Ice Age Trail, Manitowoc, WI, Sunday 10/31/10

Footbridge across Manitowoc River

Old Mill along Mill Road

River along Schuette Park

Trail at Schuette Park

Chilly dawn of a new day

Details & Weather: Had a low of 33 degrees, got into the upper 40's, sunny. Windy in the morning when I was by the lake, then calmed down a bit. Started hiking at 5:15, finished at 11:25, 6.1 total but took a break to watch sunrise, moved the car 2x, had something to eat each time so I think only 5.1 actual hiking time. 12 miles total Ken Miles.

This was the Manitowoc Chamber of Commerce hike, through the downtown, then headed out to the west of town. Very cold and windy when I started along the lake (needed my balaclava), watched the sunrise for a bit which was colorful, with only a thin line of clouds out on the horizon.

Also for the record, I realized why I was so tired on the hike on 10/9 is because later that week I had a bad cold that took about 10 days to get over, so I think I must have been feeling the beginnings of that.

Wildlife: Crows; Geese; Tweety birds; birds; ducks; gulls; squirrels; 2 Basset hounds with an overly controlling owner; 3 deer in the woods along Mill Road; a barking English Setter & old Golden Retriever; an old Chocolate Lab walking the trail; a Border Collie type dog.

Noteworthy: Watching the ducks land on the lake, sunrise, the Veteran's Memorial Park, several big flocks of geese, the Manitowoc River, some friendly people along the way.

Ice Age Trail, Point Beach State Park, Sat. 10/9/10

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Fall colors

In Point Beach State Park Sunrise

Details & Weather: What a great day. Perfect weather, sunny, fall colors all around, just a great day on the trail. Cheryl G. picked me up in north Manitowoc at 7:20, just like clockwork. It was very nice to meet her, and the shuttle service the chapter does is a great idea. I was hiking by 7:41, finished at 1:50 pm so 6.1 hours total. The last hour was pretty hard for me, it seemed to take forever to finally get back to the car.

Wildlife: Crows; Seagulls; Geese; Birds; Tweety Birds; heard a woodpecker; Squirrels(red/orangish and black); Mini-Bears (aka Chipmunks); Deer (2); a barking and apparently upset German Shepherd.

Conclusions: This was a great stretch of trail, I would hike it again for sure. (maybe only 5 hours though...). I loved hiking along the shore of Lake Michigan.

IAT Between Mishicot and Point Beach S.P., Sat. 10/2/10

Windy and trying to rain on me

County V = No Shoulder = Unsafe

Close to Point Beach State Park!

Details and Weather: Cold and very windy. Low was in the low 40's, might have broken 50 when the sun came out, but most of the time it was cloudy and a little rain later in the day. When I left for home the car was reading 48. It was too windy, I would have loved to stay out longer but it was kicking me in the rear. Spent the night in Manitowoc, started hiking at 6:42, finished at 12:54 so 6.2 hours. Made it to where the trail trail starts north of Point Beach State Park. The wind was brutal.

Parked at the grocery store in Mishicot, then hiked north to connect to where I left off at the intersection of Rock Ledge Road and Princl. This part of the route was nice.

Then started hiking East. This was by far the worst day of hiking since I began, due to this part of the route. The hike along County V between Mishicot and Point Beach State Park is very dangerous. I've christened it the Insanity Hike because no one in their right mind would hike this stretch of road (yes, I did, so that might tell you something...). There is no shoulder to walk on when cars come along, which is constantly. To be accurate there is a shoulder, it's just that it's a downward sloped 1 foot wide bit of grassy gravel. Most of the time I would just stop and step down towards the ditch to get out of the way of on-coming cars, which was constant, and they are going about 60-65 mph. It was crazy, never again. I don't know how they can have this route be part of the official connecting route at all. Ok enough venting about that.

So I'm finally at Point Beach S.P. and I can't wait to walk a few miles on a real part of the trail.

