Day 153: Blackhawk Segment, Walworth and Jefferson Counties

Blue Spring Lake Segment (Part 1), Jefferson County

Day 153: Saturday, April 2nd, 2022

Total Miles covered for the day: 7.3

Location 1: The Blackhawk Segment, between Duffin Road and the south trailhead

5.0 miles of trail covered

I am curious exactly what went into the naming of this Segment. I don't mean "Who was Blackhawk" - I mean what part of his legend and history interacted with this part of the state to the degree that this Segment would be named after him?

Black Hawk, as he was commonly known, was a Sac Indian leader who gained fame and notoriety among settlers and admiration from his opponents as a skilled warrior and tactician. His name was Makataimeshekiakiak, which is better translated as Black Sparrow Hawk. The informational signage in a nearby rest area building provide a brief and deeply flawed history of Black Sparrow Hawk, telling about how he and a large group of Sac and Meskwaki Indians were chased north into Wisconsin by a group of American Militia and eventually cornered in the swamps near Lake Koshkonong. They escaped from that area, but the Militia remained close on their heels, eventually catching up to them and engaging in battle much further to the west. 

Which still begs the question why this Segment was named as it was. The Black Hawk Band, as it was known, consisting of members of the Sac, Meskwaki, Potawatomi, Ho Chunk and a few other nations, spent time in the region but not so near as to make it obvious why the name was suggested for this Segment and why the IATA chose it. 

Perhaps it is enough to say that the man is worth tribute, and this was the IATA's way of giving more visibility to his legend. If so, I think it would be worth putting up an informational Kiosk telling the story from the point of view of the Indigenous Peoples. It could go a long way toward correcting the erroneous notion that Lincoln and Dodge were somehow heroic participants in the Black Hawk 'War'. They weren't, and it wasn't a 'War'. 

No matter how the segment was named, today was the day we were planning on hiking it if we could, and in the end we succeeded. It took us literally all day, but when we were done we had finished all seven miles of it, plus a little extra. 

Today was another SnoTT hike, and we pulled into the parking area on Sherwood Forest Road a little before 9:15 am. Despite the snow that had fallen the night before, and was falling now as part of a rain-snow-sleet mix, we already had a number of hikers waiting in the lot. 

It was overcast, wet, and not what we envisioned when we set up this hike for early April. However, April and Snow are common companions in Wisconsin, so it wasn't too much of a surprise. It has been a very cold spring so far. 

The first order of business was to pass out the Snail patches and get the group photo, which we did at precisely 9:30. You can see from the looks on everyone's faces that the conditions were less than ideal for the start of a hike. 

Decided to include myself in one of the group shots. 

The next order of business was to separate ourselves into groups based on who would be hiking how far. One group decided they would go straight to the north end of the Segment and park in the lot on County Road H to start their southward trek. This is exactly what we would do a little later in the day, but for now we decided to cut the Segment in half and start at the Duffin Road trail crossing. 

With Judy Wildermuth as the only hiker who chose to join us for the short leg, we drove one vehicle out Highway 12 and then north on Duffin Road until we reached the trail. It was on the downhill part of Duffin Road immediately south of the trail crossing that we discovered just how dangerous the roads had become. Duffin was covered in snow and ice, and I started sliding badly after applying a tiny amount of brake to slow our descent. Luck and long practice kept us out of the ditch, but we determined then and there we would NOT be parking our car at the bottom of that hill. It would have been a target for any other vehicles losing traction on the way down, and right now I'd rather have the car than the insurance money. 

So instead, we went to plan 'B', which was to drive a little further north and park on the shoulder parking area created for visitors to the Ole Oleson pioneer log cabin. It meant that our first leg would be 0.6 miles longer than originally planned, and would necessitate walking an extra half mile of blue spur trail to complete the Segment, but I was far more certain that I would still have a vehicle at the end of the day and that was worth it. 

We touched the sign at 9:52 am and we were on our way. 

The Oleson cabin was a fascinating structure, in that it is the only historic two-story log cabin I have ever seen. The photos I took did not survive, but here is a shot from a website. 

We didn't get a chance to look inside, but I know that on the inside the fully restored building has wooden bed frames and a few historic artifacts that would have been familiar to Ole and his wife and nine children who lived there in 1846. 

I don't care if it is two stories. Them's tight quarters for eleven people. 

Outside, we walked past the building and the bench and kept moving down the quarter-mile spur trail to meet up with the Ice Age Trail right about the spot where there is a sign pointing to a Pioneer Lime Kiln. 

The lime kiln was important as a means of converting limestone to quicklime, which in turn was used to produce mortar for stone building construction and as an additive and stabilizer for mud flooring. Quicklime can also be used agriculturally to reduce acidity in soils, but because the product requires temperatures between 1600 and 1800 degrees Fahrenheit to produce it was too expensive to use broadly. 

The trail south of the Oleson cabin was quite level, but as we approached the Duffin Road crossing a hill reared up on the left about 80 feet high, on top of which was one of the shelter-style Disbursed Camping Areas so popular in the Kettle Moraine area. Given the weather I chose not to trek up there. 

