Originally printed September 2, 2020.
To hike or not to hike. That was the question I needed to answer last Friday, August 28th.
On tap for the day was the southern “half” of the Lake Eleven Segment – roughly 6.7 miles. Originally, the weather forecast was for morning showers. Fine. I was up for a late morning – early afternoon hike.
Then the forecast changed so I was looking at an all-day rain. I wasn’t up for that. In particular, I wasn’t up for the bike shuttle in the rain. A little more than a mile would find me on WI-64, a two lane major thoroughfare across the northern 1/3 of the state. At that point, I decided to book another night at the hotel where I was staying in Abbotsford. I’d knock off the hike Saturday morning and be home in time for supper.
Then, the weather forecast changed AGAIN, creating a window for me to hike in the afternoon, which was my original plan. I could do the hike, clean up, eat a leisurely supper and have a good night’s sleep before driving home Saturday. I committed and drove to the trail’s end on WI-64 and County F.
I still had that bike ride. Fortunately, only a little more than a mile of it was along WI-64. Normally, I dial it to comfortable when cycling to a trail head, saving my energy for the hike. Not this time; I wanted to be off this busy highway in a hurry, and I really put my legs into it. Fortunately, the highway was in great shape, and I had a good yard of shoulder for riding. I was grateful for that space when a semi passed me! Soon, I turned on a side road, and I had an easy ride to the trailhead. My hike started at 1:45. The temperature was in the high 60s.
As with all my hikes in Taylor County, the signage on the trail was excellent. One wrinkle I really liked was that whenever I came to intersection, I was told both where I was and the distance to the next major intersection. I found this information extremely helpful.
Aside from the bike ride to the trailhead, three things about this hike stood out. First, between the forest cover and the overcast, it was really dark! I seemed more like I was hiking at dusk than in mid-afternoon, and it motivated me to leg it out a bit faster than my normal cruising speed. My Guide mentioned that the northern area of trail had been flattened by a tornado in 2002, and that the area is “beginning” to return to normal. Based on what I saw, the area has returned to normal. Mission accomplished! I could find no difference between the amount of cover here and the rest of the segment.
The second impression on me was the remote silence of the trail, particularly the first 4-5 miles. Several times through the hike I would simply pause to look and listen. Most of us go through our lives with an ambient amount of noise. Even what we think of as silence has an element of noise to it. To really experience absolute silence is a rare, awe-inspiring experience – one to be savored.
Last, I will carry memories of the many challenges this segment offered. The Guide mentioned traversing bogs and beaver dams, and stated that some wet crossings would be required. No kidding! Lots of ponds awaited at nearly every low spot on the trail. Countless unnamed streams and bogs presented numerous challenges to cross by either tiptoeing on rocks, edging my way on makeshift log bridges, or simply walking through the water. Most interesting and challenging to me were the beaver dams. Unlike my experiences in previous hikes, I could not cross on the dams themselves. Instead, Instead, I had to make my way carefully through the soup at the base of each dam.
I didn’t see any critters on this hike, although I encountered a lot of what I thought was bear scat. Until nearly the end of the hike, I saw no other hikers on the trail. This surprised me, because my car was the third one in the lot. Just before the hike ended, I met a mom and her two little boys. The youngest was in in one of those jogging strollers that the mom was pushing through the narrow trail. I cautioned her that the conditions ahead would be extremely challenging for the little ones, if not impossible. While she was unfamiliar with the trail, she wanted to continue exploring with her little ones. I smiled and wished her well.
She would learn soon enough.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 