As the sun was setting in Lodi…
Cross Plains to Lodi
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7/25 – we set out from our B and B after a hearty breakfast for a full day’s walk and a night on the ground. We walked several hours of trail, followed by lots of country road with no traffic. We knew there were no official places to get water today, so we filled our canteens to the brim in the morning, and figured we could filter some water from Indian Lake, which looked lovely…
…until we saw the sign:
Yikes! Between blistering wildflowers and toxic algae, we’d better be careful! We ended up asking for water from a house along the road, and a Nice Person obliged, so all is well.
Our path took us through more fields of ripening corn. Look at this pic, where the crop on the right has bloomed with tassels, while the rows on the left are a few weeks behind. Corn sells here at the Piggly Wiggly for ten ears for a dollar. What is the midsummer price where you are?
Another benefit from today’s walk were loads of ripe blackberries in the woods, free for the sweet picking. We had our fill!
Happy to report that the Lodi Marsh section was mosquito-free, even at dusk. Jim found us a pretty level camping spot not far from the trail. We noted the sign that said the area was a combined hiking and hunting area, but didn’t register alarm until we heard gunshots in the field near our tent. Yikes! We then noticed that others hiking through were all wearing bright orange vests. Luckily, I was wearing my orange shirt, so we were as protected as we could be…
In the morning, we continued up into the hills for some beautiful views:
then back down, crossing into Columbia County.
The town of Lodi was quiet and friendly, with several parks and a stream running beside the Main Street.
Lodi’s sign says it is home to Susie the Duck – since 1948, a family of ducks has nested in the park right off Main Street every year, so the town sells cracked corn to encourage them to stay, and holds an annual Rubber Duck race in honor of the original Susie. What a nice story!
Now it’s time for Jim to plan the next leg of our journey, to another fun place to pronounce: Baraboo, and Devil’s Lake!
Verona to Cross Plains
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7/23 – the temperature dropped back to ‘normal’ today, high of mid 70s. This really is the nicest summer weather…
We hiked the Ice Age Trail segments south of town, and met Ruben, a trail volunteer, out mowing the sunny parts of the trail just for us. Thank you, volunteers, for all you do!
We saw a new sign on the trail today, warning us of wild parsnip ahead. It seems that this yellow wildflower is an invasive species that causes blisters if you touch it. Of course, the narrow trail was filled with the yellow flower, which grows about waist high. We did our best to avoid them, but time will tell, as it takes several days for the blisters to develop… Beware if you see these:
Belleville to Verona
7/21 – Cameo Rose B and B continued to delight us with fresh cut flowers and a four course breakfast garnished with mint and lemon balm from the garden. I meant to take a picture, but it slipped my mind when I saw the stuffed French toast… Oh my!
We got back on the Badger Trail, and had a lovely two hour trek on the straight Rails to Trails path before we found ourselves back on the highway at noon. Today was very warm by Wisconsin standards, in the upper 80s. Once again, a Nice Person of Wisconsin stopped for us almost immediately, saying that it was much too hot to walk. When we said we were on our way to Verona, this lovely lady changed direction and took us all the way to our hotel, even though she wasn’t originally going into town. Thank you, Nice Person!
We’ve decided that the reason so many people stop for us is my floppy blue hat. What do you think?
We will be in Verona for several days, completing the Ice Age trail segments nearest to town in the mornings, and returning to the hotel in the afternoon. This is an especially nice way to hike, as we can leave our packs behind.
7/22 – today the weather warns of record-breaking heat (high of 90!!), so we set out early to be done by the hottest part of the afternoon. The trail starts behind the public library, which, of course, is on Silent Street. Love a town with a sense of humor!
The trail took us through some wildflower-filled meadows and up a hill that let us look over the town below. We found ourselves humming “the hills are alive” and looking for Julie Andrews… What a lovely morning!
We want to take a moment to thank the state of Wisconsin again for setting aside land, mowing and maintaining so many parks, bike paths and multi-use trails, and the Ice Age Trail volunteers for all they do!
