Day 118: City of Two Rivers Segment (Part 2), City of Manitowoc Segment (Part 1) Manitowoc County
Day 118: Sunday, November 14th, 2021
Total Miles covered for the day: 5.6
Location 1: The eastern half of the Two Rivers Segment, between the intersection of East Street and 17th Street and the east trailhead.
1.5 miles of trail covered
Yesterday we hiked a total of 3 1/2 Segments, ending with the western half of the Two Rivers Segment. This morning, we continued that journey north, starting with the 1.5 miles of the Two Rivers segment that follows the edge of the East Twin River and Lake Michigan. This was not a decision reached lightly.
It was not an ideal day for hiking along the shores of Lake Michigan. It was 35 degrees, and snowing heavily. Winds were howling in from the east at a steady 20 miles per hour, creating crashing, thunderous rollers that pommeled the beach. On the other hand, this 1.5 mile stretch was all that stood between us and finishing Map 96, and we were both geared up and used to walking in harsh conditions.
Even though it was short, we did it in two pieces. The area where we left off the night before was a little rough, and the parking was bad. We started out by dropping a car there, then driving a short distance to begin our hike from the parking area near Pierce Street, along the shore of Lake Michigan.
We started our walk at 10:25 am. We had the parking lot essentially to ourselves, though to our surprise we weren't the only ones out on the shore. There were at least two other couples out there that I can remember, and I stopped to talk to one of them. They were fully layered just like we were, and each carried walking poles.
"Are you hiking the Ice Age Trail, or just out here for a Sunday stroll?" I asked, shouting over the wind and the waves.
"Just out for a Sunday stroll," came the reply, with a grin on his face. They were a couple that I would estimate was well into retirement age. He, at least, got the joke. I wished them well and hurried to catch up with Theresa. It would have been fun to give away a couple more SnOTT patches, but they didn't meet the requirements.
When I caught up to Theresa, she was chatting with someone else who was out walking their dog. Theresa was busy telling her about the Ice Age Trail, and the woman (a local who lived a few doors away) said it was intriguing. I don't know if she will ever start walking the trail herself, but she was delighted to know that she could do so by walking out her front door.
In short order we reached the car, then drove north to the end of the segment, which is also the beginning of the Point Beach Segment. I was very happy that I had walked Point Beach last month, because hiking it today would have been a challenge. We touched the Point Beach sign, then headed south, hand-in-hand, walking through the chill winter tableau.
The first four tenths of a mile from this end are on a road, and I don't have any pictures of that, but here is what greeted us as we neared the shore.
We walked on in this way, now alone on the beach, and found ourselves at the car by 11:20 am, having finished the Two Rivers Segment and map 96 besides.
Location 2: The City of Manitowoc Segment, between the intersection of N 10th Street and Park Street and the east trailhead.
4.1 miles of trail covered
We had a lot of options open to us as we decided what to do next. Ultimately, we made the decision that even though it was cold, windy, snowy and somewhat unpleasant even for a Wisconsin resident, what we wanted to do was try to knock out the City of Manitowoc Segment. It was 7.5 miles long, which was definitely aggressive, but we were feeling good.
We dropped a car off at the parking lot by Aurora Medical Center, literally in the same parking space we had used the night before, and then drove a short distance down the trail to park at the Mariner's Trail parking area just north of the roundabout. We started our hike at 12:19 pm, and it was 34 degrees. The snow had mostly, though not completely, stopped falling, but that didn't keep it from feeling cold in that relentless wind coming in off the lake. The 'trail' was basically a paved bike path that ran along the lake.
There are a few things that stick out in my mind about this walk along the lake.
Snowing and windy.
Waves and Seagulls.
More crashing waves and the drone of traffic.
The Spirit of the Rivers.
That last one is a sculpture, which is one of many that adorn the shoreline here. It depicts three First Nations people carrying a birchbark canoe as they make their way along some footpath or portage.
The lighting was terrible for taking photos, but here are a few shots.
Oh yeah. There was one more thing I remember. The phone call from work.
I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was staying close to the car this weekend in the event I got a call from work, and today it finally happened. Sometime prior to reaching the car, I got a phone call stating that there was an immediate need from work, and I needed to drop what I was doing and get on the computer to assist.
Super.
Have I mentioned just how hard it is to get an internet signal in Manitowoc?
The computer was in the car, of course, so all I could do was stay on the phone as we walked to finish this first leg of the segment. I'm not sure what time it was, somewhere just after 1:00, but I had to have Theresa take me and the computer into town and find a place with internet. In the meantime, I put on a headset and stayed on the call.
And this call was a doozey. Sometimes they last for a half hour. Sometimes two hours. This one lasted for more than 12 hours.
We chose a Starbucks. We both had coffee, and something to eat. As I struggled through the problem on the phone and on the computer, Theresa sat idling, and the rest of our daylight slowly melted away. Finally, when there was no end in sight, I told her to go and hike the rest of the shoreline. I told her she should just drive out, walk the shore, get the van, then get back in touch with me. Wishing we had done that two hours earlier, she left.
She was gone a little over a half-hour when I came to the realization that there was no longer anything I could do on the computer. Everything I still had to offer could be done over the phone, so I called Theresa back up and asked where she was. I figured if she was too far into the trip, maybe I could just walk to the trail and hike from there.
As it happens, she was just leaving the car.
"Come back and get me," I told her, which she did.
When we drove back out to the lakeshore, she went back to the same place she was about to start walking from.
"Here?" I asked. "This is where you parked?"
"Yes."
"The van is right over there."
My call, which prevented her from getting any more walking done before picking me up, ultimately stopped her from walking an untold distance along shoreline she had already covered, to reach a van which would have been further and further behind her with every step.
I'd like to believe she would have noticed quickly. Something would look a little too familiar, and she would realize her mistake. We'll never know, though, because she didn't get the chance. I'm just as happy it worked out that way.
So instead, we drove back down the shore and navigated to the intersection of North 10th Street and Park Street, a convenient spot that would allow us to finish the whole shoreline and get around the corner a bit, headed west. We parked at a local bar parking lot and started strolling down Park street, Theresa clicking along with her one walking pole and me on my headset, still engaged in my call at work. It wasn't quite dark yet, but it was getting close.
Walking through town was no problem, and there were enough blazes to get us down to the shoreline, but as we rounded the bend near the Wisconsin Maritime Museum the markings were decidedly poor, and we only chose the right path out of sheer luck.
This was also when Theresa hit the wall. Some combination of lack of sleep, exertion, exposure, dehydration and hypoglycemia was causing her to shut down physically, and we had to stop right there on the sidewalk while she got over the spell. And because I was hiking distractedly, I didn't have my usual supply of food and beverage with me. I had nothing to give her.
Eventually, it passed, if only just enough to allow her to continue. We hiked steadily and quietly, making our way northeast along the shore as the moon rose over the water. By 5:30 we had made it to the first of several sculptures, a heron, and a short while later an eagle on its nest.
The moonlight was beautiful over the lake. The wind went down with the sunset, and all we were left with was gentle waves lolling up onto the sand. The last photo I took above was at 5:50 pm.
When we got to the van we both eagerly ate a sandwich and had something to drink. We drove back into town to pick up the car and start heading home. Gone was the dream of finishing the segment. I was still on the phone, with no hope of the call ending soon, and we were nearly two hours from home by car, driving separately. There was no way we were doing any more hiking this weekend.
Running Total: 822.1 miles of trail covered, 135.7 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 118.
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