Columbus Day had been a perennial day off with the company that owns our little shop. The last two years in a row I was not able to take the day off, but this year the day was mostly all clear for me. In honor of Columbus the explorer I set off to do some exploring of my own. Hopefully, my trip would not involve disease, murder, slavery, and impetuous royalty.
I vacillated between two parts of the Ice Age Trail in Chippewa and Taylor Counties, finally deciding on connecting to the hike I’d done in August.
The Firth Lake and Harwood Lakes segments run from a county highway on the West side of the river from Cornell striking across field and forest before ending at Plummer Lake. The hike in August took me from the Chippewa Moraine Visitor’s Center to Plummer Lake.
The day would entail dropping the car off at Plummer Lake, biking to the parking area on County CC, and then hiking back to the car. If you’ve read previous entries you’ll know that my sciatica issues make biking a very difficult endeavor. Biking was never my strong point, but “back in the day” hopping on the bike and putting in 30 or 40 miles was a long ride, but nothing to hesitate at. A couple hour ride at a moderate pace was all that was. The 7 mile bike shuttle for the Chippewa Moraine hike was quite a challenge. My left leg was unsteady for about a mile of hiking before it loosened up. I was encouraged that the 3 miles Ruth and I did at Merrimac went so very easy. This bike shuttle would be 12.5 miles. The only option was to hike shorter. I just didn’t want to hike 6 miles. On these day hikes the pack is only about 12 to 15 pounds. If I managed the hills wisely I’d make it. Boy, here I go.
I watched the forecast leading up to the Monday and the day before the forecast for Cornell was very promising. The weather man called for a high of 60 with clear skies in the AM, becoming cloudy PM, rain in the late evening. The only weather concern was that the low was going to be around 30deg. The bike would be cold. The hike would be nice and cool. The other concern was that this is Wisconsin and late evening rain could mean mid-morning just as easily.
I left the house at 04:15 under completely clear skies with the stars studded brilliantly overhead. The temp in Sparta was 34F. The trip up North was uneventful and I arrived at Plummer Lake at 06:55. Dawn was just beginning to seep on the horizon. Visibility was improving with every minute. By the time I left on the bike at 07:03 I had no worries about being seen on the road. The temperature in Bloomer registered 33F. On the bike I was wearing three layers on top, sweat pants on the bottom, hat and gloves with liners. I took one last look at the half moon sitting above the lake and biked away.
Despite the cold temps I really never felt cold. In fact, only 2 or 3 miles into the bike and I was rolling up my hat and zipping down the outside sweatshirt. Along the way there was scattered frost. There was almost no wind, and what breeze there was came out of the West and at my back. The route cruises up and down County M to County CC. This almost perfectly parallels the hiking route. I was feeling very good on the bike. The hip and thigh were handling the moderate hills well enough. There came a point, though, after about 6 miles were my left leg just couldn’t go anymore. The thigh was tightening up and becoming very uncomfortable. I got off and walked for about 5 minutes.
I had some time pressures with this. I needed to be back in Sparta by 18:00 to pick up the oldest from practice. That meant I needed to be off the trail by 15:30 at the very latest. I needed to be at the parking area and ready to hike by 08:15. After 8 miles it was clear that was not going to happen. After walking for that 5 minute period my left recovered some, but not more than a couple minutes on the bike and it was happening again. I could tell the last 4 miles were going to be a struggle. There is a very long hill on County CC. Halfway up I bailed and walked. All of this wasting time, but if I pulled a thigh muscle I’d be in a real pinch.
The sun was breaking during the bike throwing an amber glow over the un-harvested corn and beans. There was not a cloud to be seen as the sun rose over the hills on the other side of the river. As I turned South on County CC the West was now visible. A large front was moving in and the Western sky was a thick dark gray.
