Day 13: Springfield Corners to Groves-Pertzborn

Thursday, Sept. 10

I showed up at Unity's front door shortly after 7 a.m. The earliest I could be seen was 10:20. The doctor said I could have cellulitis once again, although this reddish, hot area on the bottom of my foot could just be damaged tissue from so much hiking. She wasn't sure, so she prescribed antibiotics just in case.

Got on the road shortly before noon. It had been rainy in the morning, but the day turned out sunny, warm and beautiful. I love the countryside around Lodi. It's some of the most beautiful in the state. Picked up some free tomatoes a farmer was giving away -- nice!

The Lodi Marsh segments are some of my favorites; they were beautiful, as always. I also like walking through Lodi. Ended the day with a nice walk through Groves-Pertzborn. My feet appreciated an 18-mile day!

Day 12: Madison to Springfield Corners

Wednesday, Sept. 9

Started the day off in the middle of the Madison segment. When I got to the connecting route to Cross Plains, I tried a new path. In 2013, I hated the stretch along a road with a quarry; trucks were constantly coming and going, and it was loud, noisy and dusty. So I took a side road and then hiked on the railroad tracks into Cross Plains. Think I shaved about a mile off, too. Much nicer, although it's hard to hike on railroad tracks.

Stopped in at the IATA office, and the only one there was Matt. What a nice guy. I filled my Camelbak there, dropped off a trail journal I'm donating and then left. Then Matt helped my parents figure out how to meet me at Table Bluff, since downtown Cross Plains is under construction.

En route to Table Bluff, I ran into IATA volunteer Tess Mulrooney, who had been painting blazes at Table Bluff and trimming the trail. Had a wonderful stroll through Table Bluff, then headed over to the new segment at Springfield Corners. You walk in through a lumpy farm field, which isn't much fun, but then the trail picks up and is wonderful. I saw a buck, which is always fun.

Back in Madison, I tried to go to urgent care with Unity, our new insurer. I was afraid I had cellulitis once again, a skin infection that I got on the bottoms of my feet in 2013. There was a 90-minute wait, which they said was normal, but I wasn't even guaranteed to get seen. Gee! We had Dean Care for 25 years, and never waited more than 20 minutes in urgent care. I decided to leave and try to see my doctor tomorrow morning.

Day 11: Albany to Madison

Happy Birthday to me! I'm celebrating my second b-day on the IAT. Who would've thought?!

In 2013, I started my b-day hiking the Mondeaux Esker. Today Ed dropped me off near the end of the Albany section on a rail-trail, then left for work. My parents were going to crew me the rest of the day. The first two hours were fine, and then it poured for about 20 minutes. Not too bad.

During those first two hours -- even though I was trying to keep an eye on the rail-trail signage -- I got off on the wrong trail. Meaning I stayed on the same one, and didn't switch over. I did not notice any markings, although I suppose there was one. This happened to me in 2013 as well. Maybe a big blaze at that spot would help.

So I ended up in New Glarus, which is where my parents were (they thought the trail went there). They helped me get back on track, and I was off again.

The weather was pretty nice, although humid and buggy at times. Most of the Brooklyn Wildlife and Montrose segments were gorgeous, although two walks through cornfields in the latter were pretty bad -- the vegetation was waist- and shoulder-high and quite thick in places so that it was difficult to walk. And because it had rained earlier in the day, I emerged soaking wet and filthy. Oh well!

To keep the ice cream theme going, I had my parents pick up some turtle ice cream at the Culver's in Verona. Yum!

Because Madison is my home area, I got to see one of my kids tonight, plus my puppy and some friends. Also, my ace massage therapist, Tom Harding, worked out some of the kinks in my now-older body. Time to rest up for tomorrow.

Day 10: Janesville to Albany

Sept. 7, 2015

Today was supposed to be a bit cooler – highs in the low 80s. Yay! I started midway through the Janesville segment and took a photo of myself at what I think is the southernmost part of the IAT. (It would be fun if the easternmost, northernmost and southernmost part of the trail were marked.) Then I began the climb back north!

Interestingly, I got stymied on the Devil's Staircase. Coming from the west in 2013, it was a piece of cake. And Ed, my husband, came from the west today to meet me on the trail. But when we met up and started hiking back west, we came to a confusing intersection. There really didn't seem to be any trail, but three sort-of trails. We decided one looked the most definitive, but had to use our hands and sort of crawl up it. Shortly after that we encountered another confusing intersection, but Ed spotted a cairn and we followed that – but it led us up onto the golf course. We edged along the golf course, trying to get back onto the trail, but it was too steep and dangerous. So we're not quite sure what happened there.

After a lovely trek through Arbor Hills, I faced an 18-mile connecting route. It actually wasn't too bad at all. There was a nice wind, some clouds to keep the temps down and Ed brought me an ice cream sandwich to keep the ice cream theme going.

