Day 208: Connecting Route, Portage County, Connecting Route, Marathon County
Day 208: Wednesday, July 6th, 2022
Total Miles hiked for the day: 7.1; Net Miles 0.0
Location 1 & 2: The portion of the connecting route spanning Portage and Marathon counties, between the Lions Lake Camp on County Road A and the intersection of County Road I and County Road C.
4.6 Miles of trail covered in Portage County
2.5 Miles of trail covered in Marathon County
We started hiking the Ice Age Trail on July 6th, 2013, exactly nine years ago today. I guess that makes this the first day of our tenth year on the IAT. We said to ourselves at the beginning that we were on the ten-year plan. I guess we were right. Let's see how that worked over time, if we only count the miles that were walked:
July 6 2013 - July 5, 2014: 112.7 miles
July 6 2014 - July 5, 2015: 15.3 miles
July 6 2015 - July 5, 2016: 0 miles
July 6 2016 - July 5, 2017: 0 miles
July 6 2017 - July 5, 2018: 2.3 miles
July 6 2018 - July 5, 2019: 0 miles
July 6 2019 - July 5, 2020: 40.6 miles
July 6 2020 - July 5, 2021: 155.0 miles
July 6 2021 - July 5, 2022: 791.0 miles
I think it's fair to say that there were times along the way that the ten-year goal was at risk.
Yesterday was a rainy, icky day, and we were both completely happy to take a day off. Now that we're this close to the end some of the pressure is off. It's no longer a question of 'Can we do it at all', or even 'Can we do it in time for our September party', but rather 'When do you want to finish this?' Of course the answer is still 'As fast as possible', but we no longer feel the need to go out and tempt bad weather. Our close call with the lightning storm two days ago was enough to pound some common sense back into us. We took a zero-day.
But today, with the weather a little nicer and a day of rest behind us we chased back out again after work to Lions Lake where we left off on the 4th of July and started walking off the edge of Portage County.
I saw on the map that there were supposed to be bathrooms here and water. Their location wasn't obvious, so I went looking for it while I was here. If you're in a parking lot looking at this sign, you are standing between buildings 2 and 18.
Random Road Hiking Thought #1. Earth has literally thousands of different kinds of rocks in every imaginable color. Why is every rock from Planet Krypton a green crystal?
Imagine the tedium of living on a planet where every rock is a green crystal. Every. Single. Rock.
This is another shot from the snail cam, with Theresa driving off in the distance getting set to park and walk back my way.
Random Road Hiking Thought #2. Robin Wall Kimmerer proved scientifically that stands of native grasses will thrive when nurtured, managed, harvested, and challenged. Far more so than if left undisturbed and completely to themselves. The same is also true of forests on a larger scale. They thrive when disturbed or challenged, as with what might happen with occasional natural forest fires or prudent harvesting. I think people grow and thrive the same way.
That was a lot to say in a single, random thought. What it really meant was, everything and everyone does better when challenged to succeed. I know that we have done better this year because we faced an enormous challenge.
I don't know who named this little creek 'Klondike Creek', but the sign is cute.
Random Road Hiking Thought #3. If you've never heard the quote "Second star to the right and straight on till morning" I'm not sure we can be friends. Clap your hands if you believe.
I've seen these many times before. It's a little strange seeing your name on the side of huge storage bins.
Random Road Hiking Thought #4. Walking 1200 miles on roads and marked trails doesn't make me particularly tough or rugged. I have read handwritten journals from people who made it halfway across the plains in the 1860s with all their belongings and toting a handful of squalling children, only to have to turn over their wagon and winter through on the open plains because there was no time to build a cabin and no trees to do it with. Those people were tough.
I met another butterfly friend on the road walk this evening.
I am pleased to introduce you to the American Lady Butterfly
Those front legs are specially adapted for smell and taste, and are covered in white hairs giving them the nickname "brush-footed butterflies".
The really interesting thing is that many of the large butterflies share this trait, in fact the entire family Nymphalidae is referred to as the brush-footed butterflies, and nearly all of them - the well known Monarch butterfly included - share this four-footed trait.
Random Road Hiking Thought #5. The Minions are a cross between cruel, stupid, ruthless, unethical, puerile, egotistical, narcissistic, opportunistic and self-serving. I cannot for the life of me understand why I like them.
Wait - every county road is an ATV route? Holy snap!
Random Road Hiking Thought #11. Having spent every available day for the past year and a half walking the IAT, I have a concluded that my favorite invention of all time is the toilet! (This last one comes from my lovely wife, Mrs. Snail, and I absolutely get it.)
Random Road Hiking Thought #6. If all roads were painted white it would reduce global warming. It would make potholes easier to spot too.
In the opposite direction I now walked into Marathon County. Our home county. The only one we had left to cross off our list other than the small hike at the eastern terminus we were saving for the party.
Wait - every road in Marathon County is an ATV route? When did that happen?
Random Road Hiking Thought #7. The definition of 'clean' as it applies to socks and underwear varies depending on how long you have been on your thru hike.
Random Road Hiking Thought #8. Deer flies have been clocked at 50 miles per hour. Horse flies as fast as 90. Dammit.
I've tried running away from those things. I've tried biking away from them. No wonder it didn't work. I wonder how many cycles per second their wings have to crank to get up to 90 miles an hour?
Random Road Hiking Thought #9. I'm enjoying posting these thoughts so much, that I'm a little sad I will only have two Road hikes left after today.
By the time we reached the end of the day today we we left with only ten miles of roads to walk, plus one last little bit of trail. Holy snap.
Random Road Hiking Thought #10. There are more galaxies in the universe than all the grains of sand in all the hiking shoes in the world.
You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?
It was a very, very straight walk along County Road I. There was a pretty good hill right at the south end, before leaving Portage County, and it was a little bumpy the rest of the way, but I don't notice or really care about the hills any more. I don't ever hear about them from Theresa, either.
The last downhill walk to County C was very open, with broad views over the farm fields to the distant oak-covered hills. We managed to get to the intersection of C and I before sunset, and I caught a really nice photo of us at the end of the day.
OK - time for one more photo. Gimme some love, Mrs. Snail!
The tally:
- No new Snails today
- Completed Map 44
- Completed Portage County
- Converted 7.1 miles of biking to the 'hiked' category
- 13.0 miles to go.
Running Total: 1211.7 miles of trail covered (1124.0 hiked), 420.9 miles 'extra' hiking/biking. End of Day 208.
No comments:
Post a Comment