Ice Age Trail - Plover River and Dells of the Eau Claire

GPS Track File

     There is little better I can think to do on a day off work than to go hiking.  Monday November 9^th, 2015 was a beautiful fall day, perfect for a northern Wisconsin adventure.  Today’s adventure would be a 13.5 mile hike on the Ice Age Trail covering both the Plover River and Dells of the Eau Claire segments.

     The day started off at 07:00 in a gravel parking lot on CTY Z in Marathon County.  The sun was just up and barely visible on the horizon when Gail showed up to lend me a hand on the hike by shuttling me the 12 miles to the start of my hike on CTY HH.  Along the way Gail pointed out some places I’d go by and talked briefly about her history on the trail.   Folks like Gail keep the trail going.  I’m not only thankful for the ride but her time spent keeping the trail in shape and available.   As it turned out she was going to perform some maintenance on a nearby segment and ended up spending more time on the trail than I did.

     I had some trouble with a trekking pole after getting dropped off, delaying my hike by about 5 minutes.  Sometimes the one of them gets very finicky and does not want to tighten.  I had to fiddle about pulling it apart and putting it together a few times before it wants to cooperate again.  I was almost to the point of stowing it and using just one, but gave it just one more try… and it took.  Phew.  There have lately been some discussions on an IAT forum on the whether to use hiking poles.  With my leg issues I feel like I have little choice.  I did 9 miles on Saturday (two days ago) with Ruth and some friends.  Did that without trekking poles and believe me the last 2 miles were pretty rough.  I wasn’t sure I’d be recovered in time for this hike.  

     Oh yeah – worthy of a sideline.  We were hiking on the ski trails in the Southern Kettle Moraine.  We showed up and there was whole pile of tents and people.  There was an endurance race underway.  The longest of which would have the runners circle that 9.2 mile loop 22 times.   We hiked the opposite direction of the race and you can imagine that we got to know some of the runners pretty well by the end of your hike, seeing some of the 3 times.

     At 07:26 I did finally take off down the trail.  Immediately the trail was a little difficult to follow and required looking for blazes.  This would be true of much of the first 2 miles of the trail.  The nature of these woods was that there seemed to be little underbrush which allowed the fallen leaves to evenly carpet the forest floor.   After a little while I was able to attune to the signs of previous foot travel and pick out the trail but there were still times I had to stop and look for the next yellow blaze.

     The first mile and a half of the trail snakes along ridges and small boulders on a well maintained and easily travelled trail.  The trail then drops into some lowlands where feet would be very wet if it were not for two long boardwalks.  The boardwalks look new, in the last couple years, and are truly a feat of craftsmanship. 

  

      I made HWY 52 parking lot at 08:41, making ok time, but I’m in no real rush today.

     The trail changes abruptly after crossing HWY 52 becoming a narrow footpath.  Much of this segment follows the Plover River and when I say follows I mean take a step to the left and you’re in the river.  The trail is quite rugged but not overly challenging.  There is a good bit of rock hopping and log walking to avoid numerous muddy areas.  In the days of adventure racing I wouldn’t hesitate for too long before wading through a swamp, but these days hiking I try to keep my feet dry for as long as possible.

     There is river crossing on rocks that even I was able to do, but to do that in wet conditions, like rain or high water I think I’d just get my feet wet and not risk a turned ankle.  But today – easily crossed even for one with my lack of balance.

     Shortly after crossing the river the trail takes a high route for a while before descending back down to the river.  By 09:30 the sun was now beginning to warm things up – a good thing.  I was piqued by a clanking from outside my pack.  My water bottle was hitting something metal or plastic, but I didn’t have anything strapped outside where that could happen.  Turned out it was large chunks of ice in my water bottle finally melting and moving around.

     The view from up on the ridge was grand.  The open woods, the rising sun, and a grove of densely packed poplar framed a view across the river valley.  The trail alternates a couple times between high and low. When high you have great view of the land and when low the river makes great music as you attempt to avoid mud by boulder hopping.

     A nice surprise on the final approach to Sportsman Rd is a section of prairie.  From the looks of it, this was likely a very old farm.  There is at least one large rock pile that was not made by the hand of nature.

     My legs were ready for Sportsman Rd and the large parking lot.  At 10:12 it was time for an extended break.  Around 6 miles in is where my legs begin to complain and today was no different.  What was different today was that the sun was out, 50 degrees, no bugs.  Perfect for just sitting still for a while.