The tread is mostly good, but at times is somewhat sloped.  

And with the wet snowfall, there were a lot of branches in the way. 

South and west of Duffin Road the way got a bit hillier. 

As we walked we spent time chatting with Judy, because, of course we did. We talked about our idea for the 1000 Benches project, and how Theresa wants to go back and paint a few more trees with yellow blazes in some places. Even as we talked we ran across a place where a tree had come down across the trail and someone later came through and bucked it up into lengths, tossing them out of the way. 

While Theresa and Judy took a break, I made short work of using the pieces to build a makeshift bench. I'm certain it will be appreciated by future hikers. 

Shortly after 12:00, as we knew they eventually would, the hikers who chose to hike the full segment caught up to us. The rain had stopped by that point, and there was just light snow falling. The temperature was hovering right at about 34 degrees, and we had a grand time having a brief meetup here in the woods. 

Fifteen minutes later we met another couple who were hiking. This is Anne and Matthew Sadowski, and this was their first official hike on the Ice Age Trail. 

We spent the next 45 minutes walking along mostly on top of the highly dimpled landscape, which was riddled with small kettles. Then we started a long, slow descent towards Lake Lagrange. The rain had stopped altogether, but there was still a light breeze blowing and the light snowfall was continuous. 

When we reached one particular spot on the trail, Theresa gasped out loud. We had stopped for a quick drink and to look out at the lake and the trees, and some combination of the hazy gray veil over the lake and the fat, lazy snowflakes created a magical world that we could just stand there and enjoy. 

"This!" Theresa said. "This is the most beautiful thing I've seen on the whole trail!" 

I couldn't disagree. Despite the snowfall, or perhaps because of it, we were being treated to a backdrop of wonder that would please any plein air painter. 

I think we both would have stayed and enjoyed this longer if it weren't for the fact we were trying to hike more than 7.5 miles today. Reluctantly, we pushed on. 

A little ways around the lake we ran into another couple out loving the weather and the landscape. Naturally, we gave them Snail patches, but they posed in such a natural and wonderful way I couldn't ask them to hold the patches up for display. 

On we went, and there were even a few places where the recent rain (goodness - was it only yesterday we were trudging through standing water?) had not soaked in completely before the snow started falling. 

Our hiking companion Judy left us when the other group had caught up from behind, so we had been hiking alone for a while. 

When I spotted this sign just around the corner from Lake Lagrange, I had to have Theresa pose for a picture. 

By 2:18 pm we had made it the 5.25 miles to the south trailhead. 

That left only two miles of trail remaining, with a bit of extra hiking to complete it. We jumped in our car and headed to the north end, to park where the others had started their hike, but not before taking a nice, long break in the middle to go find some amenities. 

Location 2: The Blue Spring Lake Segment, between the Bald Bluff parking area and Young Road

0.3 miles of trail covered

The parking area on County Road H is large and well-used, but it is also four tenths of a mile down the road from the end of the Blackhawk Segment. There is a blue spur trail leading from the parking area to the Blue Spring Lake Segment, a little more than a tenth of a mile up a steep hillside. We chose to go that way, and nip off 0.3 miles of the Blue Spring Lake Segment en route to completing the Blackhawk Segment. 

The way wasn't too steep or too slippery, especially given that we had worn our ice cleats. Between 3:50 when we started and 4:00 when we got to this sign, we had scurried up the spur trail and back down to the road. 

The Segment ends on Young Road in Jefferson County, and across the street was the north trailhead for the Blackhawk Segment. 

Location 3: The Blackhawk Segment, between Young Road and the Ole Oleson Historic Log Cabin

2.0 miles of trail covered

The Blackhawk Segment extends about fifty feet into Jefferson County. Starting on Young Road we walked those 50 feet, then slipped unknowingly into Walworth County. We were now facing the hilliest part of the Blackhawk Segment, which would take us up and over two fairly sizable hills before plunging down again to cross County Road H. 

We were glad that there were only two miles left, because by this time of the day we were starting to drag a bit. 

I wasn't in love with the way the trail clung to the sides of the hills, but that wasn't the worst of it. 

When the tread was laid for this part of the segment, someone went absolutely crazy with a shovel, or something. For long stretches, and especially up and down hills, we were forced to walk in this narrow trench of a path, barely wide enough to stand with both feet, and I kept kicking the sidewalls of this awful tread with every step. 

Up and over and through this beautiful area the only thing I could look at was my feet, to keep from tripping over the trail itself. 

In places we took advantage of the fact that it was easier to walk to the left or the right of the trench, as many before us had done. 

Even when we were down off the hills and walking through the woods for the last mile or so the mad trencher had created a walking hazard beneath and between these lovely pines. 

This was the only photo I found that had the Oleson cabin in it. The time was 5:31 pm, and it had been a very long day, indeed. 

Bonus photos: One of the members of the group that walked the whole Segment in one shot was a great photographer. Here are two shots he shared from that day. 

Running Total: 1023.5 miles of trail covered, 150.2 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 153.

.

.

Return to Table of Contents

.