New Glarus to Belleville
We left little Switzerland this morning for a 12 mile walk north. Rather than go far out of our way to pick up the Ice Age Trail, we plan to get on the Badger Trail after a 4.5 mile road walk. No sooner did we get on the road and stick out our thumbs, than a car pulled up to offer us a ride. Christianne, from England, was on her way to church, knew right where the trail was, and brought us up to the trailhead. Another Nice Person of Wisconsin!
Now our walk was only 7.5 miles. The Badger Trail is also a bike trail, and we encountered several cyclists out on a beautiful Sunday morning. For a while we walked between walls of corn on either side, so high that we can’t see the farm buildings and silos.
By early afternoon we reached the Cameo Rose B and B, the very nicest place we’ve stayed. Here are some pix of the gardens where we relaxed away the afternoon, looking at gold finches and wild turkeys strutting through the yard, while listening to the waterfall:
Our hosts Dawn and Gary really love their place, and it shows. If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is!
A Day in New Glarus
7/19 – today is our day to take in the sights of New Glarus. You may think it strange that on our day off from hiking, we walk around town. What else should we do?
Since the Pet Evaporated Milk plant closed in the 60’s, New Glarus has been all about tourism. Originally settled in 1845, 193 courageous souls left the poverty of Glarus, Switzerland, and formed a new community here. We started the day touring a Swiss village attraction maintained by the historical society, with old buildings, tools and furnishings, including a really big pot used to make cheese.
For lunch, we finally visited Culvers, a Wisconsin food chain that specializes in Butterburgers and frozen custard. We’ve seen them in every town. They have an app so you can keep track of the frozen custard flavor of the day!
And then there were the painted cows… some commercial, some inspirational, all done by different artists. We walked the whole town to make sure we saw them all! Which one is your favorite?
Albany to New Glarus – Back on the Trail
7/17 – today we start a nice, flat 18 mike walk on a Rails to Trails multi-use path along the Sugar River, that the Ice Age Trail shares with the Sugar River Trail. We will break this walk into two days, camping out overnight, as the only town enroute (Monticello) does not have any lodgings. The young and strong would do this walk in one day, but I am the old and not-so-strong, and I want to test out the healing of my foot.
We encountered a retiree bicycling group from Madison, and the riders walked with us a while and took our picture. They hadn’t encountered hikers on their bike trail before!
We have food for the journey, but the map doesn’t indicate a place to refill our drinking water today. A challenge! Jim has been carrying his water filter, and today will be his first chance to use it. By mid afternoon, we were hot and thirsty, so at the next bridge, Jim scooped up some Sugar River and squeezed it through the filter to refill our canteens. The Sugar River is not sweet, but the water was very welcome. We each carry two quarts of water (adding 5 lbs. to our packs) plus Jim fills a collapsible water container with another two quarts for supper and breakfast during our last water stop of the day.
As you can see by Jim’s fashionable outfit, the mosquitoes were out in full force today. Not only did we need our net suits plus Deet, we had to zip the suits all the way up to our necks. Walking along like this makes me feel like an astronaut in a space suit, viewing the world from a distance. Eating reminds me of watching the females in Muslim countries eat wearing their veils. You can do it, but it’s no fun… Joggers and walkers stopped to ask where they could get suits like ours. Answer: Amazon!
7/18 – in the morning we broke camp and walked the last 5 miles to New Glarus.
This town was settled by a group of Swiss immigrants in 1845, and they turned their town into a little Switzerland. Chalet architecture and painted cows everywhere!
Even businesses not trying to attract tourists express the Swiss theme:
After checking into the Swiss Aire motel, we ate an authentic Swiss pub lunch of Brats and local beer at Puempel’s Olde Tavern.
Tomorrow, we will check out the tourist attractions!
