Day 35: Point Beach, Mishicot, Tisch Mills, Connecting Route

Into every life, a little rain must fall ...

Last night, we had rain. Today's forecast was for a 50% chance of rain all day. This time I didn't avoid it. I finished the Point Beach section without rain. There were some school kids building shelters in the Rahr School Forest section, which was cute. They posed with Buddy, my SATW teddy bear.

Next was a +5-mile jog to Mishicot. That's when it began to rain. It wasn't too bad, but I did get pretty soaked and had to change my shoes and socks for the second time. It's Homecoming weekend in Mishicot, and lots of homes had been T.P.'d. Not fun to clean up, especially if it rains after your yard is T.P.'d. Unfortunately, we know all about this. Anyway, Mishicot is a cute town. The trail takes you through their park, which features the East Twin River, I believe. Lots of people were fishing around its dam; there's some reason there's good fishing there, but I didn't stop to reach the explanatory sign because of the rain. You also walk through an old covered bridge and past a few other historic sites. The end of the section takes you up and down a small esker, then through a farmer's field.

Ran a few miles over to the Tisch Mills segment, which I initially missed. It's in a weird spot, coming from the west. There's a mowed path on someone's front lawn, which goes up a slope. The trail markers (small) are at the top of the slope, not very visible. The first section was quite pretty, running through a forest and over a small stream. I'd put plastic bags over my shoes in the hopes of keeping them dry and avoiding a third shoe/sock change. At the stream, a sign notes it's safer to wade than try to cross on stones. What about trying to cross on stones with plastic bags on your feet? Summoning up all the core strength I've developed from my stability and core ball classes (thanks John and Denise!), I successfully navigated the creek crossing. O.K., I cannot tell a lie -- I did make one little slip. But my foot didn't get submerged, so it was still successful.

There was a short road walk, then the next segment of Tisch Mills. This is clearly the part the guidebook discusses when it talks about wet, poorly maintained trail. The path runs along the East Twin River, and would be beautiful if it was tamed. Unfortunately, it was fairly overgrown, especially with those prickly weeds you get in your yard. So it was a gross, uncomfortable slog through wet, overgrown vegetation. Even though the trail was relatively short, I once again had to change my shoes and socks afterwards.

I knocked off about 13 miles of a 19-mile connecting route to end the day, with rain on and off. A few fun/funny things:

• I saw a sign advertising "Grass Drags." According to the sign, these have something to do with vintage snowmobiles. But what, exactly, is a grass drag?
• Through the fog, I thought I saw some big animals in the road ahead of me. Then I thought it was an Amish buggy. I finally realized a really old tractor was coming down the road towards me. The funny thing was that the driver was a young, long-haired guy, talking on a cell phone.
• I saw a couple homes with what appeared to be the French flag colors/striping. This is an area of the state where the French first settled, so I'm assuming it's French pride.

Tonight I'm staying at the Red Forest B&B in Two Rivers. I love this place. I discovered it last year. It's a beautiful arts-and-crafts styled home, and the Rodewalds are wonderful hosts. Kay offered to do my laundry when she heard I had a bag of wet, dirty socks with me, and you can't beat the food here -- not to mention amenities like Beerntsen chocolates in your room. Since the IAT runs through town, it's an uber-convenient place to stay, too.

Two more days!