Day 24: Western Bifurcation

Monday, Sept. 21, 2015

When I originally hit the Western Bifurcation, I hiked the Baraboo segment to end one day. The next day, I hiked the last 12.5 miles of the bifurcation and continued on on the trails because I was having problems with a hot spot on the bottom of one foot (and possibly cellulitis) and wanted to be on trails. Now, back home, I drove back up to Baraboo and started in on the road segment.

I enjoyed going through the Dells area, including Mirror and Rocky Arbor State Parks. I was disappointed, though, that when I was hiking around the Lemonweir/Wisconsin River area you couldn't see any water – just trees or cornfields. Still, it was a pleasant day.

Trail Angel Tess Mulroony was not only kind enough to shuttle me back to my car, but she brought along ice and ice cream (she's been reading my blog!).

Day 23: Tug Lake to Averill-Kelly

Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015

Today was a historic day for me re: long-distance hiking. I like to just hike every day and not return home until I'm finished. But I decided to go home today because my husband and I purchased season tickets to a musical series playing at Madison's Overture Center. Tonight was "Newsies," the musical I most wanted to see. So I hiked an abbreviated day.

Started out in Grandfather Falls, trying to walk the creek to the end of the school forest path. Take the long way around! The creek was covered with downed trees and it wasn't the easy walk I'd anticipated.

The falls area itself was beautiful. Ran into a guy foraging for mushrooms; he was excited because he'd just found a poisonous one. Yikes!

Got through Turtle Rock, but there wasn't enough time for me to hike Averill-Kelly, so we jumped ahead and I hiked a short connecting route. Then it was home for "Newsies." It was great!

Day 22: Parrish Hills to Tug Lake

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015

I actually had a tiny bit of Parrish Hills to finish today, so I did that. Ran into a big group of ATVers roaring around the area.

I really enjoyed Harrison Hills. The vast majority of it is so beautiful, and it's all well-marked. I was going to climb the tower until I realized you couldn’t climb it – and I was a bit glad. It's really tall, and I'm not a fan of heights.

Underdown appears to have been opened to logging, something I don't recall from 2013. It's mainly on the eastern end. It also looks like maybe a big storm came through in the last year or so; there were lots of downed trees and branches around the logging area (but not from logging). The rest was pretty as ever.

Finished the day on the connecting route to Grandfather Falls.

Day 21: Highland Lakes East through Parrish Hills

Today dawned sunny and beautiful. Trail angel and consummate IATA volunteer Joe Jopek drove me to the start of Highland Lakes East and dropped some water for me. 

Two years ago, I never got to see much of Highland Lakes East, which was closed due to flooding. Today I got to see it all, including the beautiful Camp Susan. 

Highland Lakes West, which gets quite hilly and rocky near the end, was made fun by a wealth of cairns.

In 2013, I didn't hike much of Parrish Hills at all. I'd been diagnosed with cellulitis on the bottom of one foot the prior day, and per my doctor's recommendation did a road walk instead of fording the creek near the western end. Joe recommended a detour around another section that wasn't well marked. Today I got to do it all, and it was glorious (and superbly marked). It was a wonderful mixture of everything: forest, prairie, logging roads, lakes, streams and, yes, a creek crossing. I actually enjoy those, as the cold water always makes my feet and legs feel better. And today I felt some tendinitis coming on in my left foot/shin.

Joe and his wife, Pat, picked me up at the end of Parrish Hills and deposited me at my motel in Merrill. What will tomorrow bring?!

Day 20: Kettlebowl to Old Railroad

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015

Well, this day is one for the record books! My older sister, Sue, came up to help me today. I started just outside the Kettlebowl, then quickly entered. Two years ago every thru-hiker I met had gotten lost in the Kettlebowl. The Langlade County Chapter has done an amazing job re-marking its trails. There's no way you can get lost on any of them. Kettlebowl was pretty, although it began raining (pouring, actually) near the end, which wasn't fun.

