Category: Ice Age Trail

We hiked Segment after Segment. It was a nice day of hiking. Not as hot but plenty of mosquitoes. After each Segment, we would take a break and visit and laugh and joke around. 

Around noon the sun finally came out and we were all able to take our wet tents out and dry them in a short amount of time. It was here that I forgot my head net to protect me from mosquitoes. Dang it. Spirit was up to her usual antics of falling off a log she went to sit on. “Spirit, what the hell are you doing?” I had to go and unhook her from the briar. In process I was hooked and jabbed. Ugh!

After hiking through mosquito-infested Segments, Spirit found her extra bug net and gave it to me to use. I was getting tired of having to lather on all the bug lotion. 

After one horrible field hike that was overgrown, we sat down in the sun by the side of the road to decide where to find camp. Tumbler went and looked and didn’t find anything. When Spirit and I sat down we were done for the day. But when I heard about how many miles we had tomorrow to get to a campground and restaurant, I said let’s go 2 more miles. I asked Spirit if she could do it and she said yes and we were up and on our feet and moving.

1.9 miles later we were all in. The last field we walked through hadn’t been mowed. Grass and flowers over our heads. There was a slight indication of where the trail was and a few trail posts to show us the way.

We found Ratman and Tumbler sitting across the road by a person’s mailbox. They told us Spirit and I should go and ask if we could camp in the yard because we looked so pathetic. In unison we said no unison. So, up they went and knocked and banged on the door but alas no one was there. We went back across the road to the trailhead and set up camp, had supper, and went to bed after doctoring my sore knee and Spirit’s did her sore feet. 

Deer snorted at us all night long for blocking their path. Where the heck did my earplugs go.

Our tents were all set up and supper was cooking. I was having Chicken Alfredo. Last night’s Chicken Dumpling was a bit much. A pot of goo, that layer heavy on my stomach. I watched the clouds from the northwest as they were giving me an uneasy feeling. They sure looked like rain. At 8 p.m. Tumbler and I were both outside the tents when a gust of wind came and we looked to the sky, something was coming.

By the time we had both gotten in our respective tents another big gust of wind hit. Then the rain. Three of my tent stakes ripped right out of the ground. Thunder and lightning rumbled and struck, one right after another, each one getting closer. 

Ratman asked me if we should make a run for Art’s house. I said no, as I was scrambling to anchor down my tent. When I had that done, I got on the weather app on my cell phone. I didn’t like what I saw. A giant storm cell heading our way. Almost at the same time, Ratman and I said we had to leave. Every time we were about to leave our tents, there was another blast of lightning. The last one was so close, we all wanted to get running down the hill.

Spirit was trying to get her shoes on. Ratman was saying to hurry as the three of us were standing outside of her tent in the weather waiting for her. Another crack of thunder and lightning was all we needed to convince us to go. We told Spirit to leave her shoes. Tumbler and I went running down the hill with Ratman and Spirit in pursuit.

When we got to Art’s porch his wife greeted us and said to come in. She told us Art shouldn’t be long as he was out on a bike ride. We all looked shocked and very concerned and hoped Art would make it home safely.

We all went into the house and removed wet shoes and rain jackets. She gave us a towel, which we took turns drying off with. We all sat in the living room anxiously waiting to see if Art would make it home. There was a collective sigh of relief when he did.

When the rain subsided a little, we gathered up our courage to collect items for the night. Spirit and I turned the foot of our tents into the wind and hoped for the best. I grabbed my food, air mattress, and pillow and we all headed down the hill to the sound of thunder in the distance.

We didn’t visit long before it was time for bed, we were all getting up at 5 a.m. to go up and pack up anything that remained after the night’s storms. Ratman and Tumbler got a bedroom, Spirit the couch, and I slept on the floor.

Another storm blew through around 9:30 p.m. I was glad to be under a solid roof. In the morning, Art got up with us and we thanked him and headed out the door.

To our relief, our tents were all still standing. Time to start another day of hiking. I know better than to wonder, what will the day bring.

I have this very lovely alarm sound on my phone. It doesn’t sound like an alarm at all. A pleasant little tone. Sometimes, it takes me a while to wake up to it because it is so pleasant. Not this morning. It felt as if I didn’t sleep at all. Noises in the night that aren’t familiar, tent zippers going up and down as the occupant went out for a late-night bathroom run. I finally even got up because, in my foggy brain, I remembered that holding it till morning is not only uncomfortable, but one’s body has a harder time staying warm. 

I finally fell asleep only to wake up half an hour later to my pleasant alarm tone which this morning, wasn’t very pleasant. I whispered loudly at Spirit to wake up. Around the 3rd time, she heard me and asked, “What!” “The alarm went off,” was my reply.

