Originally printed October 19, 2016
I need to change my attitude toward connecting routes.
That is my conclusion after delaying writing about Saturday’s hike for four days. I’ve walked connecting routes before, and I’ve enjoyed them. The CR from Glenbeulah to Elkhart Lake was extremely interesting, and the CR approaching Holy Hill from the south was beautiful from start to finish. But, this CR was 33 miles long in open country, and it was going to be a long walk, no matter how I cut it into pieces. As a result, I began to approach this walk and the previous walk as something to quickly get behind me, as opposed to a challenge to be embraced.
So, after brooding over this for a few days, I’ve tried my best to flush the negativity out of my head and focus on the positive.
What did I learn on Saturday’s hike?
I made my first discovery before I even began my hike in the tiny town of Valders(population: 945). Needing to use a bathroom before my hike, I went into Valders High School in search of a rest room. On the way, I made discovery number one. Tiny Valders sent a ballplayer to the NBA. 6’8’’ Logan Vander Velden played for UWGB after completing his high school career for the Valders Vikings. He played 15 games for the LA Clippers in 1995. After his brief stop in the NBA, he played pro basketball in Europe until his retirement in 2006. Who knew??
Discovery number two came at the 4.4 mile mark of my hike, when I entered Lower Cato Falls County Park to take a brief break. The park was a welcome break in the hike, with ample parking, picnic tables, bathrooms and drinking water available for hikers who needed to replenish their water supplies. A nice frisbee golf course was there, with a fairly large section wheelchair-accessible.
My last discovery was a little mundane, but a discovery all the same. After walking for a good bit on Manitowoc County Highways J and JJ, I was directed onto a county road called Middle Road. Now, when I’m out in a CR, I see a lot of street names, and I often wonder about the background behind the road’s name. Why was this road named Middle Road? Was there a Fred Middle?? Don’t laugh – Center Street in Milwaukee is named after a Civil War officer, not a direction. It turns out that Middle Road is just that; it splits Manitowoc County roughly into northern and southern halves. The street signs told the tale – North Union Street on one side of the road and South Union on the other side.
For this hike, my biggest challenge was protecting my back, which I injured in late August and re-injured a couple of times after that. To some extent, all the connecting routes are on crowned roads. Since I was walking on the left side facing traffic, my left foot would strike the pavement harder than my right. This presented a problem, because it was my lower left back which was injured. Throughout the hike, I tried to baby my back by walking on the relatively flat surface of the shoulder, such as it was, or by walking on grass when it was available. As I got closer to Manitowoc proper, the problem took care of itself with me walking on the edge of city lots.
One thing I was REALLY grateful for was the weather. The weather was cloudy and in the high 50s at the start of my hike, and it warmed to the low 60s by the time I finished. It was a beautiful day to see a lot of gorgeous farm country. The most beautiful sight I viewed was the terraced hill shown in the picture above. At no time in Saturday’s walk was I in a wooded area. I shudder to think what it would have been like to have made this hike during July or August.
Aside from protecting my back, the biggest challenge I faced that day, along with Jane, was communications. For reasons that are still a mystery to us, neither one of us could communicate by phone or by text. I could understand this if we were in the boondocks, but we were less than 15 miles away from the Manitowoc city limits. Jane and I discussed the route before the hike, and I had given her a time estimate for completion. Happily, I finished a little earlier than my estimate. But, Jane was concerned, and she began driving the route from the hike’s end point in hopes of meeting me. Fortunately, she didn’t have to drive too long, and we met just inside the Manitowoc city limits. Shortly after that, I finished my hike, and Jane and I were enjoying lunch at the Court House Pub in downtown Manitowoc.
Not too many hikes left before I shut it down in December. I need to embrace each opportunity. This connecting route is by no means the longest I will face. Being able to do what I do is a gift which I should gratefully embrace.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 