Ice Age Trail - Mecan River and Wedde Creek Segments

     A warm August Saturday found me travelling to Waushara County to tackle a couple segments of the Ice Age Trail.  The Mecan River segment starts on Buttercup Dr about 4 miles north of Coloma and generally follows the course of the Mecan River  down to Hwy 21.  A connector route (meaning pavement) through the corner hamlet of Richford leads to the Wedde Creek segment.  My hope was to have enough time and energy to finish both of them. 

     As usual this would include utilizing the bike as a shuttle.   By 08:15 I began the 7 mile bike ride from Hwy 21 to Buttercup.  The temps were already in the mid-70’s and a warm day in the upper 80’s was promised.  The last time Ruth and I made our way to this part of the IAT earlier in the year we were chased by rain.  Today would be no different on my solo journey.  The weather forecast was for scattered rain throughout the center part of the state.

Hwy 21 Parking

     I arrived at the Buttercup parking area at 08:55.  The hills were few and only one presented any challenge.  I walked up most of the hill that carries Chicago Rd to 7^th Ave.  Along the way I passed a family of five out for a short bike ride, a group of senior bike riders.  At the Buttercup parking area a younger couple was biking away as I was coming in.  At the start of the ride on Hwy 21 I passed a growing group of Trout Unlimited folks.  The temps were still low, the sky was sunny, and the roads were busy.

     The first part of the trail is a mown path between two private properties.  One is a prairie loaded with goldenrod, grasses, stunted oaks, and fir.  The other  side to the East, had scattered woods with several small structures in varying states of disrepair.  Once past the private lands the trail leaves behind prairie but is a mix of meadow and the stunted oak and fir and even one very small pine plantation where every tree is dead.  The terrain is very interesting.  While not exactly hilly the trail traverses over small hummocks with the meadow, oak, and fir.  Then quickly through a short stand of pine and into a thick oak forest.  I had the trail to myself with the exception of some deer that I spooked in the oak forest.  Very little road noise was present.  Quiet, pretty, and interesting in the first ¾ mile.

    A campsite for through-hikers can be found in the oak forest. 

    I look ahead to see that the trail leaves the oak and enters into a hay field.  I was expecting to quickly skirt around a hay field before entering more woods.  However, the IAT folks have a thoroughly wonderful  surprise for hikers.  On the bike I was able to see part of this hay field after rising to the summit of Chicago Rd hill.  I had no idea then, but the trail traverses a meandering diagonal across the entire hay field.  Rolling up and down, surrounded by crickets, bees, and woods this stands out to me as the most enjoyable part of the day.

     At 09:34 the hay field came to an end.  The farewell to the field comes within 5 feet of a another field where fresh manure had been spread.  Yum.  The trail crosses a border of tree there and enters a wide meadow.  The short 10 minute hike through the meadow was spent watching a hawk make repeated attempts to snare some critter.

     I crossed Chicago Rd and into another little parking area at 09:45.  This parking area sits above the Mecan Spring which begins the Mecan River.  When I say above, I do mean above.  The head of the river lies over 100ft below the trail and parking area.

High Above the river's source

     The trail parallels the road and continues to sit high above the river.  At 10:00 my tummy told me it was time for a break.   At this spot the trail is glued to the edge a pine forest that slopes steeply to the river.  Low ground cover offers occasional glimpses of the water below.  A quick 10 minute break was enough to stretch and eat a handful of trail mix.

    Soon the trail cuts through a brief prairie and it seems like every half mile I scare away a deer or three.   The river has coursed a little further to the East than has the trail, but we’d be meeting the river again and again before making the car.

    I crossed Cty GG at 10:33.  Not long after I ran into a hiker moving in the opposite direction.  As a retired farmer living nearby he hikes 6 or 7 miles a day on the IAT in the area.  He used to walk just the roads but a relative turned him on to the trail.  He has dreams of hiking parts of the trail farther away, but the commitment to do that is just a little beyond what he and his wife would be likely to do.  Still he thinks about it.  This is a similar dilemma with which I struggle as well.   At this point in my life there is no possibility of taking off three months to through-hike.  That means hiking the trail in segments.  There are not segments within less than 2 hours of my home, which means that any hike, be it 6 miles of 16 miles, is a full day event.  Trying to cover a number of segments in a long weekend is something we’ve talked about, but the ability, the commitment has not yet shown itself.  We had a good 15 minute talk on the trail and the importance of such “wilderness” areas.  We also talked about what a hidden surprise Waushara County is.  This is a usually a drive-through county between I-39 and Appleton, Oshkosh, Green Bay. 

     At 11:03 I met the intersection of the Mecan River Vista trail.  Taking the spur out to a high point above the river I found a bench about 3 minutes later.  Maybe in younger days I would have attempted the climb down to the river, but today that didn’t seem like a very good adventure to undertake.

At the bench on the vista

     After the spur the trail cuts through a pine plantation along private property.  There is no mistaking that you are next to private property.  There are nearly a dozen no-trespassing signs and every third tree is marked with orange tape. 

    I hit the first crossing of 9^th Ave at 11:37.  The temperature had definitely begun to rise, but I was able to keep well hydrated.  The canopy of the forest and a light breeze in the meadows was keeping the rising temperature a non-factor.  The sun was still the only weather feature with no clouds present.

    Crossing 9^th Ave the trail hangs within feet of a marsh section of the river, now on even elevation with the waterway.  Along this short loop through the swamp the bug activity increases dramatically and the flies make their first appearance.

     By 11:55 I was back out of the swamp and travelling along the pavement of 9^th Ave.  Along the way I had a short conversation with a few of the Trout Unlimited gang that were out along the river building new habitat.  By 12:06 I was back at the car.  I drank some water I’d left in the car (very warm!) and headed to pick up the bike – munching on food along the way.

    

      I was back at the parking lot on Hwy 21 at 12:35 with the bike and began the bike ride down the trailhead on Czech Ave.  At 13:00 I found the parking lot and stashed the bike.  The actual trailhead was still another half mile down the road.  Eight minutes later I was at the trail head making my way back East along the Wedde Creek trail.  The trail drives quickly through an old pine plantation.  The plantation looks to have been logged about seven or eight years ago and is now a scrub forest of oak and fir with almost no ground cover.    I crossed the bridge over Wedde Creek at 13:27.  This is a low swampy creek with abundant reeds and grasses.

Wedde Creek

     After the creek crossing, the trail enters a narrow prairie before heading into a pine plantation.

     I hit the end of the trail at 13:33 and was not looking all that forward to the 2.8 miles of pavement.  Thankfully, on this day, my usual hip, leg, and back problems were registering at their lowest level I can remember in months.  Still, I’d had a full day.  The heat and exertion were beginning to tell. 

     County JJ passes a game farm, a cemetery, and then through the hamlet of Richford.  As I made my was along this road I passed by a soybean field and thought that the sprinkler system was much too far away.  Hot sun, tired legs, and walking on pavement.

     I took note at 13:50 that clouds were beginning to overtake the western sky and that did provide some relief.

     I met the cemetery at 14:00 on the button.  This is a very well kept location and even from the road some stones from the 1800’s could be read.  Twenty minutes later I was back at the car.

     The total trip was 10.8 miles of hiking and 8 miles of biking.  For me, that is no longer a simple walk in the park.  My, how things can change in just a few years.

     There are still a few segments left in that part of the state to tackle.  Some of them are off in the woods and fields, while others are through rest areas along the interstate.  What has been great about these hikes here is that this area of the state has surprised me twice.  I very much look forward to return trips to complete other segments.