Hiking Dude Blog

I'm on top of the lookout tower on the high point of the Ice Age Trail! It's all downhill to Minnesota from here.
Sweeping views all around, including Rib Mountain way down by Wausau. It's all gresn now, but in a few weeks it will be a kaleidoscope of color.
Hike On

I walked 62682 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 29 miles today.
This was a beautiful fall day of hiking. Cool air, crunchy leafs underfoot, and warming sunshine all day. A great day for a very long hike!
Towards late afternoon, a lady appeared by the picnic table at which we were taking a short break before doing our last couple hour leg of hiking. It turns out she is Valderi - hiking the trail eastbound, opposite us. She had a tiny pack of mostly water since she is not camping out on the trail each night. She has an online journal of her trip - I believe it is at epiciceagetrail.blogspot.com but maybe someone can leave a comment with the correct URL if not that.
Valderi gave us advice about the trail ahead that she received from the local chapter coordinator. Based on that, we took an alternate route around four miles and one of several reroutes past another spot.
The trail today was enjoyable and included some elevation gain. Tomorrow's walk should take us over the IAT's highest point.

We have a long day today, hoping to reach the road above Merrill by Sunday. The trail ahead is reported to be rough, logged, and heavy ATV use - not to mention flooding from beaver activity. What fun! :-). We'll see how it goes. So far today has been great. We're taking alunch break at Lake Susan letting our shoes and socks dry from the heavy morning dew.

I walked 67348 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 28 miles today.
I'm glad to be finished with the Kettlebowl segment. There were a few spots where signs were hidden or missing and we had to backtrack a little way. Nothing big, but made for a longer day.
The Lumbercamp segment was almost completely easy-to-follow logging road or mowed path. We flushed over a dozen grouse and many deer. We even saw a bear print in the mud! Plus, some coyote prints.
We passed the 700 mile mark today just past Kettlebowl ski area. We also made the big turn from northeast to west so it's a relative straight shot to the MN border.
My hand is still swollen but has not gotten worse since lunch.
We are camped in a very rough logged out forest tonight. It's supposed to get pretty cold so that should help with bugs - just hope I stay warm.

We met Steady Eddy on the trail this morning. He's a fellow Minnesotan and is hiking pieces of the trail alone. Great guy and fun to hike with for about an hour.
Eddy also taught me an important lesson today - Visually Verify! We reached a spot that Eddy said was Burma Road and he had hiked from the other direction to that point the previous day. I took his word and headed down the path with Papa Bear in the direction he indicated. Well, after much longer than expected without seeing any blazes, we finally turned around and retraced our steps.
It wasn't Burma Road! A sign had fallen in the grass and it pointed the other direction. OOPS! So, a 90minute detour which you can see on my map - Check out my current location on the map.
A lesson well learned to check location and direction all the time.

Less than a mile into the woods, something mean and nasty stung my right pointer finger. No idea what it was, but it hurt - and still hurts. Took a benadryl right away and hoping the swelling is about done.

We're heading off into about 100 miles of forest trail this morning so I may be out of contact for a few days.
Just wanted my mom to see what we each bought in Antigo so we are more visible. :-)
Hike On

I walked 53389 steps on the trail today.
I traveled about 26 miles today.
A funny thing happened on the way to Polar today...
Papa Bear read in the Ice Age Trail guidebook that a bar-n-grill in Polar, WI is hiker-friendly and may let you camp behind their place. With that in mind, we set our goal for today to be that grill. It would be a casual 23 miles with a long break in Antigo during the hottest part of the day, and we'd reach Polar around dark.
The roadwalk from Antigo took awhile to get going - checking for stove fuel (never did find any), grocery stop, WalMart stop, bathroom stop after too much pop at McD's. Finally, we were walking.
Heading due east, the sun setting behind us, it was a nice walk to Polar. When we got there, we thought the grill was farther ahead so we walked past the recommended route turn in the dark. After going farther than we figured was appropriate, we called the place. We could continue on and turn north or backtrack and turn north to reach them - same distance. So, we went forward.
A few minutes later, a car pulled up by us and asked if we were hiking the IAT. They invited us to their place along the route just up the way. They had seen us on the road earlier when they drove to Antigo and hoped they would find us again. TRAIL MAGIC!!!
So, after a shower, food, and conversation, I'm sending this just before bed in the home of yet more amazing trail angels.
You have opportunities to be a trail angel all the time - no trail is really needed to offer hospitality to others. It's up to you to notice and take those opportunities.

We couldn't pass up $5 large pizza at Little Ceasar's in Antigo for lunch. Doesn't Papa Bear look happy? Then, we rested all afternoon at the library then McD's since we already had a short destination in mind for tonight. We did stay a bit too long and will be roadwalking a bit in dark - don't worry Mom!

The Plover River section features a wonderful pair of boardwalks and some great rock steps placed by the trail volunteers. Here's a big Thank You to the IATA folks that pushed this part of the trail through this past year!
I scared up three turkey right on the trail in front of me and saw a huge read-headed woodpecker - I'm not a birder so I'm not sure of the exact name. :-(
As you can see from the sign, we're closing in on 400 miles left to go.