Author Archives: jbanello

Originally printed February, 26, 2020. Last Friday was my first time hiking in over four months, and I was ecstatic at the prospect. On tap was a 10.4 mile road walk connecting the Underdown and Grandfather Falls segments of the IAT. I drove to the end point of my hike at Camp New Wood CountyContinue reading “Day 85 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed October 26, 2019. After a stern talk with myself the day before, I awoke on October 18th to a beautiful, crisp autumn morning. I broke out my credit card to scrape frost off my windshield and made my way to Camp New Wood County Park along the Wisconsin River. There I met myContinue reading “Day 84 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed October 23, 2019. Last Wednesday, I made a trip to Lincoln County for two days of hiking on October 17th and 18th. The colors were brilliant as I sped north, and I looked forward to two days of hiking in primo autumn conditions. The weather forecast was excellent. It shaped up to beContinue reading “Day 83 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed September 26, 2019. Last Friday, September 20th, was to be the easiest of my three days of hikes. After two days of challenging, longer distance treks, I had a short hop planned. While I didn’t know the exact distance, I knew it was in the neighborhood of 3.5 to 4 miles. My planContinue reading “Day 82 on the Ice Age Trail ( or It was a Three Hour Tour!)”

Originally printed September 25, 2019. Last Thursday, September 19th, I hiked a section of the Harrison Hills Segment, my first segment in Lincoln County. If this introduction to Lincoln County is an indication of things to come, the eight remaining segments in this county stand to be a feast for the eyes. Hopefully, they won’tContinue reading “Day 81 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed September 24, 2019. Last week, I had the opportunity to get in three days’ hiking in Langlade and and Lincoln Counties. After working a volunteer shift Tuesday at the Open Door Cafe, a meals program at the Catholic cathedral in Milwaukee, I threw my things in the car and made the 3 hourContinue reading “Day 80 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed September 1, 2019. Last Monday’s hike could easily be divided into three parts. The first 2/3 were quite satisfying. The final third? Not so much. When my alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., I was genuinely surprised that it was the alarm that woke me, as opposed to the pitter patter of rainContinue reading “Day 79 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed August 30, 2019. After a nearly three month break (lots of singing and a foot injury), I was eager to resume hiking on the Ice Age Trail. An opportunity presented itself on August 25th and 26th, and I jumped at the chance. I made the trip to Antigo on Saturday, the 24th, andContinue reading “Day 78 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed June 10, 2019. Part redemption. Part problem solving. Mostly fun and discovery. That was my experience on the Ice Age Trail last Saturday. After getting lost on the Lumbercamp Segment the day before, I was eager to get back to figure out what went wrong. When I met with Joe, my trail angel,Continue reading “Day 77 on the Ice Age Trail”

Originally printed June 9, 2019. I like to learn things. But, this past Thursday and Friday, I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. My plan was to hike three days in a row in Langlade County this past weekend – Kettlebowl on Thursday, Lumbercamp on Friday and Old Railroad on Saturday. I startedContinue reading “Day 76 on the Ice Age Trail (or maybe I should call it 76a and 76b?)”