Wildlife: Crows; Tweety Birds; Black Birds; Sandhill Cranes (a single then a flock of 4) nice; Geese; Squirrels; Cows; Horses; a huge monster dog that looked like a cross between a Chessie and an Irish Wolfhound; a Border Collie mix (2 total); A Mix (with the one Border Collie); a solid Black Chow that really didn't like me at all; a possible Pileated Woodpecker (95% sure); heard a Rooster.

Dangers and Conclusions: See above for my thoughts about the dangers of this route; also windburn (lol); being eaten by a large dog.

Ice Age Trail (& roads) North of Mishicot, WI, Sat. 9/25/10

In the woods east of Gibson, the trail disappears for about 300 meters

IAT connecting route - Holmes Road

Tisch Mills creek, much more flow than last week

Along the IAT south of Tisch Mills

Details and Weather: Low 40's in the morning, got up to maybe 60 but the wind was blowing all morning so it felt cold the whole time. Spent the night in Manitowoc again so I could get an early start. Drove to just south of Tisch Mills to park at Holmes Road. Started hiking north at 6:45 a.m. Went up past the connecting point of my last hike to see the water level at Tisch Mils Creek, the water was flowing over the rocks I walked across last weekend. To cross it now would need some experience, when the water is running like this it is not for beginners at all. Turned around and headed south. The southerly walk here was nice, hardly any cars at all, just peaceful farm roads.

Got to the entrance to the woods on Rock Ledge Road and went in, the trail was very clear here but things soon changed. Past a cornfield, then there was a trail marker pointing in the direction to go, only problem was there is no trail! It is gone for about a 300 meter section (the book says 200 yards but it is further than that) down by the small reek where you have to cross it. bushwhacked my way back to Princl Road and came at the trail again from the north this time. It was fine for a while, then down the hill towards the creek the trail disappeared again. To get through here you need to know how to dead reckon and not be afraid to bushwhack through brush and thorns. This part is in serious need of repair, I'm sure they know it already but I'll mention it to powers that be. It doesn't sound like a long way but to find your way through this 300 meter section of woods is not for beginners at all. Saw 2 doe in here so that was a nice surprise, also gives you a feel/sign for how thick the brush is in there since they like thick cover.

After that adventure headed back to the car along the County B. Too tired to cover any more ground. Finished exactly at 12:45, so 6 hours total, went 12.9 Ken miles.

Wildlife: Crows; Doves; Duck; Geese; Tweety Birds; Pigeons; a Black Lab and a Black Mix together; another Black Lab; a Yellow Lab in a truck; a friendly Golden Retriever; A Shepherd mix and older huge Border Collie together; a barky tan and peach colored good looking Beagle; 3 Turkey Vultures; Horses; Cows; orange Tabby Cat; a pair of Killdeer then a whole flock of them later; Squirrel; Chipmunk; 2 Doe; heard a Red Tailed Hawk; Gulls.

Conclusions and Items of Note: Got to use my land navigation skills; need to repair that section of trail; Getting closer to Point Beach State Park which has become this milestone in my mind for me; there should be more benches along the way so I can sit down and rest every once in awhile :) don't forget the cell phone.

In and Around Tisch Mills, WI, Sunday 9/19/10

Weber Woods-Tisch Mills Creek.

Baby Snapping Turtle in middle of trail.
Ice Age Trail Kohnle Segment.
Start of a nice day.

Details and Weather: Nice day. Was 46 degrees when I started and got up to mid 60's. Spent the night in Manitowoc, parked at Parallel 44 winery and started hiking at 6:27 a.m. Did 6.4 miles, then went to park in downtown Tisch Mills. Quiet little town that boasts "No Mayor, No City Council, Life is Good!" lol. Hiked north through the Kohnle segment along the East Twin River which was very nice. A well marked nice trail, feet got wet again from the dew on the grass. Changed socks and walked west along Nuclear Road. Not one car came by me for that part, but on County AB it was very bad, lots of cars going by at least 65 mph. Yikes, do not like that at all.

