Hiking Dude - End of the Trail

End of the Trail Post

I walked 30500 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 23 miles today.
We slogged our way to the western terminus!!! A few pictures and congratulations, and then into the Ice Age center to get out of the cold rain. I guess the directions for the parade got lost - no one showed up except my good friend Duncan. What a great surprise to be greeted by him at the very end!
We ran into some volunteers doing trail work and actually got to be the first hikers on a brand new piece of trail that will be completed next weekend. It will nearly complete the trail through St. Croix Falls.
No need to find a plce to camp tonight. No planning tomorrow's hike. No wondering what excitement the trail will bring. Just profound gratitude to all the folks that make this trail possible and my opportunity to enjoy it - end to end.

Posted: 14:02 09-28-2013 1066

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Sep 28, 2013 - Greg

Wow,congratulation on your accomplishment !It has been a pleasure following you on your blog.hope all the best on your future hikes.be safe.

Sep 28, 2013 - Randy Bacon

Congratulations to you two guys. That is quite an accomplishment to walk the whole ice age trail. Was a great pleasure meeting both of you and tracking your progress. Good luck on future hikes. Maybe we'll meet sometime in the future.

Sep 28, 2013 - Peter

We really wanted to hike another segment with you and Papa Bear, but could not get work out the details. Thank you for you blog, it has been great to share your adventure and to be a small part of it. Thank you for spark our interest in the Ice Age trail. Someday maybe we can be 1000 milers as well. Hope to talk to you later down the trail!

Sep 29, 2013 - melensdad

Congrats. I really enjoyed following along on your journey.

Sep 30, 2013 - Julie

Congratulations! What a great achievement! Thanks for sharing your adventures. I really enjoy your blog.

Sep 30, 2013 - nancy

Wow! You really put on a lot of miles/day at the end! I didn't think you'd finish until Sunday. Jon and I did the Lodi Marsh segment on Sun with a guide who explained how the hills and valleys were formed. Beautiful segment and very interesting. Thought about you. So sorry you had to end your trek in the rain. Congrats. Check out the web site calendar for other guided hikes and events. There's a 1000 miler event Oct 17th. Was fun getting to know you. Hope our "paths" cross again! Nancy

Sep 30, 2013 - Hiking Dude

Greg, Randy, Peter, Nancy, and everyone else - Thanks for the nice thoughts! It feels good to be done and to know that some people enjoyed following the adventure. This week, I'll be going through pictures and blog posts to make a journal of the hike and post it on this site. By far, the best part of the trek was the many people we met along the way!

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