At 08:39 I finally pulled into the parking area that hosts the trail heads for the Firth Lake and Chippewa River segments. I needed a break and after putting the bike up and readying for the hike I flopped on the ground for a few minutes to stretch. At 08:54 I was ready to go, but I was a good 30 minutes behind. The bike took nearly twice as long as I had supposed it would or should. Somehow I’m going to have to figure out how to bike with this condition.
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| Start of Firth Lake Trail |
The trail starts off skirting along fields and diving into forest before skirting more fields. Step-overs are nicely placed at each fence crossing. In one case there is an insulated handle to open the electric fence. Be sure to replace! Leaves completely covered the rugged trail, making turning an ankle easy. About a mile in the trail goes into forest with significant blow-down. This was the first time of the day that took the wrong path for about 100ft before turning around and finding the yellow blaze again. Between the downed tree and the leaves the trail completely disappeared for about 200 yards.
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| The trail is actually a footpath to left of the two trees on the left. |
I hit the boundary between the private land and the SIATA boundary at 09:50. The terrain so far has been very flat, even in the forested portion. In the SIATA land the trail picks through the forest heading towards the South end of Firth Lake. The trail has been 99% footpath and has been maintained, but rugged. I considered this a special treat. The trail becomes a boardwalk for a little bit as it sidles Firth Lake. I could see a very large hornet’s nest in a tree. I could not get a good position for a picture.
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| Boardwalk on South End of Firth Lake |
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| Firth Lake |
I had had communication with the chapter head a few days before to make sure the private land owners were amiable towards hikers and I wouldn’t be messing up somebody’s bow hunting. He had mentioned that there was new parking area on the North end of Firth Lake. I hit that at 10:15 and found a car parked there. Shortly thereafter I came across two folks working on shoring up a drainage across the trail. One of them was a trail adopter for the Harwood Lakes segment. I felt a bit guilty that they were working and I was hiking. I suppose I could have abandoned my plans for hiking and got to work. Maybe I should have. Regardless, I pushed on. I was becoming very aware that time was slipping away. I had hoped to make up some time on the trail by taking advantage of the flat terrain and that I’m a stud. The ruggedness of the trail counterbalanced the terrain and that I’m not a stud counterbalanced the other.
I normally take a break every hour, particularly if I’m climbing in the mountains. Even on flat hikes I try to take a 5 minute break every hour and 10 to 20 minute break every three or four hours. I hit the West boundary of the SIATA land at 10:26 and hadn’t stopped yet. This was beginning to tell on my legs and back, but I felt pressured to push on.
The exertion sneaks up on me when I’m out on the trail. I get into a mode of watching, listening, and walking and little else intrudes. I have to make a point of drinking often.
After leaving the SIATA land the trail immediately crosses into Chippewa County land. The terrain becomes rolling hills and the trail shares an ATV/vehicle trail. In addition to the terrain change most of the trees here have lost their leaves.
I hit Moonridge Trail/245th Trail at 11:00. I had just passed some logging equipment (but no people.) I was simply exhausted but had only gone 5 miles. The bike had taken far more out of my legs than I had thought. I dropped the pack for 12 minutes and took a break.
The trail crosses the dirt road and takes loop into the woods before coming back out to 245th (Moonridge Trail) and the end of the Firth Lake segment. The coloring in the forest was fantastic. The bright colors were largely gone by now, but the dark crimson, rust, and deep yellows painted the horizon. The camera simply could not capture the depth of colors. There were times where the terrain features were hard to distinguish, but there was one spot in that last little loop where everything but the tree trunks were yellow. The leaves on the ground and the leaves on the trees were yellow. Yellow everywhere. I had to stand for a minute or two to try and take it in. As I moved on I had to chuckle as the yellow metal plate of the Ice Age Trail had a yellow leaf stuck behind it. Yellow, yellow, yellow.
Positively awesome.
