Day 98: Greenbush Segment (Part 2), Sheboygan County
Day 98: Sunday, September 19th, 2021
Total Miles covered for the day: 3.5 plus 0.3 miles extra hiking
Location: The northern 3.5 miles of the Greenbush Segment between the Old Plank Road Trail near Hwy 23 and the north trailhead on County Road P
3.5 miles of trail covered
Last Night we van camped again, keeping us close to the spot where we needed to be for day two of our inaugural SnOTT Walk. (SnOTT means Snail on the Trail - more information available on the September 18th post.)
In the morning, I noticed these growing very near the parking lot. They are Common Elder, and the berries, when cooked, are edible. Uncooked they can produce nausea, so beware how you go about eating them.
 |
| Common Elder |
Even though the start time for the hike on Day 2 was an hour later, at 10:00 am, we were still a minute late pulling into the designated shuttle spot, mostly due to road construction.
However, much to our surprise and delight, we had a hiker waiting there for us! Her name was Elizabeth Holz, and she was our very first SnOTT walker.
After transferring gear, we drove back to the Hwy 23 parking area where we ended the previous day's hike, and found that no one else was waiting for us. Today there would be three Snails on the Trail.
We started our hike a few minutes late at 10:10 am, temperature 75 degrees. Today was going to be a little warmer than yesterday, but we were looking forward to it.
After walking the three-tenths of a mile down to the trail sign, we took our group photo.
Starting at the sign, it was an easy walk down the Old Plank Trail until we reached the brand new underpass where hikers and horseback riders alike can safely cross under the new four-lane highway.
Once we made it to the other side, we were greeted by a small snake warming in the morning sun as we walked past the rock retaining walls.
Though some information available online indicates that this segment is closed and hikers should use the nearby road, in truth there is a new trail in place. The new trail appears to have been cut just a little bit west of where the old one was, based on the occasional coordinates I took. The tread had been forged using a bulldozer, but left behind a lot of stubby people-trippers that will need a lot of rework.
You could tell that a lot of hard work had been done to create this new tread, but it was still awful footing, even though the route itself was very pleasant. It cut through a forest area with nice mature trees, and the trail was not too steep.
A few years back Theresa and I took a class put on by the Ruffed Grouse Society, and they taught us a great deal about the benefits of careful logging and forest management. Specifically, there was an emphasis on producing small clear-cuts that support both deer and Ruffed Grouse. The deer love the forest edge created by cleared areas, and the grouse survive by eating parts of the aspen trees that sprout up readily in new clear cuts and need full sunlight to germinate.
Along the way we passed a family a couple times, once as they were going the other way, and once as they passed us up from behind. We weren't surprised that they passed us by. We are snails, after all. But I was a little surprised at the footwear. I am here to testify that the rocks and roots along this piece of trail are terrible to walk on. The fact that a couple members of the hiking family were wearing sandals just boggles my mind.
The footing got progressively worse as we traveled northeast. At times it would have been safer to go downhill sliding on our butts to avoid falling on them. The hills both up and down were steep and hazardous. I would rate much of it a 5 out of 5 for footing, meaning that cautious foot placement was needed to prevent ankle rolls. Yet there were people coming through here that were jogging. In my humble and non-clinical opinion, the joggers we saw are nuts.
 |
| Halfway up a long hill |
There were no benches along this section of trail, so every time I came across logs left over from trees being removed I rearranged the pieces if I could and made log benches. I think I made four of these over the course of the day.
I saw this late-season bloomer, the zig-zag goldenrod.
 |
| Zig-Zag Goldenrod |
And while I was making a log bench, I disturbed this poor fellow, a blue-spotted mole salamander, though the only photo I got was quite terrible.
 |
| Blue-Spotted Salamander |
As long as we're taking a break from flowers and mushrooms, let's take an entomological moment and put in a good word for this harmless little fellow below, the leaf-footed bug.
 |
| Leaf-Footed Bug |
Most people use the word "bug" to mean just about anything that crawls or flies, from mites, ticks and spiders to insects of all kinds. But to those who love insects and get to know them, the word "bug" is specific to only one Order of insects, the Hemiptera, a.k.a. the 'True Bugs'. This Order includes such fan favorites as cicadas, aphids, planthoppers and the frighteningly named Assassin Bugs. There are some 80,000 species of true bugs, but referring to everything that crawls as a 'bug' is like calling every dog a Terrier.
The leaf-footed bug is in the same sub-order as the assassin bugs (Heteroptera), and sadly gets the same bum's rush when found indoors, which is where most people encounter them in Wisconsin. But unlike their southern cousin, the assassin bug, people have nothing to fear from leaf-footed bugs, indoors or out. They only reason you find them inside the house in the fall is that they are looking for a warm place to hang out.
If you're in Wisconsin and you see one of these in the house, just cup it gently in your hand and carry it outside. Toss it into the wind, and wish it good luck. Don't squish it.
Enough about bugs. Back to the trail.
When we finally reached the bottom of all the downhill hiking, we bottomed out in a wet area that supported a magnificent horsetail fern forest.
 |
| A Forest of Horsetail Fern |
This marked the beginning of a piece of trail about two tenths of a mile long that was blessed with beautiful sandy, soft footing. I was glad to have the easy walking to finish the hike, but it felt like too little too late. We weren't going to suddenly forget all about all the terrible rocks and roots just because things ended well.
And of course, when we got to the trailhead, there was at long last, a bench. Right there in the parking lot. We didn't bother.
We ended our hike at at 2:30 pm, and the temperature had reached 82 degrees. 3.8 miles in four hours and 20 minutes. Another perfect day.
Once again, on reflection, there was a a complete absence of blazes other than those on 4x4 posts. Not great, but at least it was much harder to get lost in this section. We bid farewell to Elizabeth, our fellow snail, and were happy to be able to call Greenbush 'done'.
Running Total: 721.9 miles of trail covered; 89.4 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 98.
No comments:
Post a Comment