Disappointment in Portage

Here's a picture from the Ice Age Trail Guidebook regarding the Portage segment.  See how helpful?  Most roads not labeled, even the ones where the parking lots are located.  Notice the 12.4 connecting miles to one segment at the right of the page and the 21.7 miles to the other segment noted at the bottom.

Downtown Portage itself is a little charming, I drove through it while trying to make my way to the trailhead.

I liked the City Bank of Portage building, very Art Deco or maybe it's Streamline Moderne, right down to the deposit box.  Otherwise there didn't seem to be much to get excited about as far as architecture goes.

Finding the trailhead was a nightmare.  My new GPS couldn't find Agency House Road or the Historic Indian Agency House or any combination of those words.  I visited the website for the museum's specific address and still no go.  I drove up and down the main road until I finally spotted a small sign that got me going in the right direction.  The road the lot is on actually is unnamed, but the intersection pictured below is Albert Road and Hwy 33.

I stopped in to the Agency House visitor building for a few minutes, looked at a few displays and used their bathroom.  Not much to see, in my opinion.  I did like the sketch below showing the agency house in the mid 1800's.

The trailhead is a little further down the road and I parked, sprayed up for mosquitoes and crossed the bridge.  I made it about five minutes down the trail before I turned around and jogged back to the car because the mosquitoes were eating me alive. No way was I tolerating that for over a mile.

Marquette segment now closed

Portage Canal

Next place I could access the trail a mile down and I discovered that all the "trail" consisted of was a stroll through a series of rundown industrial buildings for half a mile on the road I was driving on.  I kept driving until I got to the old feed mill that at least was fun to look at thanks to the chicken outside.

From there the trail popped onto a bike path for a few blocks and then back on to a residential street for a few more.  The only place of note along the way was a Greek Revival home at 506 Edgewater Street built by Pulitzer Prize winning author Zona Gale in 1906.  The rest of the residential area was drab and uninspired.

Across the street from that building I spotted some cool sedum growing on top of someone's retaining wall in the front yard.

At this point there is maybe half a mile left to the "trail" and I said to hell with it and just drove to the end to look at the view of the Wisconsin River.

The only other thing that was worth looking at was a mural I spotted while driving around which depicts the canal and the feed mill.  Portage was a weird choice for a town for a hiker to walk through on foot for the IAT, especially with no trail in either direction for so many miles and not much to look at while in town, at least on the marked trail.  And the lady who gave me a ride to the Verona segment the other day confided there are only a few more trail miles planned to be added in the next 5 years and that a few that cross private land are being taken away.  Seems they've hit a wall acquiring access for the trail.  I hope other states that are attempting these kinds of trails are having better luck because truthfully I think they would have been better off just leaving each area with their own trails of interest instead of attempting to "connect" them into a whole that doesn't even come close to being cohesive.

Just my cranky opinion, linking up to Monday Mural.  I've got one more post about the IAT that is more favorable and then I'm taking a break from it for a few months at least, starting with a solo trip up to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore later this week to try and beat the heat!  I know I won't be disappointed up there and there are miles of trail unexplored on the Grand Marais end, I just hope I luck in to a campsite since the reservable ones are all taken, and that the ticks and mosquitoes are starting to dwindle a bit too.

I'm actually starting to make my peace with the ticks, (I can't believe I just said that, I'm sure I'll change my mind if they get in my hair again) but the mosquitoes are another story, all that smacking and itching and my allergies won't tolerate insect repellent so I'm just doomed!  Anybody else going to be in the U.P. this weekend??

No More Roads

I've talked a lot about the Ice Age Trail for the last few months.  I've learned a lot too.  The trail claims to be over 1,000 miles (bear with me) that winds through the state of Wisconsin from St. Croix Falls to Sturgeon Bay.  Last count had it at 1105.7, I believe.  Here's the deal: I did the math and there are only 658 actual miles.  The other 447 miles are on "connecting roads".  What that means is you are supposed to drag your behind down actual paved roads, some of them highways in order to be considered a "Thousand Miler".  This girl?  Not happening.

the sound of busy traffic and a view of subdivisions

This is the hardest post I've ever had to write.  I want to say some things that other people are most likely going to be upset about.  First, as I mentioned before, I got a ride to a drop off point which was great because then I only had to walk to my car.  The not so great part?  I was led to believe I was getting a hiking buddy, when that ended up not being the case.  I was given a set of options, and told the driver I wanted to do something fun, that I really wasn't interested in walking on roads, didn't do that well in the heat.  I also said that I didn't intend to complete the entire trail, didn't care about every tenth of mile, and was willing to do anything from 4 to 10 miles. I didn't get a lot of advice, was shown a handful of maps, and when I chose to finish the Verona segment and start on the Montrose segment I believe that would have been the opportune time to say, "But, Pam, there really are a lot of road miles on that one, maybe something else would better suit your style".  What I got was, "You know that's about 10 miles, right?  Okay, well I'll drop you off because I'm going somewhere else."

