06:55 Greenbush
Picnic area. Sun just coming up. Getting bike and pack ready. Clear skies, 44degrees. Plenty of color on the trees through the dim
dawn light. One car in the lot.
07:39 6 mile bike
completed. Very easy and quick
ride. Lots of up and downs, but very
very easy ride. Best bike ride in
years. The ride went along the Kettle
Moraine Scenic drive through Greenbush, then picked up County A. Crossed HWY 23 and stayed on A through
Glenbuelah. Just north of Glenbuelah
there is an Ice Age trail parking lot.
Treated to a pleasant dawn sunlight through colorful treelines.
07:48 Bike is
stowed and hike begins
08:07 Trail is wide
and well maintained, but is full of rocks and roots. The rocks are rounded through years of
erosion and traffic. The trail is
covered in leaves. All of them are damp
from recent rain and my boots are not well suited for slippery surfaces. Hiking this part of the trail requires care.
08:15 Crossing HWY
S, a narrow pea gravel highway cutting through the forest.
08:34 Crossing
Ridge Rd. A good view of the sky to the
West shows the clouds and rain that is to come.
09:00 Crossed HWY
23. Last section of the trail went
through an old jackpine forest. Couple
of horse trails crossing through the area.
Jackpine were mostly bare up to their tall tops. The combination of dead pine, gray clouds was
a stark difference from the start of the trail where the sun trickled through
yellow and red leaves with the multi-colored forest floor reflecting the early
morning light.
09:15 last half
mile along paved bike trail. Trail now
goes back into the woods. Clouds are
getting thicker and thicker. About
halfway to the picnic area.
09:30 Intersection
to Old Wade House trail. Noted that the
geography of this part of the Kettle Moraine is more striking than the southern
unit. The eskers are taller and
narrower. The kettles are deeper,
longer, and steeper.
09:50 HWY A
10:22 Crossing
Kettle Moraine Drive right by the Group Camp.
Blister is starting due to bad inserts on the boots. Starting to get some tired feet and
legs. Break time coming soon.
10:40 Picnic
Area. Take a 25 minute break at the car.
Parking lot is
very full and has a lot of activity.
People coming and going. Talked
with one guy putting the last minute touches on his dog before the pheasant
hunting opener the next morning.
The clouds
have settled in and the temperature has dropped a few degrees.
11:05 Back on
the trail.
11:30 Halfway!! Large intersection of ski trails and hiking
trails in prairie. Where is the
trail?? Did some bushwhacking and found
the trail again.
11:50 Crossed
HWY 67. 2.5 miles to the next
shelter. Then 4.5 miles back to the
car. 7.0 miles to go!
11:55 Passed the
9 mile marker. 4 hours 16 minutes minus
25 minute break. Very pretty fall colors
in this area.
12:18 Mile
10. Forest floor is completely covered
in a blanket of yellow and brown. The
trail is rocky and most of those are covered by this fallen vegetation. The going is a little slow. The sky has become much darker. The contrast of the bright yellow on the
trees and on the forest floor against the dark grey leaves my vision a little
disoriented.
12:38 Parnell
Shelter.
12:48 Parnell
Trail. Left the Ice Age Trail. Starting to sprinkle.
13:00 On the
tower trail. Dozens of middle school
kids are at the tower, so I parked on a bench to take a break. Rain is increasing. The plan is to take the Tower Trail up to a
run of power lines. At that point the
trail nearly intersects with a horse trail, which will then intersect with the
IAT. Looks like the shortest route back.
13:20 Finished a
break and walking past the fire tower. I’ll
save the tower for another day. Feet are
just about dead. Walking on
two-by-fours.
13:55 At the
horse trail. Need a short break. Just about out of gas. About a half mile to the IAT. Only needed about 20 yards of bushwhack to
get to the horse trail.
14:08 On the IAT
again. Maybe 2 miles left?
14:19 Back at
the 9 mile mark. 1.5 miles left.
15:07 DONE! 16.5 miles.
The last two miles were really tough.
Legs and feet had nothing left.
A spectacular fall day and a gem of a trail segment.
