Pictures!

Typical of the Lodi Marsh segment

Janesville, home of bad haircuts for 21 years!

Pregnant triangle plates at Ray's in Edgerton

Awesome salad at Jennifer's.

Juliet (Joelle) wading through the trail in Verona. I'd guess this was the work of the Montague's.

Saw this in Madison


Where North begins? For who? People from Illinois aren't real people so they don't count. I'm from EC which is over 2 hours north of here and the North doesn't begin for us until we cross at least Hwy 64, 20 miles to the north of there.

Oxymoron

In Portage you walk along Mullet street for a bit and this is a typical view, seriously.

Gary and his sweet smoker!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! (Chaffee Creek)

Im guessing the handiwork of Matt

Hartman Creek

A lazy day in Point

Aug. 30
What a lazy day! My friend Tony headed back to his hometown of Watertown for the night so I lazed (I love the word lazed) around his house in Point while his roommates moved in. I met them last spring when I came up for the Point Bock Run. Tony, Brandon, Mike, Jeremy and non-roomie Kurt know how to party. To continue on the small world theme of late, Tony's roommate Brandon worked with my sister this summer. One thing about Point that really annoys me is people riding bikes refuse to ride on the streets and insist on riding on the sidewalks. Sidewalks are for people and streets are for bikes. It's not like there is a ton of traffic in Point. I almost felt like I was an annoyance to them because they had to slow down and go around me as I walked. Pretty lame.

The campus is abuzz with the incoming freshmen running around trying to figure everything out before the first day. I saw a couple girls this morning walking around finding all their classrooms. Freshmen. The returning students know better and wait for the last minute to get their books and everything else ready. You can always tell who the freshmen are because they walk around in large herds, vulnerable on their own, but safe within a herd. As they age and gain more confidence, they will break out on their own or into smaller pods and roam campus quieter.

Looking back over the last month, it doesn't feel like I've been drifting for that long, but I see how many miles my feet have covered and I stand in amazement. I've learned a lot and met many amazing people, all of that has prepared me for my expedition through the Northwoods. I'm going to need it all as the weather and seasons start their inexorable march towards another Wisconsin winter. There is no turning back now, only one way to go. Forward.

The Kindness of Strangers

Aug. 26
Mary Jane Thalacker carries the moniker of "Strawberry Lady" among hikers and she lived up to her name with a bowl of berries sprinkled with a little sugar for breakfast. I sure do like strawberries. Gary gave me the honor of signing his kitchen RV so my name will live on as he travels around to fairs and other events peddling his BBQ. I'll miss those guys, they were great!

I made it to Westfield and loaded up on groceries as I was not sure the next time I'd be able to restock would be. I tend to putz around quite a bit so between the grocery store and library, I spent over 3 hours in town somehow. Realizing, I needed to move on, I saddled up and headed out of town only to come across a bar called the Thirsty Beaver. With a name like that, I had to stop in for a drink...or two. An hour later I hit the road with many miles between Johann's and myself. I arrived at the I-39 wayside and the start of actual trail again. The 25 mile roadwalk between sections was getting a little old. Walking in Waushara County, I started to enjoy the scenery more than in the past. When I first came to the county a few years back, I didn't care much for the sandy soil, scrubby oaks and pine plantations, but actually getting out and being able to enjoy the land made me start to appreciate it more and realize that it is quite beautiful.

I got to Johann's in Richford in time for the start of the Packer game against the Colts, lucky "planning" on my part. People had been talking up this bar so I hade some high expectations and it lived up to them. A lot of the good conversation and jokes I heard aren't appropriate for this blog, but don't worry, I still wrote them down in my journal! Not everything was inappropriate though. I had a great "all you care to eat" chicken meal for $6. I wasn't very hungry but was still able to polish off 6 pieces of chicken and 2 helpings of the mashed potatoes. Not my best effort, but I feel I still got my money's worth. Johann came in and we talked for awhile about this and that and he let me pitch my tent behind his hotel across the street. Perfect! With my tent set up, I headed back to the bar and found one of the ladies walking around in a dress. Turns out no one believed that Miss Cindy had a dress so she had to prove them wrong. Later on, she felt bad for me sitting by myself at the end of the bar so she invited me over for some conversation. Her birthday was a few days earlier and I don't think she has stopped drinking since. Miss Cindy's (there are two Cindy's at Johann's so one was Cindy and the other was Miss Cindy) shot of choice was three quarters Jack Daniels and a quarter of apple pie which she sipped on the whole night. She also claimed I was the smartest person to ever thru-hike the trail. She knows those things I guess. Being a modest gentleman, I accepted her claim. Things started getting a little weird with language not fit for the blog. I think the only sane/regular person there was the bartender with tattoo covered arms. She was very pleasant and easy to talk to, plus she had a PBR tat on her arm. Can't go wrong with that! A couple shots and a few beers later, it was time for bed.

