Originally printed March 11, 2018.
Three months. It felt like three years.
In late November, I shut down hiking for the year. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. With the deer hunting gun season approaching and a ton of singing in December, taking a break seemed to be a natural response. I had all the good intentions of resuming in January – February at the latest. But, the combination of the concerts, winter inertia and a three week bout of illness, also known as the Sinus Infection from Hell, stretched that break to three months plus. It was high time that I returned to the trail.
Because of the long break, I knew I was not in good hiking shape, so I planned a relatively short, easy hike. The idea was to gradually rebuild my hiking chops. My planned journey would take me about 5 miles north of Portage, WI on a relatively flat connecting route. Once again, Debby would shuttle me as my trail angel for the day. I made terrific time making the two hour drive from home to Governor’s Bend County Park, the end point of the hike. Debby quickly drove me to my starting point. Along the way, we talked a bit about the area’s history.
For those of you not from Wisconsin, the history in this area is tied to its geography. Without getting too detailed, this area is the headwaters of the Fox River, which ultimately flows into Lake Michigan at Green Bay. The start of the Fox is also very close to the Wisconsin River. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet traveled here by canoe and made the portage(get it?!?) to the Wisconsin River. Much later, the U.S. government recognized the strategic importance of this area, and a military fort was established here in 1828, called Fort Winnebago, to control this important area and to protect traders from the Winnebago Indians. From roadside signs along my hike, I learned that its first commander, Major David Twiggs, later was a general in the Confederate army. Jefferson Davis, later the president of the Confederacy, also served here. The fort was garrisoned until 1845, and it was destroyed by fire in 1856. Only a rebuilt surgeon’s quarters remains.
My drop off point to start the hike was near the Old Indian Agency House, a short distance away. It was built in 1832 by the U.S. government for a John Kinzie, an agent for the Ho-Chunk(Winnebago) Indians. His job as an Indian Agent was to protect their interests and to pay them a stipend of silver. According to a sign on the land, the house cost $3,497.18 to build, and it remains as a tourist attraction.
The temps at the start of the hike were in the high 20s, with brilliant blue skies and little, if any, breeze. For late winter, these were perfect conditions. I said goodbye to Debby and got started shortly after 10:00. Right away, I was greeted with a surprise. I was under the impression that the first .8 mile to WI 33 was a road walk. Not true! Instead, I had a nice, flat chunk of trail that ran along the Portage Canal and the Fox River. The trail was covered by about two inches of snow, which was easy on the legs. Thankfully, there was no ice to speak of. Great conditions, a beautiful day. Welcome back, Jim!
Once I hit, WI 33, I turned left and headed east. Along the way, I passed over the Fox River at the site where Fort Winnebago once stood. I was struck at how narrow the river was – maybe 30 yards across – quite a difference from the wide waterway that flows into Green Bay.
After a short time on 33, I turned left(north) onto Columbia County Highway F, which would pretty much be my route for the remainder of the hike. I was in very flat farm country. At least at the start, I had farm land on my right and a marshy plain on my left leading to the Fox River itself. As this area gets warmer, it must be heaven for bird watchers. On that day, I saw a fair amount of geese and ducks, and I think I heard the year’s first sandhill crane.
As I continued, I noticed that it seemed to me taking me forever to complete my hike. I thought I would be out there two hours, maybe a touch more. When I checked my map around noon, I was pretty bummed. I had a lot more mileage to cover. I was confused and a bit frustrated. I know I wasn’t in prime hiking shape. My legs were telling me that. But, I seemed to be crawling. Over two hours to go 5 miles. Ridiculous!
Eventually, I finished, changed into a dry shirt, and jumped in the car to head Portage for lunch. I decided to retrace my route and track the mileage against the car’s odometer. Maybe in addition to getting my hiking chops back, I should also bone up on my math skills and google maps. I actually hiked 6.9 miles, not 5!
Duh!
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 