A Hike On The Blue Spring Lake And Blackhawk Segments Of The Ice Age Trail
Sunday, October 21, 2007 - Training for an attempt to thru-hike the Ice Age Trail in 2008
Hi,
Another unbelievable day of weather on the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin! It was 80 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudless, with a mild breeze when we departed our van at the Emma F Carlin Trail parking lot north down County Highway Z about an 8th of a mile to the IAT trailhead. It was a late start, 11:48 am for a 14.2 mile hike on some pretty hilly terrain with the sun setting earlier at the end of the first month of fall. We new we were in a race with the sun to see if we could be off the trail before it was total darkness. We were up for a challenge and prepared in the event the sun beat us, our headlamps were packed in a very accessible pocket in our Camelback hydration bags. As we headed west on the trail the first things we noticed were the stunning colors of the leaves on the trees - yellows, gold, brown and the crunchiness of this years fallen leaves. It was but a few hundred yards before we started our first of many climbs up, over and around many of the topographical features left from the last glacier that visited Wisconsin. I often wonder how much change in feet of elevation one makes as they traverse the Ice Age Trail and how it compares to some of the other great national scenic trails.
Biscuit and Gravy
(Click on individual picture to enlarge)
dps