Hiking through some new country and making new friends. Pretty good for a couple of November days in northwestern Wisconsin.
My original plan was to do a solo bike-and-hike for two days in Chippewa County. As I’ve started doing since the pandemic, I posted my plan on the 1000 Mile Wannabes Facebook page a week in advance to invite fellow hikers to join me, or to shuttle me if they were able. Happily, two hikers offered to join me on Wednesday and Thursday to share rides and to knock off some miles in the process.
Carla, in the center of the picture above, is from Merrill. She has just under 1000 miles on the trail. Barb, on the right, lives in the Eau Claire area. She is working on her second circuit of the IAT.
It had snowed in the area over the previous weekend, and I had seen pictures of snow-covered trails from my friends. But, I didn’t see much snow as I made me way north on the interstate on Tuesday. Had it already melted? I got my answer Wednesday morning once I crossed through Bloomer and started traveling on county roads. On either side of me spread a 1-2 inch cover of light snow, just enough to cover the ground and make everything clean and pretty. Patches of snow covered the roads, especially in curvy areas. I was glad I wasn’t biking to the trail head. It would have been pretty challenging.
We agreed to meet at the IAT parking lot along Chippewa County Highway CC on Wednesday morning and leave a car there. Then, I drove us to our planned starting point on County Road E near Camp Nawakwa, a Girl Scout Camp. We started a little later than originally planned, but when you have that last chance to use a restroom before a 10 mile-and-change hike, you take the opportunity. We started just before 10:00. It was 34 degrees with thin clouds. Good, crisp hiking weather. After a brief road walk, we entered the Firth Lake trail itself.
We chatted about a variety of things as we walked in single file. Carla and Barbara demonstrated an ability to see things that I miss, and I quickly appreciated their willingness to share their knowledge. For example, Carla spotted some Wintergreen poking through the snow. She invited us to try some. I chewed into a leaf, and it tasted like…Wintergreen. But, she also pointed out that the bark of the yellow birch can also be chewed, and it, too, tastes like Wintergreen. I had never heard that, so I googled it when I got home. Sure enough, the bark is edible, and the twigs can be broken into pieces and used to make a Wintergreen extract. Now you know.
Critter sightings – or signs of critters that had been there before we passed through – were a highlight of Wednesday’s hike. With the snow on the ground, we saw lots of tracks that otherwise would have been hidden from us. Some were whimsical, like the faint tracks of field mice dragging their tails through the snow. They looked for all the world like stitches or a zipper in the snow. Some were ominous, like the wolf tracks that we encountered along the way. We saw a fair amount of animals that day. Early in the hike, we surprised several does as we came over a rise. Surprisingly, I spotted a small spider walking across the snow. Obviously, they are more hardy than I assumed.
However, the biggest highlight for me were all the beaver dams that ringed the southern and eastern edges of Firth Lake. I would estimate the dam stretched for better than 75 yards. In one spot, the beavers had built an extension of sorts that extended onto the boardwalk on which we were walking. We took great care when crossing it; it would not have been good to snag my foot on a branch, lose my balance, and land in the drink. Here is a picture of it. What I found amazing was that another hiker told me it wasn’t there a month ago. There is truth to the saying about busy little beavers.
But, the REAL THRILL to me was spotting a beaver cruising on the surface just to the right of this muddy mass. Up until now, the only place I had ever seen beavers were at zoos. Seeing this one skimming on the surface before diving out of sight was a real thrill for me.
By this time our group was down to Barb and me, as Carla had taken a short cut to her car. We finished our walk along Firth Lake and reentered the Chippewa County Forest. Because of trail conditions we were directed onto a reroute. For us, that meant swinging onto what I think was an ATV trail, and ultimately onto a 2.5 mile road walk back to the parking lot on CC. Along the way, we passed a bow hunter in full camouflage going into the woods to hunt. We talked briefly. He spoke about the wolf tracks he spotted on the way into his hunting area, which gave us confidence that we, too, had spotted wolf tracks instead of those of a large dog.
At any rate, both of us remarked about how boring this last stretch of trail was. Often, the last mile of a hike always seems longer than it really is, and that was certainly the case today. Once we got to the lot, Barb drove me to my car along County E. 10.2 miles in the books. We’ll be back at it tomorrow.
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 