Originally printed May 12, 2018.
Last Thursday, I took advantage of good spring weather to do some hiking in Waushara County. For those of you unfamiliar with this area, it is a little more than an hour north of Madison.
This hike represented a first for me. For my previous 59 hikes, either my wife or an IATA volunteer shuttled me to the starting points of the hikes. I emailed the Chapter Coordinator for the Waushara County IATA to line up a trail angel for this hike. Although she tried her best, the Chapter Coordinator was unable to locate a volunteer to help me. So, for the first time, I used a taxi – Wautoma Taxi, in this case – to shuttle me from the end point of my hike to my starting point. I wasn’t even sure there would be any taxis available in mostly rural Waushara County, but several popped up in my Google search. Incidentally, I also had hits for Uber in this area.
I started my hike at roughly 11:20. The temperature was a pleasant 59 degrees, with mostly sunny skies and gentle breezes.
On the menu for my hike were three segments, Greenwood, Bohn Lake and Deerfield, plus some relatively short connecting routes. If there was a geological theme to these segments, it involved the terms tunnel channel and kettles. In describing all three segments, the IATA Guide refers to tunnel channels, stating that they are, “Created by a fast moving river under a glacier that carves a valley. After the glacier has melted, the valley often contains a series of lakes.” Many of these lakes are filled-in kettles. Again, according to the IATA Guide, a kettle is, “A surface depression formed by large, detached blocks of melting ice that were buried with sand and gravel. As the ice melted, the other material collapsed, leaving a crater-like depression. Some kettles are more than 100 feet deep.”
The first segment I hiked, Greenwood, was the longest. The trail began with a path through woods along the top of a ridge. On my left and below me was part of a large kettle that the Guide said was 200 feet deep, almost a mile long and contained four separate ponds. The trail descended to the shoreline of one of the larger ponds and ran along its western and northern shores before veering north and up to the top of another ridge and west toward its end. I was hiking through shaded areas, and I was very fortunate that mosquitoes had yet to make their appearance. For the most part, I was hiking on soft surfaces – grass or beds of leaves and pine needles. Very easy on the joints. Although, I felt the hills, I questioned the “3” rating the IATA had given it for hilliness. Maybe I would have appreciated the hills more if I was doing this trail at the end of a hike instead of at the beginning.
After a 1.5 mile hike on a connecting route on a county highway, I came to the Bohn Lake Segment. While it was the shortest of the three segments at 1.2 miles, it was easily the most beautiful trail of the three I hiked. After initially strolling past a large stand of towering pine trees, I walked along a ridge line which ultimately descended to Bohn Lake. Bohn Lake is a 13 acre lake with a depth of 24 feet. It is totally secluded – no buildings of any kind to be found, no piers at all, and, as best as I could determine, no drive-in access. If one wanted to bring a canoe or kayak on this lake, they would have to leave their car at the trail head and portage a good third to half mile down a steep hill to the water(and, of course, walk up that same trail once they were done). There were multiple spots along the north shore of the lake to just sit and gaze at the water. The highlight if my hike on this segment was when I rounded a bend and came upon two sandhill cranes not more than 50-60 yards from me. Although I didn’t walk it, this segment also offers an all-access 0.2 mile trail for the physically challenged. According to the IATA Guide, the Bohn Lake Accessible Hiking Trail, built in 2009, was a joint project of the Waushara County Chapter volunteers, Operating Engineers Local 139, local high school students and other community volunteers. Kudos to all of them for making such a beautiful place accessible to all.
After another connecting route of 1.8 miles, I came to the trail head for the 3.7 mile Deerfield Segment. To me, this was the most challenging segment in terms of hilliness, and it richly deserved its “3” rating. The trail seemed very wide to me. Even at its most narrow, it was a good 4-5 feet wide. As I walked it, I wondered if this was a cross country ski trail during the winter months (It wasn’t). Lots other trails and logging roads intersected with the segment I was hiking, including what was once a stage coach trail from Wautoma to Plainfield. Thankfully, the signage on the trail was excellent, and I didn’t make any wrong turns. The dominant image I had of this segment was the wealth of pine forests along the way.
By the time I started this segment, I had been on the trail four hours, and I was looking at another hour+ of hiking in very hilly country. In addition, while I had been hiking on soft surfaces all along – grass or carpets of leaves or pine needles – I noticed that the earth under my feet was pretty spongy in spots, and that my feet would sometimes sink into the spongy ground – sort of like walking in sand. The upshot was that I was tired, my form was getting sloppy , and the sometimes soft ground was causing my knees to twist unexpectedly. This was a recipe for trouble, and I had a close call when I accidentally stepped into a hole. Fortunately, I corrected before I rolled my ankle, or worse! I had to really make myself be extremely form conscious to avoid further trouble. I finished at 4:40, which is pretty much what I predicted. Within an hour, I checked into my motel, took a good, hot shower, and was on my way to The Rendezvous, a good local restaurant for a casual dinner. Show me the dessert menu, please; I deserve it!
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 