Tackling Lapham Peak and Wildflowers at Scuppernong Springs

I'm exhausted!  Last night Wayne and I brought the fifth wheel out to Ottawa Lake at Kettle Moraine for its first voyage in 2015.  This morning we were up early and headed over to the Lapham Peak Unit to tackle most of the Lapham Peak segment of the Ice Age Trail.

It's all about the ups and downs on this segment, and up we went to the top of Lapham Peak which is actually a kame with great views of the surrounding area.  It was named after Increase Lapham,

From the Wisconsin Historical Press Society's website about the book about Increase Lapham:

Lapham's ability to observe, understand, and meticulously catalog the natural world marked all of his work, from his days as a teenage surveyor on the Erie Canal to his last great contribution as state geologist. Self-taught, Lapham mastered botany, geology, archaeology, limnology, mineralogy, engineering, meteorology, and cartography. A prolific writer, his 1844 guide to the territory was the first book published in Wisconsin. Asked late in life which field of science was his specialty, he replied simply, "I am studying Wisconsin."

notice Holy Hill at the right above the lake

I haven't hiked with Wayne since the Smokies in October and I had to admonish him to slow down.  I have shorter legs and haven't been very mindful of my using my inhaler as often as I should lately!

Lapham Peak in Delafield is very popular and heavily used with a series of trails for use.  We saw lots of folks out with dogs and runners seem to really like it there too.  We made it about 2.5 miles in and turned around and hiked back out.  I'll finish the "bookends" of the segment tomorrow morning after Wayne leaves the campground to take the fifth wheel home.

When we got back to our campsite it wasn't long before I crossed the road by myself and wandered in to the Scuppernong Springs hiking trail.  Barbara and Ron were right, they have done a lot of work restoring this area, I almost don't recognize it from the last time I hiked it in 2012.

ditched the hiking boots and the big pack for this easy stroll

The trail passes six springs that are formed when the water table reaches the surface.

Scuppernong Springs, notice the young guys stopping at the far end

Marsh marigold blooming!

bubbling water leaves circular marks in the sand

After I passed Scuppernong Springs I saw a sluggish mouse on the trail.  I helped move him off the trail, but it's likely he will make someone an easy meal before the day is done.

The picture below marks Emerald Spring, a lovely spot where I dropped my iPhone in the spring and then had to crawl through the space at the bottom of the rail and snatch it out of the water.  That's twice this month I've dropped camera equipment in the water.  What is wrong with me??

Besides the water (which I'm starting to think I should stay far away from in the future) a few new  flowers are popping out to say hello.

bloodroot

I accidently hit the button that turns the viewfinder around on the phone so here's a picture of what the flowers see when I'm staring down at them.

bloodroot just opening up

This one was in the swampier section of the trail, anyone know what it is??  There were about 8 of them in one area and I didn't see them anywhere else.

I almost missed the Mayapple colony, they were a nice surprise as I was making my way off the trail and back to the campground.

My Wayne is a patient guy and he was right where I left him.  Five miles was enough for him and he was happy to watch the birds and ground squirrels while listening to the radio and having a beer or two.

What's on Woodchuck Way?

I'm big on sculpture made from "found objects", and was pleasantly surprised when we followed some signs on Sunday to Woodchuck Way and stumbled upon a sculptor in the town of Colgate near the Ice Age Trail.

The artist's name is Paul Bobrowitz Jr. and he has quite a collection assembled on the property.

From pieces large to small, he has them all.

With so many to look at, it was hard to pick a "favorite" but I know Wayne would have liked the one that incorporated the glass insulators.

Personally I was quite enchanted by the whimsical family of frogs on bikes and am seriously considering going back for one to put in the front yard.

If you want to see more of his work he is located at N93W29174 Woodchuck Way in Colgate, Wisconsin or you can call at 262-538-1495.

Loew Lake Segment - and Some Criticism on the IAT Guidebook

Let me start by saying that knowing I'd have a ride and not having to walk a segment in both directions was pretty awesome this weekend.  However, I'd like to also say that the Ice Age Trail Guidebook that I waited to be published last year is missing some pretty important things and that is not so awesome.  I know they can't include everything, but the trail descriptions are so sparse as to be almost useless.  The maps are so basic it is hard to see what you need to know such as where to get on the trail.  The descriptions of where to get on the trail heads are mostly vague.  Why in this day and age could they not have included GPS coordinates?  I can stand at the trailhead and hit a button that will send a text with that information to let Katrina know exactly where I am but they do not include it in the guidebook.  The book didn't even include the name of the town of Erin that the segment is in, therefore I couldn't find it by putting the nearest intersection in to my GPS because I kept guessing at the town and none of my guesses were correct.

