Day 204: Connecting Route, Waushara County, Connecting Route, Marquette County

Day 204: Friday, July 1st, 2022

Total Miles hiked for the day: 8.3; Net Miles -0.4 

We have hiked in the snow. We have hiked in the rain. We have hiked in blazing heat, fierce winds, in sand and on pavement. We have hiked in the early morning just after dawn and we have hiked into the darkness, with only headlamps and the footpath to guide us. We have hiked hills and hollows, highways and harbors. And we have enjoyed most of it. 

We're not having fun right now. 

We have been hiking now almost non-stop for - well, I was going to say a month and a half. But then I looked back and can't really find a gap where it doesn't feel like we haven't been hiking non-stop. Not since March of 2021. And the pace just keeps accelerating. In the last six weeks, after we finished our last segment and nearly all trail miles, we have walked over 250 miles. On roads. Mostly paved. Frankly, it's getting a little tedious. 

And yet - with the end so close in sight - what else can we do? It's Friday night. We go walking. 

Location 1 & 2: The portion of the connecting route south of Chaffee Creek between the north end and the intersection of Duck Creek Avenue and County Hwy CH.

2.4 Miles of trail covered in Waushara County

5.9 miles of trail covered in Marquette County

We got out of the house just early enough that we felt we could go back down to Westfield and snip away at those faraway miles south of that weird little trail piece near the I-39 wayside at Chaffee Creek. Weird, because you can't really get there from here, and once you do get there it's easier to get out on foot than it is in the car, unless you're headed straight on down the highway. But I suppose it's not really there for the pedestrians, so we'll just have to make do. 

UPDATE: The path of the Chaffee Creek Segment has been recently modified (finally) so that it no longer goes all the way down to the wayside, but you can still get there on a spur trail if you need to use the facilities or get water. 

The first thing I discovered when tallying up the road miles tonight is that I truly had no idea what I was doing in 2013 when I was estimating miles traveled. I've gotten much better at it, not least because the atlas maps are so much better, but also because I figured out how to use Google Maps to its full advantage. In fact, that's what we did to evaluate our route tonight and choose our path. 

When we biked this in 2013 it was a nice, direct path from the wayside down to Packwaukee and onto the John Muir Park Segment. Now, the route slashes wildly to the east, all the way to Montello before crossing back a full mile farther to the west than before, before finally hooking back around to that dead end road that now meets the end of the Chaffee Creek Segment. That's a whopping 39.2 miles when it used to be 28.3, and it can actually be done in 27.1 miles if you don't walking on busy roads. We chose a route that was 27.9 miles, which is some 11 miles shorter than official route. 

So the plan was for us to work our way south, first cutting the loop short by walking down County Road CH, taking a detour along 5th Avenue before turning south on CH again until we ran out of steam or daylight. 

One car. Crisscrossing again. 4:37 pm and it was go time. 

Road hiking thoughts:

1. Why do so many people put welcome signs at their doorstep and No Trespassing signs at the end of their driveway?

2. One way to know you're 'Up Nort' is when you see the locals going south for the weekend.

The trail was looking a little overgrown from when I remember coming through here while it was a spur trail.

3. The tallest person who ever lived was at some point the same height you are.

4. There are two lakes in Wisconsin called Devil's Lake - the big one and the one we all walk around in Sauk County.

It's true. The Devil's Lake you're thinking about isn't the only Devil's Lake in Wisconsin. In fact, the one up in Burnett County is bigger. It's 975 acres in size. The one in the State Park is only 360 acres. Still sizable, but - nearly three times bigger? Why didn't I know about that sooner?

5. If I was the size of a snail, the objects around me wouldn't look huge - they would look normal.

6. I see a lot more hikers on trail segments than I do on connecting routes.

7. I like poems that rhyme better than those that don't.

There's a parking area on CC next to the Mecan River State Fishery Area.

The county line is actually just a bit north of Dakota Ave.

Mmmm.. Swedish Breakfast... Wait - tomorrow??? Huh.

8. There are 116 lakes in Wisconsin named mud lake. That's 1.61 Lakes Per County with that name, and that doesn't even include things like Muddy Lake, Little Mud lake or Muddy Minnow Lake.

9. It's true that I can't kiss my elbow but I've never lost sleep over it.

10. Whoever said it's a small world never had to paint those lines on the edge of the road.

We went a little farther than was strictly good for us tonight. I probably should have stopped at Dover Court about a mile north of here, but I was obsessed. It was 8:30 at night and we had many miles to go. Honestly, if Theresa hadn't been there to knock sense into me I might have wanted to push for the last few miles in the dark, but she was right. Night hiking on this road would have been crazy, even if there weren't any cars.

Sauerkraut and elderberry jelly?!? Man, I absolutely need to get back down here.

I'm not sure why I felt so compelled to go so far. I wanted to finish down here, but I'm letting the unfinished maps and miles override my better judgement. As it is I'm practically crippling us both with this insane pace, day after day, pounding down the miles. It's not fun. But it is almost over.

Six hikes left. If we can keep this up.

The tally:

• 0 new Snails today
• Completed map 53
• Completed Waushara County
• Converted 8.3 miles of biking to the 'hiked' category
• 48.9 miles to go. 

Running Total: 1211.8 miles of trail covered (1088.1 hiked), 384.3 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 204.

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