This weekend, Ed and I were snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at ABR in Ironwood – which is very near Saxon and the eastern end of Wisconsin’s portion of the North Country Trail (NCT). I quickly decided to tack on a short hike.
You see, back in November 2017, my friend Doug and I had planned to hike on the NCT from the Wisconsin-Michigan border all the way to Copper Falls. Unfortunately, it snowed that November weekend and temperatures plunged to 0 F (-18 C).
Doug wasn’t up for a long, cold, snowy hike, so we skipped about 12 miles (19.3 km) of road walking and just hit the trails. But that left me with a dilemma – when to scoop up those last few miles?
A Winter’s Day Hike to Saxon and Beyond
Ed and I didn’t have quite enough time on Sunday to hike the entire 12 miles (19.3 km). Well, I would have done them all, but Ed wanted to get back home earlier to unpack from the weekend and get ready for the work week ahead. So we compromised and I hiked south from Hwy. 2 instead of the border.
It was a lovely hike. The weather was cool, but not cold. Road walks can be hot and brutal under a bright, summer sun, but not so in the winter! The snow was beautiful, too.
The first mile was downhill into Saxon, and then the road curved here and there until I hit the spot where the trail begins and where Doug and I had started two years ago. Ed hiked some of it with me, in between shuttling the car.
I guess today’s miles are the start of my 2020 Hike 100 NCT Challenge!
Snowshoe and Stubs
WI NCT miles today: 8.4
WI NCT miles to date: 172.2
Total NCT miles to date: 888.1
Total NCT miles to go: 3,711.9