On the way back into Tisch Mills did the leg that goes through Weber woods which was also nice. Crossed Tisch Mills Creek, which was easy, but would not want to cross it after a rainstorm or in the Springtime for sure. Finished at 1:10 - ~6.6 hours, 15.67 Ken miles. Next stop is Mishicot, WI.

Wildlife: Crows; Doves; Sandhill Cranes (2, then 2 more later on); Several Killdeer; a Blue Bird; Tweety Birds; Blackbirds; Chickadees; Red Tailed Hawk; Peacocks; Guinea Hens; Heard an Owl early in the morning; Geese; Squirrels; A baby Snapping Turtle (see picture); Hazel the old Yellow Lab; another Yellow Lab; a German Shepherd mix; an old Black Lab; an old Boxer; several Cats (Tabbys, black, black and white, white); Horses; Cows; Alpacas.

Lessons Learned: My feet get wet if I don't wear my expensive boots with the Gore Tex lining; a baby Snapping Turtle is an amazing thing to see, what are the odds?; County Road AB is a very bad road to hike along; don't forget sunscreen and TP; Smoked Vienna Sausages are delicious.

Somewhere West of Kewaunee, WI, Sat. 9/11/10

Historic building - Reinke Mill.

Nice farm house along Sleepy Hollow Road.

Frogs are loving it, just that kind of day.

A very rainy day west of Kewaunee.

Details & Weather: Hiking on a road part of the IAT west of Kewaunee, WI. It's still fun, not as nice as a trail, but still very interesting. Spent the night in Manitowoc, got up early and found a good spot to park. Raining. Started at 6:15, finished around 11:30'ish - about 5 hours. Was a mild to medium rain the entire time, hiked with my umbrella most of the way. It was actually kinda nice walking in the rain, not too many cars, always something to see along the way, peaceful.

Did 8 miles from the first parking spot, then drove to the Parallel 44 winery to park and did another 4 miles. I felt like going for 4 more but after checking my feet I had a big blister on each foot from wet socks (even though I changed socks once, still was too wet, should have worn my boots after all) so decided to stop. The winery was having some sort of art/wine fest with a lot of vendor booths being put up. Looked interesting, will need to stop back by and try their wine some day. So 12 miles for Ken, 6 miles of progress on the IAT.

Wildlife: Crows(of course); Blackbirds in big flocks; Tweety Birds; Sandhill Cranes(5 all in a flock); Turkeys (~22 - 2 large groups then a couple of individual pairs from far off); Squirrels(2); Chipmunk; Frog; Dove; a 100lb Rottweiler (at least); an Old Australian Shepherd who barked at me for no reason.

Dangers: None. Light traffic the whole time going down Sleepy Hollow Road. The trail book has it going down a bigger road which is bad, they should change it to come down Sleepy Hollow Road which is the quieter, more interesting, safer way to go on this stretch.

Conclusions: Need to do a better job keeping feet dry; seeing a flock of turkeys walking across your path within 15 yards in front of you is very interesting; there are some large red squirrels up in this neck of the woods.

Heading South of Casco, IAT Connecting Route, Sat. 3/27/10

Scarboro Creek South of Casco, WI
Spring is here!
Horses enjoying the weather

Heading south along the Ice Age Trail Connecting Route. Hiking the roads is not the same as along the trails, but what are you going to do. It was interesting enough though, still some sights to see and things to experience.

Details & Weather: Overcast and cool/mild, but with the wind still needed a jacket, hood and gloves. Sun came out at times. Left house at 6:58 a.m., started hiking at 8:10, finished at 13:17 - 5 hours even though because of the mini shuttle I did right near the end. 15 miles total.

Wildlife: Sand hill cranes; geese; chickadees; blackbirds; red winged black birds; pair of mallards; several killdeer; doves; black lab and Chocolate lab; pigeons; cows; horses; crows; robins; couple of golden retrievers; gulls; pileated woodpecker; old Brittany; beagle mix; old black lab that said hello plus his friends who were not as nice; collie mix; huge husky mix; raccoon (sad, he was by the interesting peoples' house); red tailed hawk; 2 back and white barn cats. Saw some turkey feathers but nothing in the fields.