At 11:47 I dropped the pack at the end of the segment and almost took a nap. Both legs and my back were in rough shape. I was also about 30 minutes behind schedule. It was pretty clear I was not going to pick up much ground. I could not go any faster and there was no other option but to keep going forward. The boy would have to wait a half hour. He’d get over it. I was disappointed, though, that I’d pushed hard and still only made 2 miles per hour. Seven minutes later I threw the pack back on and started heading down the gravel road. At 12:10 the gravel intersects with County E and pavement. Despite being pavement the walk along County E was very pleasant. A couple of rolling hills and very scenic foliage made this a quick and easy connecting route.
The trail picks up again after 1.8 miles and by 12:27 I’d made it to the small parking area. Two cars were parked there so I expected to see people. I stopped about 100ft along the trail and took a short break. The trail overlooks some small lake not named on the map. I had hoped maybe for some ducks or something, but nothing moved on the surface. Blackbirds in the trees and a squirrel or two were all the wildlife available there. There is a geocache hidden just off the trail. I happened to be looking down at that spot and saw something odd. Had I been looking at any other minute angle I would have missed it.
The trail now rolls up and down some short hills and winds between lakes. Picnic Lake, Paul’s Lake and a few others. At times the lake is on the other side of a hill, other times the trail makes a crossing over a narrow on the lake. After crossing a drainage into Picnic Lake the trail climbs up a short steep slope and then heads along a ridge above the lake. Oh, wait, no it doesn’t. It takes a left turn and follows the ridge moving away from the lake. There are several trails up on that ridge and all of them are on private land. Some of them are on Girl Scout land. Beware. If you travel more than 100yds without seeing a yellow blaze, turn around and find the IAT. You’ve left it.
Most of the lakes and streams are shallow and swampy. At 13:10 the trail leaves private land again and back into the Chippewa County Forest. The step-over is a 5ft high ladder. I’ve never seen a step-over like that.
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| Crossing Picnic Lake |
Twenty minutes later the sun made its first appearance since disappearing around 9:00 in the morning. That appearance was short lived and within 15 minutes the sky was a gray as it had ever been the whole day. The wind picked up considerably. I was a little worried about rain. In a very uncharacteristic move I left my rain jacket in the car. I usually do not even go to work without having my rain jacket handy. I had reckoned that I still had a good hour and half to go. Being wet that long wouldn’t be much of a problem, but I’d be very cold that last hour if it were to rain. The temp was not cold, but neither was it warm. Maybe around 50F? During the short breaks I didn’t get chilled but I did not want to sit without moving for too long either.
Somewhere past Deer Lake (which is about 100m into the forest beyond the trail) I heard at least three different heron. A pair of small puddles was coming up on the map so I hoped that I’d see them. The crossing between these puddles was a boardwalk labeled Kim’s Crossing. I could still hear the heron. They were on the larger of the two puddles but they were not visible. I waited for about two minutes to see if they’d make their way over, but they did not. No movement and no more calls either.
The IAT guidebook talks about a glacial erratic in this area of the trail. Turns out to be a 8ftx8ft rock just off the trail. The path around the erratic is well worn. Must be a favorite with kids.
I hit Deer Fly Trail at 14:00, completely worn out. Well, at least the legs and lower back were. I felt like I was walking on two 2x4’s. I had to stop and rest. The way things looked I was going to hit the car by 15:15, so I was in pretty good shape time-wise. About 45 minutes later I passed by Harwood Lakes. The trail adopter I’d talked with had said that this was a good place to take a long break. There is a peninsula that runs between the two lakes. An un-improved camping area sits on that peninsula. He mentioned he often sits there and almost always catches a beaver or heron in action. Sadly, today I could not stop. The Harwood Lakes segment is 5 miles of hiking, but would include a 7 to 8 mile bike shuttle. Harwood Lakes, though, are only a mile from Plummer Lake. A family could easily walk in, have a long picnic, do some fishing, and walk back out.
As predicted I was back at the car by 15:06. I hurriedly stowed my gear and went for my bike.
I’d like to come back and do the Harwood Lakes segment again. The rolling terrain and numerous lakes make an excellent venue for a hike. I’d also very much like to hang out at the camping area and relax.
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