Ah, the roar of semis and the stench of exhaust fills the air

I got dropped exactly where I left off and for the first mile walked alongside a busy road and then crossed over a busy highway.  I was never so delighted to see the entrance into a wooded area in my life!

mosquitoes and False Solomon's Seal were abundant

I wasn't in the woods of the Prairie Moraine Park very long when I came out in to a prairie area that was very nice and the segment ended at a dog park.  For this 2 mile long section at the end of the Verona segment half of it was enjoyable anyway.  But now I had road in front of me and the heat was starting to get to me.

From there I was on foot alongside a fairly busy road again (semi truck blew my hat off and I had to go chasing it) but I did get 10 seconds of joy when I spotted a small flock of sheep.

I got on some side roads and roasted in the near 80F heat trudging along on asphalt...for almost an hour and a half.  I kid you not.  Total "connecting" route between the Verona and Montrose segments was 2.9 miles, something I did not realize or I would never have chosen this plan.  No shoulder either, so I was literally walking in the road, and to top it all off it went up and down a series of fairly steep hills.   Things could have been worse, at least I wasn't carrying any camera equipment, just my iphone because my battery had died for my Canon.

Now haunting my nightmares - The Montrose Segment

I thought I'd be happy to see the bike trail that began the Montrose segment, but I was wrong.  I spent 15 minutes with my shoes and socks off on a bench trying to cool off my feet, and then began another hour and a half of walking on the most boring bike trail ever designed.  The picture above?  That was it, at least 4 miles of exactly what you see there, no variation whatsoever.  No wildflowers, no curves, nothing but mile after mile of weeds lining the dirt track that was packed down as hard as concrete.  I thought I was going to lose my mind.  It was all I could do not to cry, to be honest.  So hot, and so ugly with nothing to distract me from how miserable I was.

Thankfully I had a hiking stick to pull back most of them

When I finally turned off the bike path I thought I'd be elated, but it was just a mown path that circled a corn field until it ducked into the trees where I was simultaneously attacked by mosquitoes and thorny plants for half a mile.  I don't know which drew more blood.

Half a mile left to go and I could see the parking lot where my car was the whole time because I was on the f*#*ing asphalt again.  Pure torture.  I completed 10.5 miles in 4.5 hours and I can't remember the last time I was so unhappy.  Only accomplishment of the day was that I finally remembered to use the Endomondo app on my phone to track my mileage but it sucked back battery like crazy and I only had 10% battery remaining.

So, no more roads.  If I want to see Wisconsin from the asphalt I will get in my car.  If I want to use a bike trail through nowhere I will use my bike.  I hike to connect with nature and there was absolutely none of that going on.  Remember those 447 "connecting route" miles that are part of the Ice Age Trail that I mentioned at the beginning?  That doesn't even count the segments where the trail is incomplete and it tosses you out onto the road for less than a mile.  I was generous and let those be counted as trail miles.  I can deal with a half mile on the road before heading back in, but what the heck is all this about?  Who are these people who are walking on the roadside for 500 miles (33 miles between the Elkhart Lake and City of Manitowoc segments alone!!) to claim they accomplished the whole "trail"?

Something else the Ice Age Trail does is in lieu of a trail it takes you through "trail towns".   Okay, a mile through a quaint downtown and then back in to the woods or prairie is one thing, but some of these trails go for miles through some of the ugliest areas with absolutely no value to a hiker whatsoever.  I'll give you an example tomorrow when I introduce you to an experience I had a few weeks ago in Portage, another post I've been dreading writing because I didn't know what to say about how awful it was.

North? Or Was it South in Verona?

The skies couldn't stay sunny all day, that just isn't how it's done in Wisconsin.  After I left the Valley View segment I ran a few errands and then headed over to the Verona segment to discover the clouds had moved in.

I was hoping to meet up with a "Thousand Miler" member, but I couldn't find the parking lot she had indicated.  I went to the one further along the trail and sent her a message saying I was coming north.

The trail started out merged with the Military Ridge bike trail but quickly separated into a gravel road, and then turned again where I came upon ground squirrels and bunnies running for cover.

The path runs through some heavy grass along Badger Mill Creek that luckily wasn't infested with ticks.  If I had bothered to read my Guidebook I would have realized within the first 1/4 mile that I was going south and not north at this point...

Occasionally I remember to use the Google Maps app, and recently I uploaded the Endomondo app to track my mileage.  Of course I wasn't using them, I'm too busy playing with my camera and scaring up bunnies.

My luck continued to hold and no ticks were finding me, even in my little running shorts.  A few mosquitoes were out and about, but as long as I kept moving they left me alone.

