Day 133: Connecting Route, Kewaunee County

Day 133: Sunday, January 30th, 2022

Total Miles covered for the day: 10.5

Location: The Connecting Route East and north of the Tisch Mills Segment from the intersection of Collegiate Road and County Road AB to the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Sleepy Hollow Road (the old route)

10.5 miles of trail covered

Woke in the morning in our hotel room and shuttled our many bags and belongings to our one vehicle. At noon we wanted to be at the intersection of Pine Grove Road and Sleepy Hollow Road to meet our hiking friend, Laura Hinesh, and help her celebrate her second full lap on the Ice Age Trail. Her plan was to walk the final 0.8 miles between this intersection and the 44 Winery, a little south of there on Sleepy Hollow Road. We knew we couldn't walk at her pace, but we wanted to be there at the start and the end to cheer her on, and later to go out to a local pub & grub for some lunch. 

Our goal had been to go up to hike a little of the Kewaunee River Segment and leave in time to get back by noon. But by the time we determined how long it would take us to get there, and how long it would take to drive back again, we figured that we would only be able to get about a mile and a half of hiking done, so we bagged that idea and picked up the Connecting Route where we left off on October 2nd of last year and started working our way west toward Bolt. 

It was a mostly sunny day, with light blue skies and whispy clouds above. It was 20 degrees out, and there wasn't much wind, but when it did blow it cut right through us. The first leg was a 1.5 mile piece that cut west, and then south again to Bolt Road. We started hiking at 10:07 am, and we were hiking with a purpose. 

The roadway was bleak and empty. I think there may have been one car that passed us as we walked, but I know there weren't two.  

The bright sun made for scalloped shadows along the snow drifts on the south side of the road. 

A cattail scene next to the road. I can't count how many ducks unlimited prints I've seen that look exactly like this, only with a deer or a pheasant in the scene. 

The next leg was a two mile hustle all the way to Bolt, in a straight line along Bolt Road. I don't remember if I took any photos along this stretch. I crossed paths with Theresa somewhere in the middle and I'm sure I took at least one photo of her, but alas, my phone was eating pictures again. 

When I picked up Theresa it was time for us to boogie up to the starting place where we would be meeting up with Laura. We were there at 11:45, and she wasn't there yet. Puzzled, we went to the end of the proposed hike. Not there either. Not even a car waiting. 

What gives?

We went back to the start, and we were turning around and parking at one minute to twelve when a little black car comes down the road, pulling to a stop at the corner. Out popped two enthusiastic women, one of whom we recognized as Laura, the "Energizer Bunny" to our "Snail". With her was a friend of hers, Tonya Teeters, whom Laura introduced as the inspiration behind her first end-to-end walk on the Ice Age Trail. Tonya said she has been at it for many years, and has 'only' covered 32 segments, so she felt like she would fit right in with us. 

I know for certain I took photos of Tonya, because we gave her a SnOTT patch and welcomed her to the Snails. 

We watched her walking down the road with Laura when we jumped in the car to drive down to the other end. I don't think Tonya has an 'inner snail'. Whatever prevents her from walking more segments on the Ice Age Trail, it certainly isn't speed. 

We decided to walk just a bit up the road and wait for Laura, so as to finish hiking the last couple hundred feet with her. Laura had her walking music going, cranked up to about 128 beats per minute, and she was feeling the love as she got to the finish line. Cheers roared up from the small crowd, standing in the chill winter air holding signs and clapping gloved hands together. Her parents and brother were there to welcome her to the end, and it was a far cry from her first trip, where she ended the hike alone. 

We ended up going into the winery and sitting at the table as a few flights of wine were sampled and a few bottles purchased in celebration. Toasts were raised, and then it was off to the pub for burgers and fries. 

"We made it to Bolt", we told Laura. 

"Bolt?" she asked, puzzled. "You must be looking at the old map." 

Nope. We're still using the most up-to-date printing available, but once again the printed map shows a different route than the online version, or the Guthook version. In fact, the printed map route was literally five miles longer than the new route. We never had to walk all the way to Bolt. We could have turned north on Sleepy Hollow Road all the way down on Collegiate Avenue and walked straight north. If we had, we would have been all the way off map 98 already, and likely would have been able to walk all the way to the winery before noon. Instead, we were still three miles from the edge of map 98, and six miles from the winery. 

When the party was still going strong, we told Laura, "You may be done hiking the Ice Age Trail, but we're not! We have hiking to do." She understood completely, of course, and we parted ways a little better friends than before. 

It was too late to go up to the Kewaunee River Segment, so we just went back to Bolt to pick up the connecting route and head north. We figured that doing it any other way would look messy and strange on the map, and in the end it would only save two and a half miles. 

We crisscrossed our way along the first two miles of roadway north of Bolt, seeing more flat, snow-covered Wisconsin farmland along the way. There were places on the road that probably get more deer crossing than cars. 

I love the pampas grass that grows wild along the roads up here. 

The sun was getting lower in the sky.

The horizon was flat and cold. 

I drove back and picked Theresa up and we set up for the next leg, another two miles north that would get us off map 98 and all the way to County J, where there was a bar for convenient parking. 

As I walked, I was doing some quick calculations in my head. How far to the winery? How long until dark? How many more miles until we reach 900? 2.2 miles, I figured. 

When I crossed paths with Theresa this time, we decided we would just keep hiking and go for it. The last leg was three miles, north on J to Pine Grove Road and then east two miles, the same otherwise unnecessary two miles we hiked in the morning on the way to Bolt. 

It was completely dark by the time I crossed County Road AB, but I still had a mile to go. At the very end there was a nice looking old barn. It was too dark for a photo. 

We ended our day somewhere about 5:30, and full darkness had descended upon us, but we were both satisfied with the result. This weekend we finished one more segment and one more map. It's getting to the point where we're going to start running out of those things. 900 miles down, 300 miles to go. 

Running Total: 900.8 miles of trail covered, 145.7 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 133.

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