Coulee Region Experimental Forest

Coming soon.....

Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail at Norwalk

     The kids left on a plane this morning. The wife went back to her weekday apartment. I'm left with a dog, a cat, a fish, and walking up to take care of the neighbors dog. The animals taken care of by 16:00 and I'm on the road.

     The goal is to start off from Norwalk and walk the Sparta-Elroy bike trail towards Sparta. I have more of a time limit than a distance limit as I need to get back and take care of a couple of work items before I go to work on Monday. I estimate I have about 3 hours on the trail. There is a particular point in mind I'd like to hit and I might just make it.

     I might not, too. The temp is 94F. Most of the country has had a hot dry time of it this Summer. Wisconsin is no different in that regard. Temps in the mid to upper 90's have become the norm the last 6 weeks. Could be 104, I'm still going for hike.

     Oddly enough, I'm writing this two days later, the high temp... 104. Didn't go for hike. Instead I spent 45 minutes putting up another section of retaining wall. Took care of the animals and called it all good.

     The week before Ruth and I went down to Devil's Lake area and were set to hike a section of the Ice Age trail between Parfrey's Glen and the State Park. Another 100 degree day. We made it up to the end of Parfrey's Glen and on the way back out, on the easiest part of the trail, I rolled my ankle. Rolled it badly. I was able to limp to the car, but my day was done. I'd wanted to hike that section of the trail for two years. I was thwarted by responsibilities once before and now injury.

     The ankle was healing, but certainly not healed. 12 days had passed and I'd been walking normally for the last 4. There was still swelling, but the bruising was nearly gone. I'm still going for a hike.

     The Sparta-Elroy trail runs from Sparta, WI to Elroy, WI running just over 30 miles. Like the other bike trails in Wisconsin this is an abandoned rail line and is made of crushed limestone.

     The Sparta-Elroy trail directly connects to the La Crosse River Trail in Sparta, and the 400 trail in Elroy (ending in Reedsburg). The Great River Trail in Onalaska joins the La Crosse River Trail in La Crosse making an uninterrupted 101 miles of trail through unglaciated river valleys. Spectacular.

     I've biked the Sparta-Elroy, Great River, and La Crosse River trails numerous times. At one time the geese that own the trail between La Crosse and West Salem knew me by name. My 13 year old did his first long ride of his life (70 miles from our house to the Sparta trail head and then all the way into La Crosse.) He mentioned the geese. Those geese are tough, they are possessive, and they have guarded a 100 yard section of the La Crosse River trail for over 40 years.

http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com/

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/greatriver/

http://www.lacrosseriverstatetrail.org/

http://www.400statetrail.org/

http://www.bike4trails.com/

     Norwalk is a small agricultural village just Southeast of Sparta. Dairy, church, and a couple bars (with most excellent burgers – either of the places are great to eat at). There isn't much to Norwalk and frankly that is just perfect.

     I left the parking lot at 16:48. The sun was still high. The trail moves through open pasture and crop land. Luckily the trail is bordered by a thin line of large trees on either side. Off the trail the temp is 94. On the trail the temp is 84.

     Peaking through the trees, the view is quintessential Wisconsin farm land. One side is a corn field stretching to bluffs a half mile away. A county road winds through the middle. The other side is pasture strewn with large sand stone boulders, an oak tree here and there, and cows. Many cows. Then the view switches. Now the pasture is on the right side and soybeans on the left.

Coulee countryside

     About two miles in, the trail passes the Tri-Creek Watershed flood control dam and Norwalk Lake. The Norwalk Rod and Gun Club uses the dam as a back stop. Glad no one was at the range today.

     The trail has been climbing, gradually, since leaving Norwalk. Makes some sense as the creeks from Norwalk Lake need to flow downhill to get anywhere. The grade is not noticeable at all, but shortly after passing the lake I look up ahead and find that I am in the middle of a long hill.

     The landscape has changed a bit as well. The corn and beans are largely gone. The bluffs have tightened closer to the trail. Pastures share the land with more trees and are often heavily sloped. The cows need to be more goat than bovine.