Fleabane and Wild Parsnip

After almost 2 miles I finally checked Google maps and what I saw didn't make any sense.  Sure enough, I'd gone 45 minutes south instead of north so I turned around and started jogging back.

All that exercise made the black raspberries too tempting to resist, but I only had time for half a dozen before the mosquitoes tried to make a snack out of me.

Deptford Pink is out, and looked so pretty mixed in with the Fleabane, and it's safe to touch unlike the poisonous Wild Parsnip.  I love its tiny pink bloom, keep your eyes open because if you're not looking it's easy to miss.  Deptford Pink is a member of the dianthus family and its single blossom is only 1/3 inch or less across at the top of a tall, slender stalk.

I figured there was no way I'd make it back to the lot and see my missed connection there, but I looked around when I got there anyway.

I had made it as far as Whalen Road and County M before I turned back so the next day when I got an offer from Tess to get a ride to a trailhead I chose to finish the end of the Verona segment and start the Montrose segment.  But before that I camped at Lake Farm County Park,  where I spent $18 for a non-electric tent site.

The tent sites are pretty small and don't have fire pits (for those that care) but for the price it wasn't too bad and the bathrooms and showers were clean.  The RV sites were much nicer than the tent sites and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Madison.

So Wright It Can't Be Wrong

When I got a look at the weather forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week I tossed a few days worth of clothes in the car and headed north a bit even though I'd only been home a day from our little RV trip.  Comfortable weather is something I may not see again until September in Wisconsin, after all.

One of the trails I conquered was the Valley View segment of the Ice Age Trail.  It starts at Ice Age Lane in the Noll Valley subdivision.  Less than five miles from busy Mineral Point Road and West Towne Mall, but I never would have known I was that close to the city.

Trailhead

From the trailhead I followed the fence line a short distance to a woods, but before long it's nothing but wide open prairie that leads up to a beautifully restored terminal moraine.

Blue Mound in the distance

After the prairie is another residential area featuring Frank Lloyd Wright inspired homes.

No matter where I was on the 1.8 mile segment the views were stunning and the bugs weren't biting!  A 3.6 mile round trip hike through masses of wildflowers was a great way to start the day.

It stayed in the mid-seventies with a light breeze and lots of sun for most of the day, just perfect summer weather for hiking.

Loved walking in my running shorts from Walmart!

Over three days I hit quite a few Dane County highlights, including a night's stay at Blue Mound State Park which I reviewed before here.

Let's Go to the Mall! - Touring the St. Croix River Valley

We really got around in the 3 days we were at Willow River State Park.
One of our stops was at Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, Minnesota.

I didn't "feel" most of the sculpture, but I did like a few of the rather large pieces.

When we stopped in downtown Hudson to buy chocolates at Knoke's we noticed the old Post Office across the street had been turned in to a restaurant called the Postmark Grille.  On the inside they had kept the marble counter and the Postmaster doorway but everything else was removed and remodeled.  It was pretty neat, I gotta say I loved the metal eagle above the exterior door.

Knoke's Chocolates were satisfactory, but not really worth a drive out of the way or anything.  Another place that was satisfactory but not really worth a drive out of the way was the town of Hastings in Minnesota.  Their bridge that was erected in 2013 was awesome.

Their historic downtown that they tried to revitalize in the 1990's is withering away along the river.  The shops were dusty and empty, but most had the tin ceilings visible through the windows.

I liked the one that was originally probably the pharmacist.  What was that other word they used to use?  Apothecary?  See the little mortar and pestle at the top?

Hastings City Hall was a pretty colored brick, but it was closed.  We couldn't find the historic Dakotah County Courthouse.

There are always surprises when you wander without a plan and seeing a new huge bridge being built across the St. Croix River.  The Minnesota DOT even has a video showing the progress, but here's what we observed from the road.

We also took a daytrip in to the Twin Cities because Wayne had never been to the Mall of America, if you can believe that.  On the way we spotted the dome of St. Paul's and popped in for a look.

Wayne was afraid he would burst into flame when we entered but nothing mystical occurred.

I don't usually go inside churches on my architecture tours, it feels a little weird to me to take pictures when people are praying.  Signs proclaimed photography was allowed but I kept it to a minimum.

At the Mall of America Wayne really wanted to get a shave at the Art of Shaving but they were booked full for the whole day.

He also geeked out over the Lego display.  I geeked out over the Vera Bradley store and bought a new Smartphone 2.0 wristlet without having to worry about shipping.  They had just gone on sale that day in the Cobalt color.  Score!

There were weird looking folks at the mall.  I don't know what secret the unknown kid was telling the green fairy, could be anything, right?

And for those that caught the Robin Sparkles reference in the title, enjoy the video!!  Happy Canada Day!!