However, on the Loew Lake segment itself I ran across a sign that not only had a topography map of the area but detailed mileage that broke the segment down so you knew where you were and how long to the next "landmark".  It was incredibly helpful, and I know my "Hiking in the Smokys" book provides details like that. I can't imagine why such basic information is not included in the guidebook either.  Every time I want to hike a section I spend way too much time trying to figure out how to get where I want to go.  The website is even more useless, I suspect in an attempt to get you to buy the guide like I did.  There is a link on the page for GPS waypoints, but why not in the book?  I tried opening the online file but I don't have Office on my laptop so it wouldn't open, and I don't want to use Dropbox which is the other option.  I paid for the book, in my opinion it should have been included in it. Thoughts?

how hard would it be to this for every segment in the Guidebook?
Notice the GPS coordinates at the bottom.

Another thing the IAT Guidebook does not provide is much in the way of information on what to expect on the trail as far as difficulty.  Giving it a rating is not as helpful as pointing out whether or not you are going to be going up and down a lot of eskers.  If the terrain is gentle the hike will go quicker than if there is a lot of scrambling involved.

Ups and downs on the last mile and a half of the Loew Lake segment

typical eskers bookended the trail segment

Both ends of the trail had some eskers but the majority of the hike was an easy meander through some gently rolling fields.  One of which provided a view of the Basilica of Holy Hill which is built on a kame.  Finished in 1931 it stands where numerous other chapels stood before it and is the most visited church in the Midwest.  It is the located on the next segment to the north, but I'm saving it until the fall because the views of the fall color are supposed to be spectacular.

The trail leaves the fields and uses Emerald Drive in two different spots, once for .2 mile and the other time for .4 mile.  It wasn't so bad, the state designated Rustic Road was scenic and had a nice sandy shoulder to walk on.

Emerald Drive as it climbs up to County Hwy K from trailhead

Nothing new was spotted growing along the trail, just some more skunk cabbage and hepatica.  Not that I wasn't happy to see the perky little blossoms again!

A portion of the trail also ran alongside the Oconomowoc River, just like the Monches Trail did.  It made a good place to stop to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine.

I completed approximately 4.5 miles in just over 2 hours, something I wasn't expecting but luckily my ride was able to come earlier than originally planned.  We used the extra time to photograph giraffes on the side of the road, it was fun to see one with Katrina along in the car since it's a running joke of ours.

It even had a nosy pal who wanted to know what was going on inside the house.

We also saw signs promising "spectacular sculptures" so we took a detour to get a look.  More on that tomorrow!

Leinenkugel Mural

The Leinenkugel mural shown here was visible from Hwy 43 heading north out of Milwaukee and I'm glad I got a picture of it last summer because there's a different one there now that isn't as nice.

On one of the nearby underpasses is a depiction of Joshua Glover.  He was a slave from Missouri who sought asylum in Racine, Wisconsin in 1854.  His master found out where he was and had him jailed, where abolitionists soon surrounded the Milwaukee County Jail and  broke down its doors to free him and get him safely to Canada.

Linking up to Monday Mural today, tomorrow I'll share my views on my Sunday hike of the Loew Lake segment of the Ice Age Trail.

Wet and Regret on the Monches Segment

It's another beautiful day in southeastern Wisconsin so I slung an overnight bag into my car and headed for the Monches Segment of the Ice Age Trail.   I needed to burn some calories this weekend because I finally broke down and had some truffles from Chubby Chipmunk in Deadwood, South Dakota delivered.  I've only eaten one and half so far....but the more exercise I get the more I can eat without regret, right?

Chubby Chipmunk: hopefully not my new nickname!

I got on the 3.1 mile long Monches Segment of the Ice Age Trail on E. Kilbourne by a railroad underpass filled with colorful graffiti.  It looked like there may have been a basic mural underneath at some point because I spied some hot air balloons floating above the "tags".

You may have seen on the Weather Channel the other day that our area got hit with some heavy rain and severe thunderstorms.  That tornado that leveled Rochelle, Illinois passed about a mile north of our house as it lost intensity on its trek into Wisconsin.  The sirens were going, the rain came down in sheets and we even got hail, but luckily the tornado was no longer on the ground.

All that rain means high water on the Oconomowoc River, and some of the trail was a little squishy and muddy too but that's what waterproof hiking shoes are for!

$600.00 shot?