Dangers: Getting run over by any one of the ~50 cars that passed me during the hike. Being bitten by that huge not friendly husky mix that must have weighed over 100 lbs.

Deliverance moment: The whole scene at the "interesting" peoples' house & property.

Kewaunee River, Ice Age Trail Connecting Route, 3/20/10

Mini Tunnel at Clyde's Hill

Kewaunee River looking North

Heading to Kewaunee, WI

Father Marquette Memorial Park

First off I need to say that it is hard to describe how MUCH easier it is to walk on a trail without it covered with snow and ice. So today the going was great. This is a really nice section of trail. Along the river the whole way. Need to come back out here with the dogs to let them run and play.

Details & Weather: Left house at 7:13, arrived Bruemmer County Park in Kewaunee at 8:33, hiking at 8:42, finished at 3:30 p.m. - 6.75 hours. Around 17 miles. Weather was cold and windy in the morning, cold, sunny and windy in the afternoon. The sun coming out was nice, but still had to wear gloves and hood almost the entire hike.

Wildlife: Crows (one flying with a stick for a nest); Geese; Mallards; Redheads; Wood ducks; some sort of cormorant looking bird; seagulls; Red Tailed hawk; blue jays; Cardinal; doves; chickadees; pileated woodpeckers; red winged blackbirds; pair of killdeer; robins; Chipmunk; Squirrels; a turkey; a Brown Trout that a fisherman had caught; horses; old mellow black lab; brown/gray tabby.

Noteworthy: The entire hike really. I would go back up there to walk that part of the trail again, very scenic and peaceful with river views the whole way. All of the ducks and geese in the river. The plaque about Father Marquette at the park in Kewaunee where he held a service back in 1674, for the U.S. that's very old history really. Eating lunch at the park with a view of Lake Michigan. Seeing the Arsenic contamination site, not good at all.

Danger & Deliverance Moment: Just walking by the Arsenic contamination site made me think hard about what in the hell were people thinking when they did that, but that site is really just one small sample of how bad it can be. Around Clyde Hill Road could hear people shooting guns/hunting about half a mile away, not so bad.

Casco, WI and heading South - 3/6/10

Kewaunee River looking upstream

My nap spot on Kewaunee R. looking downstream

Just south of Casco around 7:00 a.m.

Parked at the snowmobile parking lot in Casco Junction, went up to Casco to complete that part of the trail, then headed south to Kewaunee. A nice part of the trail, the guidebooks are right. Started getting tired from my bad night of sleep, after eating some breakfast took a siesta, it was very peaceful there by the river. Only saw one other person walking with their dog about a .5 mile ahead of me at my turn around point, I could barely see them up by some sort of tunnel before they disappeared.

Details & Weather: Left house at 5:00 a.m., started hiking at 6:20 a.m. Finished hike at 1:10 p.m., but it was only a 5 hour hike because of the siesta I took while on a break :) Weather was perfect, chilly xxxx in the morning then up to xxxxx in the afternoon, sunny, slight breeze. Warm enough for a nap in the sun by the edge of the Kewaunee River.
Wildlife: Crows; Chickadees; squirrels; a rabbit; a cardinal; Jays; pileated woodpeckers; a muskrat standing up on the side of the trail looking at me; deer; mallards; wood ducks (lots - first time I've ever seen one in the wild); geese; several turkeys (some flying when I spooked them); a old Golden Retreiver; a brownish Siberian Husky looking pooch.

Casco, WI - Ice Age Trail Connecting Route - 2/27/10

Caso, WI trailhead

Had some trouble crossing this drift!