Janesville to Albany
7/16 – last night we shared dinner at the home of our new friends Todd and Susan, who we met at church on Sunday. Todd drove across town to pick us up from the motel, and Susan prepared a delicious meal – the first home made meal we’ve had in over a month. We shared conversation about kids and grand kids (they have 14!), and a good time was had by all.
This morning, Susan graciously volunteered to drive us the 29 miles to Albany, so that my foot can continue to heal. This saved us a horrendous road walk. She brought along some fresh and dried comfrey, known to herbalists as ‘bone-knit’, and home-made salve to further help my recovery. What a wonderful and thoughtful person! Thank you, Susan and Todd – it was so nice to get to know you!
Here in Albany we are staying at the Albany House B and B, the only inn in town. At the beginning of our hike, I thought there’d be many B and Bs along the way, but it turns out that these posh stays are usually out in the countryside, making them impractical for travelers on foot who need access to groceries and restaurants close by. We were happy that Albany House was right in town, although the Main Street of the little town is torn up for the summer, which made finding supper a challenge.
Also staying at Albany House were a group of artists who meet here each month at the studio behind the house for art workshops. They were great conversationalists and lovely company.
So, what did we have for breakfast? Fruit parfait, homemade coffee cake, spinach pie and bacon baked with black pepper and brown sugar. We waddled back onto the trail not needing to eat for the rest of the day!
Whitewater to Janesville
7/12 – Well, we did not walk from Whitewater to Janesville, we took a bus. My left foot has been giving me increasing discomfort, so Dr. Jim prescribed a few days off, to see if it will heal. There is a sporting goods store in town, so I’m counting on a new pair of boots to help. We’re tucked into a very nice Motel 6, next door to a Cracker Barrel, across the street from a Walmart, so all our needs will be met while my foot gets some rest. (Somebody please tell Doug Nixon that I was wrong and he is so right about Cracker Barrel – the best restaurant ever!)
We’ve been following the Ice Age Trail for a full month now, and have walked over 300 trail miles, plus all the miles we add by walking into and out of towns. With the exception of the Nice People of Wisconsin who occasionally pick us up on our way into a town, we have been getting by on our own.
With the prospect of being laid up for a few days and seeing some long road walks ahead, Jim reached out to Tess, one of the Trail Angels who help support Ice Age Trail hikers in this county. Tess completed the 1100 mile trail last year by hiking in sections, and is one of the handful of women who have achieved this goal. She understood our frustration at being sidelined by injury, but assured us that it happens to everyone trying to complete the long road walks. In fact, she was surprised that we accomplished as much as we did.
Tess came to our motel with maps and suggestions of ways we could break up the miles differently, and encouraged us to reach out to other trail angels as we continue on. This is very good advice.
Next to our motel is the Janesville Bible Church. Whenever we find ourselves near a church on Sunday, we stop in. Last week in Eagle, it was a Catholic church. We sat through the mass, sang the hymns and walked out without any one saying a word to us.
This week’s service was about as different from that one as night is to day. There were only about 12 people, but just about everyone came up to introduce themselves and welcome us. After the service (and I’ll have you know that my verse finding skills are VERY good), the pastor’s wife invited us to stay at their home, and offered to make an herbal compress for my foot. We were touched by their friendliness, and will take them up on their offer of supper before we move on.
7/14 – This morning we walked the mile over to Gander Mountain, a huge camping/hunting/hiking store that just opened in town two weeks ago. (Coincidence or answer to prayer? You decide!) I danced out with a new pair of comfy boots, new socks, and new Keen hiking sandals to wear in wet weather. My feet feel better, and my spirit is elevated 100%. (Jim’s not so much, as the purchases went on his credit card…)
I don’t have many pix to share, so here is one from home of Lexi and Emma eating ice pops while watching Frozen. I find this amusing on several levels.
Train
The train whistle blast sure wakes you up in the morning!
We had a room at the saloon in Eagle, WI….close to the train tracks Here is the view from the door of our room.
Taking Our Time 