Originally printed July 3, 2017.
It has been a while.
While I’ve been doing a good amount of hiking, the last time I was on the Ice Age Trail was May 5th. May 5th!! It was way past time to get back on the trail.
Now that I’ve completed the northern/eastern segments of the trail, my plan is to return to the southern-most point of the trail in Janesville, and start knocking off sections of the trail headed north and west, ending at the western terminus at St. Croix Falls. Step#1 in that process began last Sunday with a 14.6 mile hike. It would be a bit out of sequence; Jane and I will hike the first section “in sequence”” this coming Saturday. The chunk I would hike this Sunday morning started about four miles west of Janesville, a connecting route on county roads that would end in the tiny town of Albany at the beginning of the Albany Segment.
I was up bright and early Sunday morning to meet Dennis, my trail angel this morning. Not only is Dennis a trail angel volunteer, but he also is the coordinator for the Rock County chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. Actually, he is the very first person with whom I communicated about the trail, and my earliest impressions of the trail and its volunteers were formed by emails and phone calls we exchanged.
Promptly at 7:30, Dennis arrived, and we drove to the starting point for the hike. Along they way, we shared stories about how we came to know and love the IAT. At 7:55, we reached my starting point. I slipped on my back pack, thanked Dennis for his help, and got started. The weather was absolutely ideal. The temperature was 63 with very little humidity, and the skies were brilliant blue with little wisps of clouds.
On our ride to the starting point, Dennis mentioned that we were in the Driftless Area. I had heard the term before, but I had no idea what it meant. After the hike, I did a bit of research. According to Wikipedia, the Driftless Area is primarily in southwest Wisconsin, although it extends into southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and northwestern Illinois. “Drift” is the silt, clay, sand, gravel and boulders left by retreating glaciers. The Driftless Area is that part of Wisconsin outside of line of glaciation in the last glacial period. According to Wikipedia, it is known mainly for its “deeply carved river valleys.” Maybe that explains why most of the pictures I took that day were long shots of huge vistas that spread out before and below me.
Of the 14.6 miles I was hiking that day, all but 3 miles plus were on one road, Rock County Highway A. I hiked through a lot of farm country. With the exception of a couple of challenging hills, the grade was gently rolling. We’ve had a lot of rain this Spring, and I was struck by how green everything seemed. The corn was definitely “knee high by the 4th of July.” In addition to the crops, I also saw plenty of animals. Aside from the cattle, I was struck by the farms with horses. Lots of colts with their mamas. I even passed a farm with goats.
That takes care of the farm animals. I didn’t spot many mammals as part of the “critter call.” On the way to meeting with Matt, a doe and its fawn crossed the road in front of me. But, I encountered lots of birds – mourning doves (more than I usually see), robins, and all kinds of sparrows and songbirds. What really got my attention were birds I believe were Turkey Vultures. I would see them circling in the distance, riding the air currents like some majestic gliders. Quite a sight.
In my calculus, I figured it would take roughly six hours to do the hike, so I decided to get off the road for a bit at 11:00. By that time, the sun was pretty high in the sky and getting pretty hot, so I wanted some place with shade. I wasn’t going to trespass on a farmer’s land. So, I chose to take my break at – a cemetery. I parked myself under a large tree and appreciated the shade while munching on a turkey sandwich and enjoying some water. While I can’t say I was at a pioneers’ cemetery, there was a lot of history there. Some of the markers dated to the mid 1800s.
The last three hours of the hike were more oppressively hot. When the sun was lower in the morning, there was more relief as I passed under trees that lined the road. There seemed to be fewer trees now, and the sun was directly overhead, so the shadows were pretty minimal. The pavement was really radiating heat at me now, and my water was running low. I hoped my calculus was right about how long it would take to complete the hike.
At about 1:15-1:30, I finally turned off County A onto Highway 104, and I entered Green County. I didn’t realize it beforehand, but I was in Amish country. My first clue was when I spotted the highway sign warning me of horse drawn wagons. Soon I turned onto Bump Road. I was in the home stretch – about three miles until I was through. I was really dragging now: thoroughly hot and very bothered. I was so grateful, when I saw the sign indicating a recreational trail crossing. No longer would I be out in the open, and no longer would I be trudging on hot asphalt.
I finished 20 minutes earlier than I planned. I reached my car, started it up to get the A/C going, did some warm down stretching, and fairly inhaled a couple liters of water.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 