The packing of the backpack begins. I try to do as much as possible the night before, but my sleeping bag, pad, and pillow all have to be in the bottom. So in reality, nothing is packed. Breakfast this morning was Breakfast Essentials and coffee. 

The dew was super heavy this morning and the fly of my tent was soaked. Spirit had a few extra zip-lock bags, I shoved it in one so everything else wasn’t getting drenched

At 5:30 p.m., we were ready to go. You may be wondering why we got up so early. The heat and that blasted humidity, that is why. It was still dark, but we could make out the sandstone Gandy Dancer Trail. So, off we went into the night…morning.

We knew Ratman and Tumbler wouldn’t be too far behind us. I knew they would pass us as my left knee was already giving me aches and pains. The sun coming up was a brilliant red. It was beautiful to watch it come up over the cornfields. We hadn’t gone too far when Spirit had to make a pit stop by some cornfields. Extra fertilizer there. HAHA

We were doing pretty good when outside of Milltown we started picking up mosquitoes. They were swarming around us. We couldn’t get enough bug spray on us to keep them at bay. When we got to the shelter in Milltown we were thankful that it was in the bright sun as the mosquitoes seemed not to like it. My guess, they are vampires.

Out came the tents and ground clothes and for my breakfast, Oatmeal with freeze-dried mangoes. We lounged around until everything was nice and dry. Afterwards, we were off towards Luck, 3.3 miles away.

When we got there, it was blazing hot. Ratman and Tumbler led the way. They were sitting in a shelter that had a giant butter churn on display. I mean, we are in Wisconsin.

We took our backpacks off as quickly as we could. Seriously, no one likes them. Ratman and Tumbler went for a resupply at Dollar General while Spirit and I sat with the backpacks. I then remembered I needed a ground cloth as I had forgotten mine at home. Spirit told me to go ahead and get one.

I found a plastic outdoor window sheet and bought that because they are so lightweight. I got back at the same time Ratman and Tumbler returned. They had to hike .7 back the way we came and then .7 back to us. Extra miles no one wants to do. They had bought water to fill our bottles.

Spirit and I decided to head out for lunch at the Cafe Wren. The food was delicious. It was a little coffee/deli place. I charged my phone while there. It was nice just to sit in an air-conditioned cafe and get out of that weather for an hour. 

When we left, it was hotter then ever. My knee was on fire as well. Boy, it hurt. I was taking Tylenol for the pain and inflammation. Finally, there was some shade on the trail. I was carrying an umbrella for the past two days and it did help. But I knew Spirit needed some shade, we took off our backpacks. Spirit went to sit on her’s and over she went. Laying on the top of her backpack like it was a shell of a turtle. I got up to help her and she said, “Don’t you dare get your camera!” I said, “I wasn’t but don’t give me ideas.” HAHA

While we were sitting there a lady who had road by us on her bike was returning. She stopped to see if we were okay as sprawled out as we were. We said yes, though I don’t think she believed us. I asked if she had seen 2 hikers in yellow shirts (meaning Ratman and Tumbler). She said yes. I asked how far ahead. She said 2 miles and Spirit and I groaned. She then checked her watch and said 1 mile. She offered to pick us up in her car, but we said we could make it. That’s when she offered us a packet of Goob. It is an energy, recovery, caffeinated goop. I at first said no until I heard caffeine and then it was a hard yes! She then took our picture to show the trail maintainers why they shouldn’t cut the canopy of trees as we were tryin hard to hide exhausted on the trail.

The Goob was split between Spirit and I and off we headed down the trail to find the cement Trail Tunnel Ratman and Tumbler were held up in until we arrived.

It was a short distance to a trail angel’s home to get water. We went there and Art treated us and gave us water and then he jumped on his riding lawnmower and went down the Ice Age Trail to mow the trail and a spot to camp up on a hill. 

To say I wasn’t worried about the temperatures down by Taylors Falls is an understatement. I just can’t seem to do heat anymore. Add about that degree of humidity and it is asking for disaster. It’s only been a few days on trail and I have already forgotten what time we got up at home on day one. I think it was 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Somehow it doesn’t seem to matter. It was early though. I wanted to be able to get Finn and Siggy up for a while because it would be a long day at home without anyone. Andrea was due to come and let them out in the afternoon before she went to her activities for the weekend.

I had coffee and toast and Tom had his flakes. I don’t believe anyone else ate. But we are all adults and everyone can take care of themselves or so I hope.

