Hiking Dude Blog

We passed the 300 mile mark today at the Lima Center town hall!

The morning dew soaks our shoes, socks, and feet in the first half hour of walking along grassy trails. In the forest or on the roads, it's not a problem. This morning, we had plenty of grass and plenty of dew through the marsh country.

The Storrs Lake segment allowed us to have a fun side-adventure. The trail became more and more grass-covered, then soft, then soggy, then muddy. At that point, I started cross-stepping on the tall grass to fold it over like a soft platform for each step. That worked for about another 20 or 30 yards.
After that, we searched for high ground to work around the wet area. This effort drew us closer to the lake. Along the way, I picked up some long, dead limbs that we might lay down to step across. Ultimately, we were defeated - open water lay across the trail and side to side as far as we could see. Our options were to backtrack a couple miles or splash ahead. Splash, we did!

The water was fairly clear and fresh, not stagnant and slimy, so it was a fun walk. We did use the limbs for support as we waded and no one slipped under.

A couple miles after the crossing, we came upon a manufacturing building on the outskirts of Milton that had a picnic table and faucet outside in the shade. Quick rinse and then a long rest while our shoes and socks dried a bit and we were on our way.

Peter picked us up along the road at the end of the day and we spent a wonderful evening with his family.

We made it to Whitewater Recreational Area yesterday and finally met up with Peter and his wonderful family in Janesville (they are in Scouting). The whole story is much longer, but I misplaced my cellphone in Paul's Porsche and I'm hoping he finds it and calls my hiking buddy's phone.
We met Paul on the trail and hiked with him about an hour into Whitewater rec area and he then offered to drive me to pick up our vehicle so I could move it forward on the trail. When he dropped me off and left, I realized I did not have my phone. The phone is how I take pics and make blog entries from the trail. I expect it's on the floor of his car. By the way, it was a most excellent ride!

Right now, I'm in the Milton, WI library which is right on the trail but will not be making any blog entries for the next few days until Paul notices the phone or checks in here and sees this post. :-)

Other than that big mistake, the hike is going well. My right leg still hurts but an Ace bandage I bought at 5:30am this morning has helped a lot today.

If anyone is planning to thru-hike the Ice Age Trail, DO NOT do the Storrs Lake segment. The trail is under at least a foot of water for a few hundred yards - and they've not had much rain here. It was a fun adventure, but I'd skip it next time. Fortunately, we found a manufacturing plant just after the segment in Milton that had an outdoor faucet in the shade.

I'll write when I can. You can still follow our progress via my Spot at this page.

Hike On

Paul porsche -please check your car for my phone and call drew

I walked 60477 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 28 miles today.
The mosquito mesh suits came in handy ALL afternoon as we hiked through forest and savannah with no wind. It actually got a little irksome.
As long as I'm complaining... My right shin has been bothering me the last couple days and started to swell some today. Ibuprofen and a long night resting will hopefully help.
We reached a state forest facility and stopped to cook dinner at 6pm. Ranger Wilson helped us camp legally in the shelter here. Doesn't it look nice? After the deal was done, we noticed that Palmyra (and probably a free backyard) was only 3 miles farther. Oh well, we'll plan better next time.
We do have a nice sunset and found a mosquito coil to light in the shelter which really helped clear them out. Now it's 8pm and timebto climb in bed. On towards Milton and Janesville tomorrow.

A nice morning through forest, along rail trail, and now lunch at Pine Woods campground.
Just more great weather and trail! This Scuppernong segment has been nice.

We're on top of the tower at Lapham Peak - don't know who decides when a hill becomes a peak, but it's an amazing view for 50 miles in all directions! You'll need to tilt your screen to see the tower :-)
We can see Holy Hill far in the distance to the north which was our starting point yesterday. Now, we had southwest through the Kettle Moraine.
Check out my current location on the map.

I traveled about 22 miles today.
Yet Another Great Day on the Ice Age Trail with great weather, few bugs, and fun people.
The two girls selling lemonade were creative; the librarians in Hartland were helpful; the 6 deer were oblivious; the 3 boys playing baseball were athletic; the Walgreen's clerk was accomodating; Millie the dog was adventurous.
We saw polo players at the Milwaukee club grounds and huge mansions in a golf course neighborhood near Delafield.
The trails throughout Hartland, Merton, and Delafield were very nice, especially along the Bark River.
Weather is supposed to remain pleasant all week so it looks like more great days ahead!

We've knocked off about 12 miles, including a nice walk along the Oconomowoc River. We saw 6 deer but no cranes or turkeys for a change.
On our way into Hartland, we met these two wonderful young entrepreneurs selling homemade lemonade, cookies, and jewelry. Papa Bear treated me to a cookie and we told them about our hike. Then they gave me permission to share their picture without names.
We have about 10 more miles to the van. Today, we drove to our end point and got shuttled to our start point to save my folks a trip this evening.
Now, we're enjoying lunch outside the Marathon station at Dorn and Merton - peanut butter/honey on ritz with a cold Mt. Dew.

Din't get a chance to write last night - too busy eating a huge mac-n-cheese dinner and cupcakes.
We did complete the Holy Hill segment and reached Donegal Rd. Dad took us up to Holy Hill after hiking and Papa Bear and I climbed the 178 steps to the top of the tower - way cool.

Picking up where we left off in the rain yesterday, we did a 5.5 mile roadwalk to the Cedar Lakes segment - this time in bright sun rather than dreary rain.
When you hike this road, be VERY careful alonf Paradise - no shoulder and very winding. Also keep an eye out for Johnny T's pub that had the first 'welcome ice age hikers' that we've seen.
At the east end of the C.L. Segment, you might sight this mammoth like we did.
Now, we're at Jim's in Slinger for lunch and ice cream.