Day 140: Parnell Segment (Part 4), Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Counties
Day 140: Sunday, February 20th, 2022
Total Miles covered for the day: 3.3
Location: The Parnell Segment, between the road crossing on County Road SS and the road crossing on County Road F
3.3 miles of trail covered
For three days, we have worked on the Parnell Segment. On all three days we stopped before the end of day, for one reason or another. The first time we stopped because the roads were too icy to get to our next intended parking area and nearly ditched the van trying. The second time we stopped because the hills were taking too much of a toll. The third day we stopped because there wasn't quite enough time in the day to hike the last 3.3 mile stretch.
To be fully honest with ourselves - we've been avoiding this 3.3 mile stretch because it's been bitter cold and windy, and we didn't feel like walking that far all at once.
So now, this one section, which could have been broken in half if not for the ice-covered roads, is all we had left. And I'm not talking about 'icy' roads. I'm talking about roads that are covered, top to bottom and end to end, with a one inch layer of ice. Glassy and slick on the top with a dynamic friction coefficient of about 0.05. In other words - don't go there.
So we had no choice but to do the whole hike in one leg. This might have been better if we had tackled it earlier, when the ground was good and frozen, but the temperatures today were going to get unseasonably warm, and we were facing mush and even a little mud for our walk.
We weren't looking forward to it.
So on our way through the town of Dundee we stopped at the 3 Sweets Bakery and Café to get some motivation. I stopped because I knew Theresa wanted to stop there. She had told me as much the day before. Theresa stopped because she was going to stop whether I did or not.
It's an interesting little shop, and it does a whale of a business on Sunday mornings. When I arrived the 'Closed' sign was still hanging in the window. That didn't stop the locals, who knew full well the place was open, and they were packing the tables when we walked in.
We browsed. They had some sweets, which Theresa bought, some handmade soaps and lotions, which she didn't buy, and a variety of bric a brac to go along with the regular breakfast menu. We didn't stay for breakfast, and it wasn't even really about the sweets. It was about wanting to stop and smell all the wonderful small town bakery goodness that fills places like this. It was a nice place, with nice people. Next time we go through we're going to sit a spell.
Another feature in Dundee which I would have liked to admire more closely was the old mill, built over the East Branch Milwaukee River south of Long Lake in 1856. The water wheel was frozen in place, but the mill was a fascinating spectacle.
With nothing left but the hiking, we dropped a car at the north end of our intended hike on County Road F, where there was just enough melting that we could safely park right next to the trail this time, rather then driving a tenth of a mile down the road. Then we drove to the SS Parking area and headed for the trail.
We started hiking at 11:05 am, and the temperature was already up to 39 degrees. By the time we finished hiking at 2:20 pm the temperature would hit 51.
This was the last hike on the Parnell Segment for us. Our goal may not seem ambitious to others, but covering 13.9 miles of hills in the snow, wind and ice, all in one long weekend, was good enough for us.
The skies were blue and sunny, and there were steady 20 mph winds from the SSW.
At the very beginning there were a couple of steep hills to climb, but then there was a long section where we walked almost on the level as we made our way around Crooked Lake. There was certainly opportunity to the west to have taken us up and onto some large and imposing hills, but I'm really glad they didn't. We were really more in the mood to just mosey along and climb as few hills as possible.
We were overtaken on the north end of Crooked Lake by a solo hiker and his dog, a curly-haired black lab mix that he referred to as a 'Chessador'. Obviously, that's a cross between a Chesapeake Bay and a Labrador. It was a pretty enough animal, but I don't know about all these fancy new crossbreed 'breeds'. Labradoodles, Schnoodles, Buggs (Boston Terrier/Pug) and others are cute in their own way, but let's just admit that a lot of these so-called new breeds of dogs started out as - ahem - an open gate in the yard?
Anyway, the fellow was nice enough, and the dog was very friendly. I find that almost all dogs are friendly if you give them a chance. Off he went at his pace, and we at ours.
This was right before a little hill we had to climb, and at the top we stopped to sit on a log. We weren't so much tired as hot and overdressed.
I made a tiny, little snowman. 😀
Immediately on the other side of that hill we crossed Division Road, There is enough room there for one vehicle, if you can get there. As we crossed, sure enough, one vehicle came driving by from the east. There was a bit of fresh snow, and the temperature was above freezing. Maybe there was enough traction on that ice runway for him to get safely through. We never found out.
We finally crossed paths with several groups of hikers as we made our way north of the three Kellings Lakes. The first two were women, who were real trail runners. Literally, they were running along, holding an animated conversation as they ran. They weren't even winded.
I was never in that kind of shape.
Then we crossed paths with an older couple who were the first people we've met on the trail who could give us a run for the title of Snail.
Then we met a man and his son out exercising a 9-year-old pointer, who was all business and had no interesting in talking to us. The dog, that is. He was busy working. The dad and son chatted a while.
All of this happened in a stretch of about two tenths of a mile just before hitting the intersection with the blue spur trail. (0.7 miles).
For a while, I just hung out far behind Theresa and watched her walking down the trail in front of me. As we neared the end of the Parnell Segment I started thinking about the end of the trail. It wouldn't be all that far ahead of us. By the time we finished today we had only about 275 miles left to go.
Even the longest journey can feel shorter when you start getting close to the end. Today, with nice, warm temperatures and the happiness of achieving our goals, Theresa was in a pretty good mood, and her pace was showing it.
Life is that same, long journey. We have a ways to go yet, but we're getting to the point when the end of our trail isn't 'out there' somewhere. It's getting closer, and it's getting real. Someday, and it will come sooner than either one of us wants, we won't be able to go hiking together on thousand-mile odysseys. And then someday, one of us will be hiking alone.
I don't typically borrow the future, but today I was thinking what it would be like if I'm the one left walking through life alone. It made me a little melancholy, and I thought to myself as I watched Theresa walking confidently ahead of me that this day, this image, this person, is the one I want to remember if that terrible day ever comes.
Running Total: 937.1 miles of trail covered, 147.5 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 140.
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