I kind of died hitting the rail-trail section. But I soldiered on for about six miles before calling it quits and retiring to a lovely B&B in Albany: Albany House.

Tomorrow Ed leaves me bright and early in the morning and my parents take over for a few days. But most important: tomorrow is my birthday! And for those who know me, I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY!

Day 9: Blackhawk to Janesville

Yes, another scorcher. But I decided to embrace the heat. I was actually lucky -- there was a fairly strong breeze all day that made the heat more bearable.

Whitewater Lake was a beautiful segment, especially when traversed early in the day, when the heat wasn't so bad. 

I love the Flowing Well, which has been gushing since the 1800s, the sign says. I told Ed not to fill our water jugs at the hotel, but to save them for the well. The water is so cold and pure and wonderful. So that was a nice stop after finishing the Southern Kettle.

The Clover Valley segment looked pretty, but was fairly overgrown. There were places where the brush was over my head, and my legs got pretty scratched up.

I loved hiking the newly re-done Storrs Lake segment, especially since in 2013 I couldn't finish the whole thing due to a significantly flooded area. It was beautiful! Good job, IATA.

Ed found an ice cream spot in Milton that had great soft-serve. I haven't eaten this much ice cream in ages, but gosh, it's sure good when you're hiking in 90-degree temps!

Finished the day hiking part of the Janesville segment. 

JANESVILLE!

I think of the IAT in three main segments: Sturgeon Bay to Janesville, Janesville to Antigo and Antigo to St. Croix Falls. Hitting Janesville means I've completed the eastern third of the trail. Woo Hoo!

Day 8: Waterville to Blackhawk

Those of you who know me know I HATE hot weather. My favorite season is fall, then winter, and spring and summer are tied for last. Some say I should do my thru-hikes in spring, with its cool weather, but I guess I fear/hate ticks more than heat. Summer is out because of the heat and mosquitoes. Winter is out for obvious reasons. That leaves fall. Ideally, I'd hike in October. But I always have a work conference then, so I start in September and hope for cool weather.

In 2013, I complained about an endless string of days in the upper 70s and low 80s. How I wish I had those back! Today was yet another sunny day in the 90s. Grrr! Oh well. What can you do but go hike?!

Waterville was pleasant, and then I plunged into the Southern Kettle. Eagle was one of my favorite sections, as always -- pretty, plus reasonably nice terrain. And Blackhawk was lovely. But gosh, it was hot. We saw a fair number of people on the trail, being a holiday weekend, and everyone looked beet red and exhausted. And while there weren't many bugs out, there always seemed to be one mosquito buzzing in my eyes, nose or ears. Just one, but gosh, it was annoying! I wanted to say, "Just bite me, suck my blood, and leave!" 

My hands and fingers are swollen from the heat, which isn't unusual. But I've got swelling up half of my arm. And lots of rashy spots on my legs, even though I wear calf sleeves. Is that from the plants? Must be, I guess.

Day 7: Loew Lake to Waterville

Friday, Sept. 4

My husband, Ed, took over today. It was supposed to be in the 90s again (boo), but cloudy all day. It was cloudy for the first hour or so, and then the sun came out when I hit the Merton segment and stayed out. Sigh. 

Two years ago I walked on the Bugline rail-trail when it was still being built; it was lumpy dirt. The real trail alongside was too overgrown to navigate. This time the rail-trail was beautiful, smooth blacktop, but the real trail was definitely navigable, so I chose the latter. During the hike, I ran into an IAT volunteer mowing the trail! I didn't get his name; he wasn't too talkative, likely due to the heat. But his photo is below. And yes, I thanked him for maintaining the trail for us! :)

It was fun to hike along the golf course. In 2013, I couldn't find the first part of the trail and was stopping golfers to figure out where to go (they didn't know, but I eventually found it). This time it was easily marked, and I believe the path was slightly different than two years ago. 

With the ice cream from Jim's Place still in my mind, I sent Ed to find ice cream in Delafield. We got some from Rocky Mountain Confectioners. It was good, but not even close to the cones from Jim's Place. 

Lapham Peak was stunning. I tried to take photos of the oak savanna, but they're pretty dark. But it was gorgeous. The re-route was also very nice (kudos!), and I even stopped to climb the tower with Ed, despite my aching feet. 

The day ended doing a little bit of the Waterville segment. I remember the part off the rail-trail being scruffy in 2013, but it was very nice today.

When we finished, we stopped for a fish fry at the Delafield Brewhaus. Wow. The service was quite slow, but the fish fry was one of the best we've had in ages, and their beer was fantastic, too. I ordered a stout, which was so thick and creamy Ed said it was like a latte.