Overcast day

A friendly Husky in Casco

A good hike today, lots of exercise due to the high stepping to get through all of the drifts. There was about 3-4 inches of new snow, but in places the drifts were several feet deep so it was interesting. Went northeast from Casco to the bridge at Rio Creek and turned around. I was glad I found my hood to my jacket because it was very windy. Had to put on gaiters, but the old blue ones need some rigging to get them to stay pulled down, they still helped some.

Details & Weather: Left house 6:22, arrived Casco 7:26, started hiking 7:33, finished hike 12:33 p.m. - 5 hours total. It was cold, windy and overcast, High of 37, low 28.
Wildlife: A Husky; Black Lab; flock of cardinals; cows; crows; chickadees; doves; pigeons; pileated woodpecker; rabbit; and a huge muskrat waddling across the trail in front of me.
Dangers: Stepping through a snow drift, hitting very deep snow, and falling down (2x!)
Deliverance Moment: The group of 6-7 hunters in Rio Creek around the barn, shooting .22's or shotguns, hunting rabbits maybe?

Algoma Section - Saturday 2/20/10

Algoma, WI lighthouse

Rio Creek - lunch & turnaround point

Right at home comfy llamas

Algoma intersection

Details and Weather: Left house at 6:30, arrived trailhead northside of Algoma at 7:45, started hiking 7:53 a.m. Finished hike at 1:05 - 5.1 hours total. Upper 30's, no wind, partly sunny, very nice. High of 36, low 19.
Wildlife: Crows; Chickadees; Red Tailed Hawk; a flock of cardinals; pair of doves; geese; heard ducks; 2 jays; several pileated woodpeckers; pigeons; a squirrel; llamas; 2 Black Labs; a Border Collie; horses.
Dangers: I have mastered the art of walking on snow and ice, and snow covered ice, so it is no longer a danger to me.
Interesting: The big windmill farm northeast of Casco - eyesore, or purposeful? Both... ; the llama ranch.

Forestville - Feb 14, 2010

Forestville Dam in February

Turn around at the Ahnapee Trail Campground

A friendly "Walker" dog out hunting coyotes

Deep woods, reminds me of Germany

Ahnapee River looking north

Went for a hike today (Sunday). The weather was perfect, not too cold this time. Met a lot of people on the trail, lots of snowmobilers out & the coyote hunter group with the dogs. Next stop - Alogoma & Lake Michigan.

Details & Weather: Left house 7:10, started hiking 9:00 a.m. Finished hiking at 2:00 p.m. 5 hours total. Temperature: High of 27, low 19.
Wildlife: Little Red Squirrel; Chickadees; Red Tailed Hawk, Crows, Some sort of Jay (2); Heard a woodpecker; Ducks-type TBD; Geese; A crisp white & black husky; a border collie; a "Walker" dog hunting coyotes (see picture); horses.

Dangers: None, there was a new coat of snow over the trail so the ice was buried.

Deliverance Moment: Walking up on the group of coyote hunters. I could have been in south Georgia if it weren't for the snowmobile suits half of them were wearing. They were friendly, said it was a good day for a walk, and it was!

Ice Age Trail - Maplewood and South

Break time

Chilly horses again

Starting out, heading north from Maplewood

Did some more hiking this morning, it was by far the coldest morning even though you wouldn't know if from just looking at the temperature. The wind was bad, making it very cold the entire hike. Did the bit from Maplewood north, turned around at the chilly horses and headed back through town. Headed south, turned around at Cherry Lane, only did about 4 hours today. Next stop - Forestville.

Details & Weather: Left house at 8:10 a.m., arrive Maplewood 9:37 a.m. started hiking at 9:36, finished at 1:30 p.m. Temperature - windy and very cold! High of 25, low 14.

Wildlife: 1 huge barking husky; 2 dogs (an old Chocolate lab and a bordercollie'ish) on the trail; 3 pileated woodpeckers; chickadees (I've always heard them during other hikes but this time I actually saw some up close); crows (immer); a well fed squirrel; chilly horses.
Dangers: Slipping on ice on the trail; getting annoyed from being barked at; getting the stink-eye from an old chocolate lab.