Next was Lumbercamp. Before my 2013 thru-hike, I'd read all about the Hillbilly Hilton, an old lumber camp root cellar that's now a rustic retreat or shelter from the storm. I really wanted to see it, but never spotted it. I was told it was kind of hard to see, but definitely easier to spot heading east-west. I was bound and determined to find the Hillbilly Hilton this time around. Rats -- I never did. It was still raining pretty heavily then, and I was watching my footing. Even though I tried to keep an eye out for it -- I thought maybe I could take shelter there -- I never did see it.

The drama came after the rain stopped. Sue and I miscommunicated about where we'd meet up next (this was at 2 p.m.). I'd also given her my cell phone to recharge. To make a long story short, we never found each other for the rest of the day. I continued on through Lumbercamp and Old Railroad until the sun went down and I had to get off the trail. I hiked up to a home and a woman helped me reconnect with Sue, who had just called 911 and got the sheriff's department on alert to look for me. We were finally reunited about 8:30 or 9 p.m. I guess this means tomorrow will be a good day!

Day 19: Thornapple Creek to Polar

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015

I must have been quite dehydrated yesterday. Today was just as hot, but I had a great day, thanks in large part to my friend Peggy, who came up from Sun Prairie to crew me. 

My hike through the Dells of the Eau Claire and Plover River were wonderful. Those are two of my favorite sections. How can you not enjoy waterfalls, or rocks and trees dripping with beautiful, green moss? 

There was one spot in the Dells that was a bit confusing. A bridge is being reconstructed and a sign says the trail is closed, but you can cross the road/bridge area and continue on the IAT.

After Plover River, I had a 24-mile connecting route. I did 22 miles following Peggy in her SUV. Every two miles she'd stop her car, and I'd see its hatch open before me. When I jogged up, she had a spread of gourmet sandwiches, fruit, cheese, nuts and chocolates laid out for me. I'd eat what appealed to me, then go on another two miles. It was amazing!

Ended the day a few miles past Rabe Lake, a very pretty spot.

Day 18: Rosholt to Thornapple Creek

Today was hard. 

Very hard.

It was hot out again -- 80s -- and I faced 20 miles on the road to start. A friend was helping me out, but I didn't ask for sufficient water drops. I didn't realize how hot I'd get, and how little shade there would be along the way. There is pretty much NO shade on County Highway Y going from Bevent to Hatley. 

I started out with a full Camelbak, plus had a small water drop about a mile east of Bevent. I ran out of water (and I was drinking lightly, which wasn't smart) about a mile shy of Hatley. I finally found a house with a shade tree near the road, so I sat down and changed my sweaty socks, ate a snack, etc., figuring that break would give me the energy to get to Hatley. I didn't see any activity at the home, but a woman suddenly appeared and asked if I was O.K. I said yes, but asked if I could refill my Camelbak. And, I said, if I could be so bold as to ask for ice cubes, too. She was happy to give me both.

While I was refilling in her kitchen, she mentioned that recently there has been a bear sighted many times on the bike trail -- the Mountain Bay Trail I'd be taking a few miles west of Hatley. People were warned to stay off the trail. Great.

I hopped right on that trail, thrilled to be in shade. It was still pretty unbearably hot, but nothing like being on a road in the open sun and on blacktop. 

The Ringle section was quite diverse. Some of it is on a ski hill, some was scruffy, some was very tidy. It was great overall. There are new IAT signs being put up, but keep a sharp eye on this segment. The IAT crosses a lot of ATV and snowmobile trails, and if you're tired it's easy to see an arrow -- any arrow -- and follow it.

In the middle of this segment I again ran out of water, but it was at a point where the trail passed a few homes. An elderly man was outside of one, so I asked for water. He happily gave me some, then asked if I'd seen any bears, timber wolves or cougars; he'd seen all of the above on his property. YIKES. I am now officially in the really wild part of Wisconsin! I said no. He then said he'd never travel anywhere in the countryside without his shotgun. Great.

Not 20 minutes after our encounter, I spotted a pair of tracks in the mud. I should have taken a photo, but they were definitely wolf tracks. I will be making my presence known on the trail so I scare off any wildlife!