Aug. 27
The bar opened early for breakfast so I ambled over and had a little grub. Miss Cindy was back drinking already so I figured a bloody was in store for me. Regular Cindy was working the bar/kitchen and was pretty interested in the IAT and gave me a Johann's bandana to remember them by. Very nice of them! Miss Cindy, not wanting to be left out and always the thinker, had me autograph a piece of paper so if I ever get famous, she'll have proof that we met. I think she's on to something!

The cool temps of the past few days were slowly leaving as higher temps moved in. Waushara County has a great stretch of off-road trails just past Johann's. The Mecan River segment was a very enjoyable stretch. I'd like to come back in the fall and see what she has to offer as the leaves fall onto the river a hundred feet below and are carried away until a branch or log stops their downstream slide. I hiked the short distance on a spur trail to an overlook of the river. I sat in silence wit the only sound being the breeze ruffling the still green leaves. That is until a couple deer walked into the river and frolicked around, acting like kids trying to cool off in a stream on a steamy day. The deer eventually moved on and so did I. There is a kiosk at the end of the segment with a hiker log book. I apparently missed a log book earlier in my journey, but not this one. I opened it up and saw that Matt and Cici had written in it two weeks prior when the MSC project just North of there was going on. Pretty neat!

The real treat of the day came when I crossed the road and started the Greenwood section. On the post was a brightly shining MSC Project 2010 placard. I'm not sure if the glue holding it on was even dry yet! I loved the views from the prairie with the rolling hills and short grasses, reminding me of an alpine meadow (I'm sure most of the plants I enjoyed were weeds or invasives, but I still liked it!). The new posts and blazes looked resplendent in the afternoon sun, especially because the birds had christened each post with a lovely coating of white. The trail entered the woods and I was greeted with newly minted tread that wasn't "close enough," but perfect. I notice that the quality of tread goes up at projects that I'm not a part of. My "close enough" philosophy and copious amounts of distracting the volunteers really decreases the quality of the product. I had been told of a huge bench and ottoman awaiting me in the pines and sure enough, they were there and I thought it would be a great spot to take a nap. So I did. My only disappointment came when I found out the ottoman was a footstool, not a remnant of the Ottoman Empire quietly residing in the woods of Wisconsin, waiting for the empire to rise once again. Later in the segment, I ran into Randy, the local chapter coordinator and builder of the bench and ottoman, Pam from NPS and a DNR real estate guy. It was nice to see someone I knew! Bohn Lake was up next and with it came the memory of throwing Gary's meticulously carved pumpkin into the fire, which made for great pictures. Thanks Gary!

Aug. 28
Today I was going to make a dash for Hartman Creek State Park and my first shower in a week! About halfway through my hike there was a bar in the town of Heffron (you can get the bar and church in the same picture!) that I was really looking forward too. The Companion Guide just said "Heffron, meals" which translates to "Heffron, bar." Signs kept pointing me towards the bar, actually Heffron Tavern, building my anticipation. I arrived at 11:15 to find the place closed. What a downer. I sat on the stoop and made my own lunch, complaining to myself about how a bar could not be open at 11 on the weekends. I loaded up and was about to leave when the door opened and a guy popped his head out and said the bar opened at noon. I was saved! Cold PBR buoyed my spirits. Mark, the owner, was pretty groggy at first but after half an hour, he woke up and became more friendly. I had a great time talking with Mark. He figured that I knew about Northern Wisconsin and the North shore of Lake Superior, and he was correct. He was thinking about taking a trip up there for the fall colors and wondered if it was worth it. Oh yeah, I said, it would definitely be worth it. I went to the boundary waters in late September and the colors inland were terrific. Our conversation moved from road trips, to our disdain for late March and April, to the advances of the pickle industry in the last 50 years. As we sat in the bar, the farmers across the street were harvesting cucumbers for pickles. They had quite the operation going and it was neat to see how fast they harvested the pickles and filled up the semis.

I said goodbye to Mark and headed North towards Hartman Creek. I got there and started talking to the girl at the office. Turns out she graduated from my high school two years after me and used to hang out with some of my friends. Nice! I was about to leave and set up camp when this lady started talking to me. One thing led to another and next thing I knew she invited me over for pizza! I pitched my tent and showered (that felt so good after a week without one) and headed to their campsite. Char and her husband Chris from the Dells were camping with Lon and Pat from Kewaunee and they welcomed me in. Lon used to be a scoutmaster so he knows a thing or two about cooking with a dutch oven. Those pizzas were amazing! They come camping that weekend every year so the ladies can go to a nearby Amish auction so for dessert we had a cornucopia of excellent baked goods with ice cream to go with them. Lon asked if I wanted maple syrup for the ice cream. Being new to the maple syrup on ice cream game, I was caught off guard and I think seemed a little too eager for another chance to taste the deliciousness of the perfect match. Lon makes his own maple syrup so that was an added bonus! I ate well that night! The night descended on us as our conversation kept rolling. A campfire was lit and awhile later, we all turned in. Nights like this is what makes my trip so enjoyable. The kindness of Char, Chris, Lon and Pat to allow a dishevelled drifter into their camp and dinner table is almost overwhelming. My night at Hartman Creek was a truly great experience.