     After a 20 minute break the 3.5 mile hike along Sportsman Rd began.  The first mile or so of the connector is paved but then gives way to gravel – sort of.  The gravel is well packed and nearly as hard as asphalt.  I stuck to the sides where the gravel was a little softer.  The road went by quickly and was mostly bordered by woods with only a couple of buildings set back; a very pleasant walk in 50 degree sunny weather.

    I met up with the trail again at 11:38.  I had a notion that the trail would be about a quarter mile or more into the park, but after about 200 meters there was the dam and footbridge!!  Dells of the Eau Claire.  Ok.  Confession time.  I camped here the night before.  I pulled in around 14:00, poked around the park a bit, drove into the campground, looked for self registration and did not find anything.  Huh.  I looked online to make sure the campground was open.  But nobody here, no self registration.  Well, I setup anyway before it would get dark.  I’d been down to the park manager’s office and didn’t see anything to indicate the campground was closed.  Figured a ranger would be by later and could figure things out.  After 4:30 there was nobody left in the park – at all.  I spent a quiet and cold night in site #17.

     Now, I’m back at the park manager’s office the next day.  The first sentence of the first paragraph of the brochure tacked up on the board – the brochure I’d read the day before – Park and campground are open May 1 through Oct 31.  Ummm, shrug.

    

     If you’ve not been to this park I’d recommend it highly.  I’d been to the park about 17 years ago (minus a couple weeks) but did not get to see much of it.  Shortly after hitting the trail along the river the person I was with sprained her ankle cutting our hike short.  Today, I’d get to see a bit of it.

     Well, ok, this is not Wisconsin Dells, or the bluffs along the Kickapoo, but this is certainly one of Wisconsin’s hidden gems.  If you can’t get into this park, you should stay home and watching a shopping channel!

     I took a bit of break, shorter than I thought I would, but long enough in the main part of the park.  Took off my boots and put my legs up on a bench.  There were several people in the park, but not a multitude.  When I say several I mean like seven or eight.   One lady walked by with her dog.  She stopped and stared at me.  I noticed her looking and said “Hi.”  She replied, “Are you okay?”.   I laughed and told her I was just taking a break.  She quickly moved on.  I guess I looked a lot worse than I felt.  I actually felt pretty good.  Another couple (also with dogs) asked me if I was a thru-hiker and appeared to be mildly disappointed that I was not.

     I’d hit a point in the hike where my legs and sometimes my feet start to go to pieces.  Taking off my boots and rubbing my feet made a big difference and my legs, while tired, were not near cramping like they’d normally be.  Like they were on Saturday.  My body was deciding to behave itself today.

     Another 25 minute break and I was ready to roll.  In the park the IAT stays high on top of the bluffs, for the most part.  The North River Trail goes low and there is one particular rock down there that is known to frequently take out ankles.  Well, ok, one ankle, 17 years ago.   The viewing of the rapids and rocks was good today, but taking pictures from the north side of the river was tricky.  The low Autumn sun made getting good shots a bit difficult.

     The foot bridge (or high bridge as Gail calls it) is reached quickly if you’re not goofing around like I was.  The bridge affords some nice views of the river, especially off the west side of the bridge.

     The rest of trail is generally a good well used trail that picks its way around trees and rocks and closely hugs the river.  I’ve been on many river side trails in Wisconsin and the UP and this part of the trail is among the best.  The river flows quickly and shallow over rocks and even a small falls. The trail sticks very close to the river, sometimes no more than a couple feet from the edge.  The sounds, smell, and view of the water are right at hand.  Shortly after the footbridge crossing and before you hit Sandberg Island be sure to catch the hidden waterfall of a creek tucked nicely in a cove on the other side of the river.  I couldn’t get a good picture of it with the lighting and the position of the falls, but even if I did the pic would spoil the surprise.

     I made it back to the CTY Z parking lot at 13:22, but I wasn’t done yet.  I’d completed the Ringle segment in late July including the logging road and trail that head north from CTY N to Thornapple Creek Rd.  I’d not done the road segment along Thornapple Creek Rd.  That would a quick mile out and back to complete today’s hiking.

     The GPS read 13.6 miles.  Those miles included pavement, gravel, river crossings, high ridges, mud puddles, boardwalks, waterfalls, questioning stares, 30 degree temperature change, and a good deal of peace and quiet.