After a 7-week COVID break, Service Managers Tim Hagen and Matt Schmidt were back on their quest to hike the full 1000 miles of the Ice Age Trail. COVID may have cramped their style and created an eerie silence on the trails of Wisconsin, but not for long. The great outdoors was the remedy for boredom for our hikers and many other Wisconsinites.
Hagen and Schmidt restarted in early May, when the weather warmed to a comfortable hiking temperature of 35-50 degrees. Dane County’s Montrose segment and connecting route were quiet as were the farming fields they passed by. The forests paid no attention to the COVID pandemic and greeted our hikers with their usual sprouts of spring green underbrush. The pair enjoyed this 10 mile respite from the pandemic.
Later that month, the pair found themselves up in Polk and Burnette Counties along the Indian Creek and Sand Creek Segments of the Trail. What a difference a few weeks will make! This five-hour trip from the Milwaukee area ended in an immediate seven-hour, 11.4 mile hike through high temperatures, high humidity and swarms of mosquitoes – a far cry from the mild weather of early May. The day ended in rain, lots and lots of rain, three inches so said the weather man. That’s enough rain to keep even these die-hard campers in their cars for the evening.
They awoke to wet, muddy trails that made the hilly terrain that much harder to traverse. Donned with mosquito netting, the two added another 13 miles, stopping frequently to brush the ticks from their clothing. They even took in a new froggy friends.
Hagen and Schmidt spent the next few days hiking in the areas around the rivers and creeks in the northwestern counties of Wisconsin on trails that the guidebook said were easier than they actually were. Plenty of areas of trail were boarded, covering swampy terrain. Some of those boards were heaved and mossy, creating hazardous footing. Adding to the misery of Wisconsin Mosquito/Tick season, wet shoes created blisters that ultimately cut the trip short. In all, the team did a respectable 28.7 miles through some very difficult May conditions.
A few weeks later, Hagen and Schmidt were closer to home hiking the Dane County Valley View, Madison and Verona Segments and the connecting routes. It was 13 miles of perfection – a welcome reward for their hard work in May. With 50-62 degree, sunny weather, the team enjoyed easy trails through affluent neighborhoods and even a golf course. Madison residents were taking it in too, as COVID lockdowns created new hikers out of many.
They were still working through Dane County in July, where they were met with both rainy and mild conditions. This time, the rain was gentle and the trails were lined with some interesting vegetation – of the five-leafed kind.
Dane county would offer more comfortable 80 degree weather in August as Hagen and Schmidt finished the Springfield Hill and Indian Lake segments along with a few connecting routes that added a total of 27.5 more miles toward their 1000 miles.
Summer ended in Sauk County for our hikers, making their way through the Devil’s Lake Segment in very pleasant 60-70 degree weather with light wind and slight overcast skies. This near-perfect hiking day in mid-September held beautiful views of the lake but challenging, nearly vertical climbs.
COVID may have delayed this 1000 mile goal, but Wisconsin delivered in the end.
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