, but compared to what you find for erosion in many other parts of the trail, it was hardly worth noting. 

Actually, the trail for the first four tenths of a mile was pretty unremarkable, going straight north on sandy tread, with lots of trees on the left and right, and a few 'Private Property No Trespassing' signs to break up the monotony. Then we encountered this sign, indicating that we were entering a prairie restoration area. 

I've always loved prairie restoration areas, though I can't explain why. Maybe it's because I get to see some pretty cool stuff there that you don't get to see anywhere else. 

Canada Wildrye

In fact, I thought it was so pretty, I took a short video as I walked through.

Bee Balm

Wild Bergamot

Woodland Sunflower

A bit farther down the trail we encountered this sign, where if we had been so inclined we could have chosen to walk the Far Away Valley Loop, another trail that crosses through the region. This trail ends on Stratton Lake Road, right where we parked for the IAT, so if you're so inclined, here is yet another hiking opportunity. 

I love these rugged old toadstools.

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

Below is the iconic bridge that crosses Emmons Creek. 

The bridge gets you across Emmons Creek just before coming out into another large, open meadow where, if not for the diligent mowing, the crossing would be a little intimidating. 

As we got very near the parking area, we encountered this beautiful white plant, which I should have recognized, but didn't. Maybe it was because I didn't think of this as something that would grow wild in Wisconsin. It is white sage. No, it's not what you buy in the grocery store. It's a different kind of sage that is a wonderful attractant for pollinators like honey bees, and is treasured by many Native American tribes for a variety of uses.  

When we reached the end, it was 2:40 pm, and still 82 degrees. You can tell from the photo above that this little 2.6 mile walk had taken some starch out of our collars. It was muggy. But we had our bikes with us, and the desire to knock off some connecting route before we were done for the day.

Location 2: The Connecting Route between the Emmons Creek Segment on the north and County Road A on the south.

10.4 miles of trail covered, plus 0.2 miles extra biking

So last week Sunday, we made an ill-fated attempt to bike the connecting route between the Deerfield Segment and the Emmons Creek segment by squeezing it in between thunderstorms. The result was pitiful, and left us with over 10 miles to go, including the rather substantial hill south of Apache Drive. 

Again, since we were in one car with two bikes, our options were limited. We could bike both ways (=no), we could bike in opposite directions (=maybe), or we could bike one at a time with a vehicle riding behind for safety (=yes). Since Theresa had experienced an intentional near-hit while riding these roads last week, we decided on the last option. 

Working north to south, we started at about 3:00 pm, temperature still hanging around 82 degrees. Theresa went first, and cleared the hill on the way to Heffron (there's an intersection of a town if ever there was one), and then downhill to County Road P. Then came the long hill leading up to the apex of 15th Road, and the delirious ride down to County A. Theresa actually went a bit beyond that intersection, about two tenths of a mile, because I had misread a map somewhere and didn't realize we were covering ground for the second time, from the other direction. Then it was my turn.  

I rode the opposite direction, which meant I needed to climb Mount 15th right away (just north of County A) and then I was able to enjoy a much more leisurely ride the rest of the way, even though there were plenty of hills to overcome. 

By the time I finished my leg, we had completed maps 48 and 49, and the last of Portage County. It was 5:44 pm, and the temperature had dropped to a discernably cooler 75 degrees. That, we decided, was worth celebrating. 

On our way home we decided to try out a place called King Cone, in Plover. We had driven by the billboard on I-39 enough that I just wanted to give it a try. King Cone is the ice-cream equivalent of a microbrewery, where they make their own ice cream flavors right there in the back, and they advertise always at least 40 different flavors available, or something like that. 

I'd give the place a 3.5 stars out of 5. The ice cream was good, and they had lots of flavors, but the portions were small and expensive. To tell you the truth, if you want an out of this world ice cream experience, go to the Windmill Ice Cream Shoppe in Tomahawk. It's worth the wait. Oh - and a single is probably plenty, but order the double if you dare.

Running Total: 694 miles of trail covered; 74.3 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 92.

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