We arrived at St. Criox Falls around 8 a.m. All of us hiked down to the Western Terminus of the Ice Age Trail and had the obligatory group photo. Tom had agreed to slackpack us 7 some miles up the trail, so he would do his thing until we got ahold of him. Around noon, he met us a a park, and see all had lunch together of a leftover pizza from Thirsty Moose. After another segment, where we all head to take off our shoes and socks to cross a creek, Tom picked us up and we headed down the connector route to the Gandy Dancer Segment of the trail.

The Ice Age Trail uses yellow blazes which is a little strange since we are all used to the AT white blazes. When Tom picked us up and dropped us off with our fully loaded backpacks I was so thankful that we hadn’t had to carry them those first miles. We only had a mile into Centuria, WI, and both Spirit and I agreed that was far enough for one day. We were sweating buckets by the time we got into town. There was a restroom there with air-conditioning and we laid out our sit pads, had a snack, and waited out the blazing hot sun.

So, here we are lying on the restroom floor lobby, charging our phones, eating snacks, taking naps, and then cooking and eating supper. Finally, around 7 p.m. we decided to go and set up our camp.

We found an open area just off of the Gandy Dancer trail not too far from the restroom and we set up camp and called it a night. We had just settled down on our beds when the city siren went off. Tumbler told me the next day it was a fire alarm. Sheesh!! I’m glad I wasn’t asleep yet.

With Ratman studying the guidebook, it was decided the next day’s route. It was due to be another hot and humid day. Spirit and I decided to get up at 4:15 a.m. and hike by 5:30 a.m. My backpack is now named Albatross! It has come to represent emotional weight in a physical form. To say I hate it, is an understatement!

Round 2 of training began with some trepidation. If I had felt normal after the first go-round I wouldn’t have worried. I wondered if I was going to be too hot. Or, would I get home and feel dizzy for hours? I decided to go out at 7 a.m. to try and beat the heat. My backpack was now 3/4 full. I hadn’t even bothered to weigh it yet as I figured what would the weight matter since it wasn’t full. I had decided to wear shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball hat that had mesh on the back. The hat change was so that the heat I was generating would be able to dissipate as I went. I also decided to carry an umbrella for shade. I was hoping for the best.

I got to the end of my driveway and headed North. Of course, I had to gather a swarm of deer flies as I went. Boy, do I hate them!!! I went by the neighbors, and when I got to the road by the West Two River I turned West onto a dirt road. I figured the hike around Spirit Lake was 2 miles. I had already gone a mile, so I figured a 4-mile hike would be great.

Before I got to the next road junction, I found a deceased kitten in the middle of the road. Two people had already driven by me, so I knew that had to have seen the kitten in the road. I looked to see who the closest neighbor was and realized that the kitten and come a distance. I moved it to the side of the road onto the grass in the hopes that someone would see it as I couldn’t carry the kitten from house to house.

I then turned north up the next dirt road. I didn’t get very far before I saw 2 deer staring at me as I approached them. They looked to be a year old. It didn’t take them long to think I might pose a danger and off they went into the woods. Next came the road construction. The Great Scott Township was dumping class 5 gravel to repair washouts from the last rainstorm over a month ago. Next came the grader, to smooth out the work.

At this next junction the grader driver just miles and waved. I did the same. It looked familiar to me and I could have sworn be looked like a semi-driver who worked for a trucking company that brought freight to L & M Fleet Supply when I worked in the warehouse there. I kept right on hiking.

I was hoping to see a farm of pigs that used to be down the road a few years back, but alas, there was only rhubarb growing there now. I walked by a friend’s home. Only the husband lives there now as my friend died at too young an age. Heart related I believe. She used to have the most beautiful-looking hens.

At the next junction of dirt roads, I headed North again. I walked past my cousin Mel’s place. All was quiet there, so on I went. When I finally was at the last dirt road junctions, I decided to take off my backpack, and have some water and a snack. Some people drove by, and I wondered if they wondered, what the heck was this gray-haired woman doing sitting on the corner of a dirt road with a backpack. I wondered the same. Lol

When my break was done, I walked East until I come to the tar road and headed South towards home. I had been using the umbrella and it was nice to have that shade when none was in sight. I started thinking, this sure seems further than 4 miles. I had been checking my phone in a GPS app. At one point it said 2.9 and later it said 2.3. I figured at some point my phone started to count down the miles to home. At most, I figured maybe I had gone 5 miles.

When I got home, I kept moving around the yard after I took my backpack off. I figured maybe I would feel better if I didn’t come to a screeching halt. It did help. I spent the next half an hour watering my pumpkin plants, tomatoes, peas, and cucumbers. By the way, this is the saddest garden I have ever had. First too much rain and cold and now no rain and scorching earth.

All I can say I guess is that I didn’t do myself in on the second day of training.