Always willing to do what I have to do to get the shot I want, for the picture above I tucked my extra lens in my pocket, shed my pack and climbed up on a very large fallen tree to get a higher vantage point.  Getting up wasn't too hard, walking along the tree not so bad either.  It was the not-quite-big-enough jacket pocket that was the problem and my extra lens went rolling out and landed in the water.  Do I regret being so casual with a lens that cost me almost $600?  I hope I don't have to, I'll send it in to Canon and see if it can be cleaned up but it was loaded with water, not to mention the drop from about 6 feet in the air, who knows what it hit on the way down.

Since I was only about five minutes from the car I switched my DSLR out for my point and shoot and put the lens tragedy out of my mind.  There was nothing I could do about it and I was determined to enjoy the hike.  It wasn't long before all I was focusing on was the red headed woodpecker who didn't fly away and the skunk cabbage blooming on the side of the trail.

skunk cabbage 

hiking stick is great for pulling stuff aside without getting your hands dirty!

There was even one lonely marsh marigold blooming, putting on a show just to cheer me up.

The Monches Segment is mostly flat and meanders through the woods, keeping close to the Oconomowoc River and a few little brooks cascading towards it.

Oconomowoc River 

I noticed a ridiculous amount of trout lily pushing up out the ground and a passing couple confirmed the fact that in another week or two the middle of the segment is eye popping.  They also warned me that up ahead where the trail crossed the river there was some flooding and I might need to turn back.  That wasn't an option today, I had a plan to have Katrina pick me up at the end of the segment since she was nearby at the Milwaukee Zoo with her new boyfriend who lives in Waukesha.

Two gals came around the corner with their shoes in their hands and confirmed that while the water was cold it was easy to follow the trail through the 50 feet or so where the trail was flooded so I took my shoes off and that's what I did!

A boardwalk and a bridge waited for me on the other side so I let my feet dry out before continuing on.  I knew this section was kind of swampy and I chose this time of year to hike it in order to avoid hordes of mosquitoes which was a great plan, I certainly have no regrets when it comes to avoiding tick and skeeter season when I can.

bridge rail lichen

After crossing the Oconomowoc River on the bridge the river was on my right and gradually I left it behind as I started a gradual climb up some eskers.  It was great to have such a level hike for a change, but I was happy to see what is becoming familiar glacial terrain for me as I keep exploring the Ice Age Trail.  I timed the end of the segment perfectly and Katrina and Charlie met me at the terminus minutes after I got there.  Tonight I'm camping a half an hour south of where I hiked at Ottawa Lake campground and tomorrow I'll tackle the 4.8 mile Loew Lake Segment and take advantage of Katrina's proximity to this area again to get it all done in one shot.

Hepatica at Brady's Rocks

Looking for an Ice Age Trail section to hike yesterday I decided to retry getting past Brady's Rocks on the Eagle Segment.  Remember last June when I was engulfed by mosquitoes when I attempted it?  I figured April was a good time to amble on through without becoming dinner for a horde of blood sucking insects.

Not only did I make it through alive, but right after I stopped filming I spotted Hepatica growing on the ground!  Spring has finally arrived in southeastern Wisconsin!

Not much else is growing yet, trust me, I looked hard.

Silurian dolomite

Once past the dolomite and the chorus of frog song the trail goes through a prairie which is probably stunning come summer.  I hiked all the way to where the trail intersects with Wilton Road before turning around.  It took me an hour going back without stopping to my car so I guess the portion I did at about 3 miles each way.

Even without fresh flowers and green grass it was a nice walk now that the birds are out and the sun was shining.

Sun!

I wasn't the only one who thought so, I met up with a couple and their very happy dog who was running around in circles and then she stopped and dragged her whole body along the ground before flopping down contentedly.

The couple told me to keep my eye out for some nesting cranes and I told them to keep their eye out for the Hepatica by Brady's Rocks.  When I met them again going the other direction we compared notes and while I didn't see the cranes I did tell them I saw turtles and they headed off to look for those down by the creek that cut across the prairie.

As if that wasn't enough for one day I had about 3/4 mile of the Scuppernong Segment I hadn't completed so I drove down the road a couple of miles to knock that off my list too.  The DNR was busy cutting down trees as I wandered through.

Don't worry, I checked to see which way they were falling before moving on past them!

It was a happy day on the trail now that spring has definitely arrived and I guess I'm not the only one who thinks so!

Wayne and I have reservations to camp at Ottawa Lake in a week and a half and I'm hoping things will be a little greener by then and a few more wildflowers out too.  I think it will be a good time to start the Lapham Peak segment a bit to the north if I bring my car along.  It's a little over 7 miles long so I don't really want to walk that one both ways if I don't have to!