     A little break area is about 3 miles down (up?) the trail and has a small one room museum. This is worth a stop. I'll describe that in a bit more detail later.

     Shortly after the break area the trail changes dramatically. The steady, but slight incline continues. The bluffs defines the trail as it enters a canyon. The temperature drops dramatically and everything is wet.   This part of Wisconsin has seen less than 1/8" rain since mid June, yet the trail is almost mud. Streams line each side of the trail and the high rock walls drip water. After 400 yds the reason for this comes into sight... Tunnel #1.

     The Sparta-Elroy Trail sports three tunnels along it's 32 mile journey. Tunnel #3 is the longest of the three at almost 3810ft (over 2/3 mile). The temperature drops signficantly upon entering the tunnel, eventually leveling off into the mid 50's. The tunnel is wet. Very wet. Puddles are everywhere. Water runs steady along both sides and the water cascades down the sandstone sides of the tunnel.

     Not that you are going to see any of this. The tunnel has no lights. In Tunnel #3 there is a point where the is no light behind and no light ahead. Pitch black.

     Many people go into the tunnels without lights. Many go through just fine. Nearly everyone walks their bikes. Some ride through. They get hurt. My advice: bring a light and walk your bike.

     I had my Tikka head lamp on, for all the good it did me. The fog in the tunnel was as thick as I'd ever seen it. Past three feet and there was nothing to see. The walk was slow.



Halfway through!



     My turnaround point was the other end of the tunnel. This would give me an 8mile round trip hike, a good hike for the time allotted. I missed that by about 50 ft. I met two bikers entering the tunnel without lights. They'd already tangled amongst themselves twice in 50ft. I offered to lead the way through the tunnel. They readily accepted. I regaled (bored) them with what I knew about the building of the tunnels, the tunnel watchmen. All of this I learned years ago at the neat little one room museum already described.

     The way back was the same as the way forward. I stopped at the museum and ate a powerbar and took in a some water. I hit the tunnel at 17:49 (an hour in) and came back out the tunnel at 18:12. I made the museum by 18:22.   I usually break every hour, but there just hadn't been an appropriate spot until getting out of the tunnel.

     Gnats. They swarm me. I mentioned that in an earlier post. While hiking I'd have to swat off a gnat or two every couple minutes. No problem. I'd already thought ahead and when I stopped for a break I brought out the no-see-um head net. Worked like a champ. I could see the dozen or more gnats crawling on the net. I could hear a few of the buzzing, trying to get in my ears. Nah, nah, nah, can't get in!! I'll be sporting that on future hikes for sure.

     One thing I do need to learn when wearing the net is that food does not go through the net. It must go under!

     I left the museum at 18:30.  The hike back was quick and uneventful save that milking time must have been at hand.  The cows were making quite a fuss.  Their mooing could be heard across the entire valley.  Only maybe a quarter mile from one of the barns the sound of the cows could have been next to my shoulder.  I was back to the parking lot by 19:38. Took a bottle of water and dumped it over my head. Threw out the garbage I collected along the way and drove away back to the animals.

     I was very happy with the hike. The ankle was not noticeable except in the tunnel where the trail is dotted with potholes filled with water and the edge drops off sharply in the darkness (Hemingway would have been proud of this sentence).

     The bike trails can get boring as they are not narrow footpaths that wind through forest. They don't have switchbacks crawling up the side of a mountain. They are generally flat and travel through farm land and towns. Still, each of the trails has unique features, such as bridges, tunnels, rivers and streams. The trails, in cutting across the dairy land show what rural Wisconsin is really like, how people live in this part of the country.

Whether by bike or hike, these trail systems are a blessing.

8 miles in 2hrs 50min.

Update:::   Two weeks later my friend William and his 6yr old boy walked with me from Norwalk through the tunnel and to the parking area on Kenya Ave, a little over 4 miles.  A much cooler evening and having two cars we were able to hike one way.   That was a good hike and was to great to have William along.  I think his boy will come away with quite a story of cows and tunnels.