Originally printed October 19, 2017.
One is better than none.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve fallen into a pattern of pairing my hikes. Basically, my reason for doing this is to make the best use possible of my time, given that my hikes are taking me further away from home. Usually, the pairing involves Thursdays and Fridays. Hike#1 usually begins mid-morning on a Thursday. After the hike, I check in to a nearby campsite, shower, and then get something to eat. After that, come back, set up camp, and crash after reading a bit. In the morning, break camp and eat early, then do hike#2 in the morning and return home.
This week, the calendar wouldn’t allow that. But, I didn’t want to waste the unbelievable fall weather we’ve been having. So, for the first time in I-don’t-know-when, I was making a one day hike. Make the trip, do the hike, and return.
If I was limited to one day on the trail this week, I certainly couldn’t have picked a nicer one. It was gorgeous. Sunrise was spectacular along Lincoln Memorial Drive as I made my way to the Interstate, a harbinger of things to come. The traffic was heavy as I headed west, but it moved steadily all the way to Madison and then turned north on I-39. I arrived at the end point for today’s hike well before the appointed time. Debby, my Trail Angel today, was waiting for me in her car. As we made the very short ride to the drop off point, she briefed me about some beautiful views on the trail, and she pointed out where it crossed the road on which we were traveling, Marsh Road. Along the way, we talked a bit about our love of hiking. Debby knew I was trying to hike the entire trail. While she enjoyed hiking the actual segments, the Connecting Routes didn’t appeal to her, so she didn’t see herself as a Thousand Mile Club member. Before we said our goodbyes at the ferry dock at the north end of Lake Wisconsin, Debby looked at me and deadpanned – I think – that the hike wouldn’t be official unless I traveled across Lake Wisconsin on the ferry. I promised I would make the trip on my return home. With that, we said our goodbyes, I geared up and got moving. It was 10:00, 55 degrees and brilliantly sunny with little wisps of clouds.
Today’s hike started in the town of Merrimac. After a very short, pretty Connecting Route out of town, I made it to the trail’s starting point, and I turned north off Marsh Road to begin. The actual segment is 3.7 miles long. It is rated a “2” on both the 5 point hilliness scale and for overall ruggedness. It is divided roughly in half by Marsh Road. The shorter “half” runs north and west before crossing Marsh Road. In this area, the trail took me through a mixture of deep woods, savannas, and prairie country. About a half mile before crossing Marsh Road, I emerged from a stand of trees to see a beautiful grassy meadow spread out before me. Marsh Road was in the distance, and, beyond that loomed some of Devil’s Lake’s bluffs. This was the beautiful view Debby described, which is pictured at the top of this post.
On this day, I didn’t see too many critters. While the hike opened with a sighting of two pileated woodpeckers, things slowed down after that. However, I saw signs of life as I walked – some tufts of fur where a small mammal met his end, grassy areas where it appeared a deer had been resting, and plenty of deer tracks.
West of Marsh Road, the country seemed to open up at bit as the trail snaked to the west and then to the north. Generally, there were fewer stands of dense woods. Instead, I hiked through some prairie, some savannas, and a lot of marsh. In 2016, a Mobile Skills Crew of the Ice Age Trail Alliance was very busy here building a long boardwalk through one the more soupy areas of the trail. It is important to remember that the IAT is maintained by volunteers, and I greatly appreciate their work. Interspersed along the way were signs giving information about groundwater, invasive species and savannas. I appreciate these quick bits of information along the trail, as I don’t commit my guidebook to memory, and I would prefer to hike without the extra weight in my pack.
NOTE: While googling about this area, I came upon an article about this segment which appeared in this past April’s Journal-Sentinel. Here is a link to it: http://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/day-out/2017/04/06/merrimac-preserve-quiet-respite-shadow-devils-lake/100128596/.
Soon, the hike was over, and I was back at my car. In all, I was on the trail only two hours. It was fairly flat, especially in comparison to where I had been on previous hikes. But, it was beautiful way to spend a morning. I was sorry that Jane was not along with me. I am sure she would have enjoyed herself.
By the way, the hike was official. I took the ferry south across Lake Wisconsin on my way home.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 