Today’s goal was to reach the Lake Eleven segment. So, the Ice Age Trail is only about half complete now. This means that to do a thru-hike, you have to hike one segment, then walk or run to the next one along a “connecting road route” if the next segment doesn’t directly follow. The Ice Age Trail Alliance gives suggested connecting road routes, but you can also take your own.
The connecting road route listed for today was about 40 miles (64 km) to get you from Cornell to a spot in the Chequamegon National Forest. I mapped out a route that was more like 26 miles (42 km), but you had to spend many miles walking on the shoulder of busy Highway 64. So it was not a fun day.
Heading to Lake Eleven
At first, walking on blacktop is fun. A relief, if you will. There’s no bushwhacking. No scratches from wild raspberries. No tripping on rocks or sticks or climbing over downed trees. And no mosquitoes! But after a few hours, it’s awful.
For one thing, the bottoms of your feet kill you. Well, part of my route took me along Polley Lane, a quieter road that parallels Highway 64. Sounds good because there’s no traffic, but it’s a gravel road. It was sort of a relief on my feet, but sort of not. In addition, it was sunny and hot out, so there was virtually no shade. Thankfully, during my last few hours on the road, some clouds moved in.
My tendonitis appears to be totally gone – yay! – but my tweaked knee said it would like another day or two of walking. So I complied after trying to run a few quarter-milers. It was frustrating not to be able to run along blacktop – my feet would have felt much better, because I would have gotten off of it sooner. But, again, I have to keep the big picture in mind.
Goal Accomplished
At the end of the day, I finally reached the Lake Eleven segment. This one is 14 miles (22.5 km) in the beautiful Chequamegon National Forest. I did the first 3.8 miles (6.1 km) of Lake Eleven, and it was wonderful. Fingers crossed the rest of the segment is just as nice.
Oh! Can’t forget to note that I’ve now completed one full week. How many miles have I gone? I haven’t calculated yet (I’m too tired at the end of each day). But it’s somewhere around 200. So I’ve got about 900 left.
Oops. Can’t forget to mention one fun thing. A few miles into my walk along Hwy. 64, Ed ran up to me and insisted I open a birthday gift. Now, I hate opening birthday gifts early, and he knows that. But he insisted.
As I unwrapped the package on the shoulder of the highway, I was almost blinded. Two of the blazest-orange shirts I’ve ever seen tumbled out. Ed said the butter-yellow shirt I was wearing made me blend in with the vegetation, and these shirts would make me more visible. Did they ever!
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