Day 162: Sturgeon Bay Segment (Part 3), Door County

Day 162: Saturday, April 16th, 2022

Total Miles covered for the day: 3.2

Location: The Sturgeon Bay Segment, between the parking area on South Neenah Ave and Tagge Road

3.2 miles of trail covered

Last night we had an enjoyable, if busy, night packing up as much as we could and getting stuff in the cars. This morning we needed to be out of the condo in time to drive both vehicles all the way back up to the Sturgeon Bay Segment to meet our fellow Snails for yet another Snail Hike. 

Unlike yesterday morning, there were no winter storm warnings. We did drive through a minor snow flurry on the way there, but it held off during the actual hiking. It was chilly, sure, but the  fine company made up for the temperatures. 

The group gathered once again in the town of Maplewood, which, if I haven't described it before, is little more than an intersection with a collection of houses and a few small businesses nearly all permanently closed because of the ravages of time and the pandemic. Even lifetimes ago, when the railroad rolled through town I'm sure it was little more than a whistle stop, surviving on the mill, the local tavern and its proximity to the cranberry bogs. The A&W (Ahnapee & Western) Line through this area was mostly used as a link between the Algoma Plywood manufacturing businesses and the shipyards of Sturgeon Bay. Maplewood was just a few houses they passed along the way. 

Today, the weary hiker has little hope of commerce, save for Johnny G's Pub and Grill, where a cup of chili can still be had for a mere $4, to go with a generous $7 serving of cheese curds. They actually have a fairly decent menu, available online if you can get cell phone signal. Evolve or die, I guess. 

So at 11:00 we met Rachel and Ethan Schmidt, Jackie Jenerson, and Rebecca Waga in the parking lot (with the very convenient restrooms) to take our group photos. 

Rebecca Waga, Theresa Jansen, Jackie Jenerson, Rachel Schmidt and her son Ethan...

... and me

We never know how many people will show up, or how far they will want to walk. We had originally committed to walking 6.1 miles today, all the way to the South Neenah Ave Parking area, but since we hiked 2.9 miles of that yesterday, that left only 3.2 miles for us to walk today, which turned out to be absolutely PERFECT for the group. 

Rebecca, who wanted to walk the whole 13.7 miles, needed a shuttle to the terminus in Potawatomi State Park. Rachel and Ethan were not really looking to put in a full 10K today, so 3.2 miles sounded much better to them, and Jackie was mostly just in it for the patch. 

While Theresa arranged things for our hike, I took Rebecca up to the north end, and then met the group at Mile Marker Zero for our relatively short hike south to Tegge Road. 

We took our photo at Mile Marker Zero at exactly 12:00. It was an overcast, cold, windy day, and we were wearing all our layers, but once we got walking it wasn't all that bad. Wind was from the northwest, so we were sort-of getting it from the side, but at least it wasn't right in our faces. Within a few minutes, we started getting overheated from the layers. 

Today we achieved a new degree of 'slow'. Young Ethan, you see, was not yet a seasoned hiker. I'm not at all sure he was excited about the opportunity. He talked a pretty good game, but he lacked dedication, at least at the start. Fortunately, I have some experience being a young, bored lad and I had some tricks up my sleeve. By the end of the day, I think he was just interested enough to be willing to go on another walk with his mom. I hope they keep doing it. 

The section we walked today was another stretch along the Ahnapee State Trail, an old railroad bed that was converted to a hiking and biking path in 1995 using State and Federal funds of about $175,000. The biggest improvement made during that time was to raise the area west of County Road S by about four feet, making it passable in all seasons. We walked that particular spot today, and I can't imagine what it would have been like before. Passing through swamps and farm fields, there is still ample standing water year-round, making it a remote, if easy, hike. 

This type of level, straight walking on quarry wash gravel isn't much of a challenge for seasoned hikers, but it is just fine for Theresa and me. We've done a lot of hills, and there is room in our appreciation bucket to enjoy this environment as well. It is, however, a little boring to a lad of Nathan's age. Geocaching to the rescue. 

It was our great fortune (and my personal pleasure) that along this three-mile stretch of trail there were 15 geocaches to be found. It provided something amusing to Ethan, and it kept him going because there was always something interesting to do 'just a little farther down the trail'. There wasn't much in the way of 'treasure', but at least he got the experience of looking for hidden things, and who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?

Three-quarters of a mile south and west of S, and just before we got into the heavy trees, we stopped by this warming shelter for a break and a snack. 

Even on simple hikes, there is always a lot to see. We saw lots and lots of birds, and got nice close looks at oven birds and golden-crowned kinglets, among others. There was also interesting flora to see, since some species of plants that exist mostly in swamps and bogs are hard to get to and therefore unfamiliar, like this willow. 

By 2:41 pm, Theresa had shed at least two layers. She kept her gloves on, though. This was our last look at the Ahnapee State Trail, and you can see the satisfaction in Theresa's face as we literally left this section behind us. 

At 2:45, we reached our stopping point as we touched the sign at Tagge Road. It was a successful hike for all involved, and Rachel and Ethan were still having fun, which was great. I've since been told that Ethan now has his own trekking poles. Good for him. 

Rebecca Waga was not able to catch up to us today, but we kept in touch by text. She did make it to her car back in Maplewood. 

As for Theresa and I, we had another Snail Hike coming up tomorrow morning, and we needed to get settled in for the night. We have covered more than 50 miles so far on this trip, and have left a good portion of Door and Kewaunee Counties in our wake. By the end of day tomorrow will will have only six more Segments to walk (and a little over 300 miles of connecting route). Somehow that doesn't even seem like a long way to go. 

Running Total: 1089.5 miles of trail covered, 155.8 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 162.

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