Originally printed April 8, 2019.
The theme for today was “picking them up and laying them down.”
After a wonderful Saturday night dinner in Waupaca at T-Dubs (prom night at Waupaca HS = great people watching), Jane and I were up bright and early on Sunday as we drove to the starting point for today’s hike just north of the New Hope-Iola Ski Hill Segment. Our drive took a little longer than planned because the entire area was socked in with heavy fog. The visibility was a quarter mile at best, which compelled me to cut my speed. Ultimately, we reached the hike’s starting point. I geared up, gave Jane a quick kiss goodbye, and got started. Thankfully, the fog lifted some as the hike progressed. My goal for Sunday was to finish this segment quickly so as to beat the rains which were in the forecast for that afternoon.
The first three miles of this walk wound through a heavily wooded area. I was flanked by the New Hope Pines State Wildlife Area, and two areas which have been adopted as “school forests”. One area was under the control of UW – Stevens Point. I don’t remember exactly who controlled the other area; I think it was a local school district. While the road winding through this area was relatively flat, the tree-lined country on either side of me was quite hilly and, visually, very interesting. My impression was that these areas were managed better than the forest area I saw the day before. I didn’t see the dead falls and tangled undergrowth to the same degree. A highlight of this section to me was Flume Creek, which is shown in the photo above. As you can see in the picture, this creek was running pretty fast. According to the DNR, “ Flume Creek Cedars features a clear, hard-water trout stream with a moderate flow and high scenic value. “ I agree entirely in regard to the scenic value.
The last mile and a half of my walk was a straight, flat shot through arm country. While it was not as visually pretty as the first three miles of my hike, there was plenty to keep my eyes and ears busy. There were plenty of farm animals for me to see. One farm had a colorful variety of different breeds of roosters and hens in their front yard. Last, I was accompanied by countless songbirds – robins, chickadees bluejays, mourning doves and more sparrows – than I could shake a stick at.
So far, I had avoided any rain. The fog lifted, and the sun made an attempt at burning through the overcast. It was clear enough for me to see the end of my hike more than a half mile away. Pretty soon, I saw Jane pull over to wait for me, which made me leg it out all the more. I finished at 11:05, an hour and a half after I started. A hike averaging 3 miles an hour is “picking them and laying them down” for me. To celebrate, Jane and I drove back to Waupaca for some lunch before setting off for home.
NOTE: Yesterday I expressed my hope that this part of the state gets a chance to thoroughly dry out over the next two weeks. In today’s paper, I noticed that upwards of 7-8 inches of snow is in the forecast for this week. Waupaca is scheduled for 3-5 inches. Looks like I will be road walking well into May.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 