Day 192: Connecting Route, Taylor County

Day 192: Monday, June 13th, 2022

Total Miles hiked for the day: 6.5; Net Miles -0.4 

Location: The part of the Chippewa-Taylor Connecting Route between the intersection of County Road F and Hwy 73 and the Taylor County Line

6.5 Miles of trail covered

I'm not 100% sure how this stuff happens. In July of 2013 we biked this connecting route and logged a total of 14.9 miles. Then we came back to hike it. Two days ago we walked the first 8 miles between Lake Eleven and the county line. That left 6.9 miles, but now that we have our fancy maps with little mileage markers on them, I can see we only have 6.5 miles left to go. We've been carrying an extra four tenths of a mile on our grand total since day THREE. Then I checked the rest of the route. For the Chippewa County part of the CR I had logged a total of 24.3 miles, for a grand total of 39.2 miles. 

The CR is now identified as being 41.2 miles in length. So - that means I short-changed ourselves nearly 2 miles back in September of 2013, and now we were back in the hole a total of 1.6 miles. Did the route change? Maybe. Did the accuracy of our measurements change? Absolutely. Does it impact how far we really had to walk? Not one inch. 

I'll just keep the tally as accurate as I can, and make adjustments accordingly. 

Now that all the miles we have left to walk are within an hour's drive from home, there is more and more appeal to going out after work and knocking off five or so miles. The days are long and warm, and it's actually nice to walk in the evening when it's a little cooler. 

By 6 pm we were back on the County F treadmill, crisscrossing our way to the county line. We came up Highway 73 from Thorp, figuring that we could make the best headway if we started at the closest end.

I spotted this plant growing roadside, and I'm not sure if it was mousetail or some kind of club moss. If it is mousetail, its a picture of what it looks like without the distinctive mousetail structure that gives the plant its name. Maybe it's too early in the year, or maybe I just haven't narrowed this one down correctly. 

If anyone recognizes this, feel free to comment. 

The road along County F is a little boring. The shoulder is narrow and grassy, but at least there aren't many cars whizzing by. 

There isn't much here to break up the monotony of a 42-mile connecting route. 

Unless you count the occasional snapping turtle laying eggs. 

Along the way we apparently walked through the Town of Taft. I didn't see it. But I did see this municipal building. 

Crisscrossing with Theresa at some point along the road. 

Looking for distraction where I could find it. 

And not finding much. 

There she is again...

Aha! The irises at least are easy to identify. 

During the last leg of the trip, as Theresa was limping slowly down the road, a local woman came driving up and stopped to ask if her car was broken down, and if she needed a ride. Because of the limp, she mentioned that she thought Theresa was injured. 

"Well, yes, I'm injured, but it's because I've walked almost 1000 miles on the Ice Age Trail." 

Man, she threw that car into park and wanted to hear the whole story. 

Long story short, Theresa told her all about the journey, and the woman shared that since she lives right there she sees a lot of hikers on the road, but that she didn't recognize Theresa as being one of them. She was surprised and impressed, and really felt honored to be the recipient of a Snail patch. She told Theresa that of all the people she's seen out hiking she felt Theresa was the most amazing and memorable. At the end of the exchange she drove off and Theresa went back to limping down the road, although with just a little more spring in her step. 

I'd like to say that we really had fun out here walking on County Road F (again) for another six and a half miles. But I have too much respect for you to lie to you. We have now walked over 160 miles of roadway in the last 30 days, broken up by only 1.7 miles of trail. It's all starting to blur a little. We ended our hike today at 8:38 pm, on the Chippewa-Taylor county line. 

Unfortunately, we had 18.7 miles left of the CR when we started the day. We only made it to the Otter Lake Bait Shop, which means we still have 12.2 miles to go, and that's a very long day for either one of us, but especially Theresa. Her foot still bothers her continuously, and her hip is now aching badly with every hike. Sometimes she'll get a good mile or two out of it, but always the pain kicks in, making the road miles difficult for her. 

Of course, there is an alternative route that goes north of Otter Lake rather than south, just following 165th Avenue around to County Road S. That route is only 7.9 miles long, and that is definitely something we can do in a single day. That saves 4.3 miles off of the recommended route, and after driving it tonight we think it's a lot prettier. I'm sure there are reasons why the official recommended route goes south, but we can't figure out what those reasons are. We are definitely looking at going the northern route when we come back. 

The tally:

• One new Snail 
• Completed map 20
• Completed Taylor County
• Converted 6.4 miles of biking to the 'hiked' category
• 146.7 miles to go

Running Total: 1213.3 miles of trail covered (990.3 hiked), 283.6 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 192.

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