Day 164: Table Bluff Segment (Part 2), Dane County
Day 164: Friday, April 22nd, 2022
Total Miles covered for the day: 2.3
Location: The northernmost 2.3 miles of the Table Bluff Segment, between the northern trailhead and the parking area on Table Bluff Road, including the full loop.
2.3 miles of trail covered
I had to work today (of course), but that didn't stop us from managing to sneak in a couple of miles. Theresa was driving a separate vehicle and managed to get a head start on me, which worked out great. She parked at the north end on Pine Road, walked the funky little loop trail, then hit the road headed south. I was trailing about a half-hour behind her and parked in the Table Bluff Road parking area and started a fast road walk north. It was 6:38 pm, and it was gray and chilly. I was chasing daylight and a threat of rain, which explains the urgency of my pace.
Table Bluff Road isn't well-loved or well-traveled, it seems. After a tiny uphill stint I was looking down this degraded stretch of asphalt that led to a dry creek bed, then turned left to walk back up the hill and level out on the other side.
Within about ten minutes I crossed paths with Theresa as she was finishing her walk.
There is a spot where I had to turn off of County KP onto Pine Road, which goes uphill again quite a ways, resulting in a 100 foot gain in elevation. Nothing imposing, but a consideration if hills bother you while you walk. It would also be possible to miss that turn if you're not paying attention, and anyone who does could end up walking miles in the wrong direction. I know this because we met a couple the next day who did exactly that.
Having reached the top of that hill, and after trudging north a few hundred feet more I found the start of the loop trail, which had an IAT trailhead sign and enough room to park two vehicles if they both knew the other would be there.
This is the view from bottom to top.
And this is the view from the top of the hill.
I do wonder about how the distance for this segment is measured. The first leg, representing the string on this balloon of a trail, is three tenths of a mile long. The loop itself, eight tenths of a mile long. So to walk the whole loop you have to walk 0.3+0.8+0.3 = 1.4 miles. Yet you don't get credit for the last 0.3 miles.
I feel robbed. It's like working 9 hours instead of 8 and being told you don't get credit for the overtime because one of the tasks you did in the morning had to be repeated later in the day.
As I traipsed around the loop, a mostly open field walk that took a short dive into the woods, the view looked mostly like this one below. The sun was not exactly shining on the waving golden wheat, but the odd combination of leaden skies and last year's brown grasses, coupled with the chill in the air, made this feel more like a fall tableau than one from early spring.
I beat the rain, and I beat the sunset, as did Theresa. Next it was off to our Airbnb, to get settled for the night and prepared for tomorrow's Snail hike. We had nipped off the bottom piece of the Table Bluff Segment back in December, and now the northern half. That left only 2.4 miles to finish the Segment. I've heard good things about it and I'm looking forward to it.
Running Total: 1095.0 miles of trail covered, 156.1 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 164.
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