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.