Originally printed May 5, 2019
Finally, the spring weather for which I have been yearning arrived last Friday, giving me a great day to hike in the woods.
I had been working my way north for several months. Generally, I like to hike “the next segment up”, but the wet weather over the past two months forced me to adjust my plans. During the wet weather, I limited myself to road hikes on some recommended connecting routes between off road segments. In that way, I could knock off some miles without hiking in hip waders. Now I was going back to pick up the segments I bypassed. On Thursday, I did two segments in Marathon County. Today, I was dropping south to pick up a trail that covered parts of Portage and Waupaca Counties, the 5.7 mile New Hope-Iola Ski Hill Segment.
Debbie Krogwold, the trail angel for today’s hike, recommended that I hike this segment from north to south, rather than what I would normally have done. In that way, I could park my car in the parking lot at the southern terminus of the trail, a much safer option than parking on the shoulder of the road at the northern end of the trail. There would be an extra bonus to this approach. While I was approaching from the north, Debbie and another volunteer would be erecting signage on a new reroute of the segment about 3/4 of a mile from the trail’s end. I would get the chance to be one of the first hikers to give it a try. Debbie met me a little before 8:00, and we quickly made the drive to the starting point on Sunset Lake Road. After a quick hug from her, I got started. It was in the mid 40s, and the sun was working at burning through the morning haze.
Outside of some sections of trail that ran along a tree-line marking the boundary lines of farmers’ fields, and a very brief walk along a county highway , I hiked through wooded terrain. Very soon, I got my first critter sighting when I spotted a deer bounding at the top of a ridge line at a right angle to me as I ascended a hill. Birds were singing, and I could hear a woodpecker banging away at a tree. It had all the makings of a good day.
From reading the guide, I knew I would be hiking through hilly country, but I must admit I didn’t appreciate just how hilly it would be. This area is full of kettles – “surface depressions 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,” according to my guide. “The area’s high water table and clay-laden soil produce marshes in the small depressions.” And lakes – lots of lakes. My map showed only one larger lake, Severson Lake. In reality, there were countless small lakes, ponds and marshes in these depressions, like the one in the picture above. The chapter built several bridges to help hikers cross particularly soggy areas. The trail was a roller coaster ride up and down these kettles. The segment richly deserved its rating of a four out of a possible five on the hilliness scale. It was a challenge for me to stay under control while hiking, particularly when going down hills. Many tree roots and rocks were covered with leaves, and I needed to be form conscious in order to avoid tripping. As it was, I managed to roll my left ankle partially in the process. It was quite a workout.
Within a couple of miles before the end of the trail, I ran into Deb and anther volunteer working on the signage for that reroute. I’m not sure of the timing of the total project, but the good news is that a one mile road walk that was there as of 2017 is now gone. Instead, I had an easy-on-the-legs walk on a trail that is part of the grounds of the Iola Winter Sports Club. The challenge here is making sure one doesn’t stray onto one of the many intersecting trails that are either cross country ski trails or off road bicycle trails during the winter. I soon arrived at the chalet for the Sports Club, the end of my hike. A kind groundskeeper allowed me inside to change into dry clothes. He also gave a recommendation for a place to go for a fish fry in the nearby town of Iola.
A Fish Fry in Iola. Jane said it sounds like the title of a book. What do you think?
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 