Aug 29.
I peacefully slid awake as I hear a chipmunk trying to scratch its way into my tent, I shooed it away. It had been a beautiful night to camp. The humidity of the day dropped and so did the temperatures increasing the allure of a well-built campfire. As I walked around the campground, with most folks still sleeping, the birds and squirrels scurried about. The smell of the first tendrils of smoke wafted through the trees as the few people up got their fires relit without the use of a match. The sunlight was creeping down the trees and with the filtering effect of the campfire smoke, created a gorgeous panorama. Ah, the scenic beauty of early morning! The only human-made noise was the low drone of air conditioners running in campers. Ugh.

Went over to Lon and Pat's site for breakfast. We had more Amish goodies and toasteted cinnamon raisin bread slathered with Lon's homemade maple butter. Mmm! That was delicious! Char's brother Jim stopped by and instantly started chatting away. He was well versed in the IAT and was good friends with Jim Powers whom I had stayed with weeks earlier. What a small world! We rehashed a good part of our conversation from last night because Jim was intrested in my trip. That was a great way to pass the morning. I'm glad I ran into Char at the office and she invited me over for dinner because they made my stay at Hartman Creek a great one. I gave them a few pointers about their upcoming camping trip to Wyalusing. I told them what trails to check out and ones to avoid and even neat things off trail to see. Having worked there the past few years, I told them to drop my name to someone at Wyalusing, but on second thought, I'm not sure that's a good idea! They left me with a fudgecicle and I went on my way.

Boy, it was a hot one! The Waupaca River looked like a nice river to canoe down until I saw all the trees down across it. Too bad! My friend Tony, who worked with me on the trail crew last year, picked me up at the end of the day and brought me back to Stevens Point. We went swimming right away and did that ever feel good! There was a cookout at his house that night but I had to leave early and do my fantasy draft. They didn't have internet at their house yet so we went to campus to find a computer which turned out to be a lot harder than expected. A computer was finally found at a kiosk in their athelitc facility so I had to stand there for the next 3 and a half hours while freshman milled around getting a feel for the place and Tony and his friends were eating great food and drinking. Not a pleasant experience. I got back to his house and was so hungry I resorted to eating two brat buns with sauerkraut and ketchup (not too bad actually!). In the next hour I slammed six PBR's, I think that may have done the trick. We ended up at a random house party, a bar and then an after bar where Tony passed out while playing quitar and I found a couch and tried sleeping. I didn't feel like walking in the morning once I stepped out in the heat so I decided to take a day off. I think I deserve one of those every now and then! My time on the trail the last week was really fun. I met a lot of great people and saw a lot of neat things. This trip reaffirms my belief that people are generally good people who want to help. Some folks think everyone is a threat and are always on guard, but they miss out on some wonderful chance encounters and meeting new friends. With one month down, I have another to go and I hope it is as great as the first one!

Inspiration, move me brightly

I'm skipping ahead a few days to get caught up as yesterday was a doozy.

Aug. 25
Got going at 7:30 and the first thing I see is an old guy walking the biggest dog I've ever seen in my life. I got closer and realized it was not a huge dog, but a little horse. The guy was walking a pony. We talked for a bit and I learned he had been retired for 27 years after working 30 years at the GM plant in Janesville, but he doesn't expect to hit the 30 year retirement mark. Being an expert in breaking horses, I delved into that topic and then onto fishing and finally the Amish.

I made it to John Muir Memorial Park and came across a ball field, because if John Muir was anything, he was a fervent baseball fan (I don't think baseball had even been invented yet..). Quiet Jim from MSC just finished his section hiking of the IAT and ended with the John Muir segment. I really like Jim ending there. Without John Muir, we may not have had the IAT because Muir was the father of the National Parks. Congrats Jim and great choice on the last section! It was pretty awe-inspiring to stand and walk through the same land a giant of American conservation had spent his teenage years. A day or two earlier, I had walked past Aldo Leopold's shack. Waukesha County has the Conservation Hall of Fame along the trail, but the last few days I've been seeing where some of those folks came from. What made Wisconsin such an epicenter for conservation and ecology? Was it just happenstance that Muir and Leopold lived in the sand counties or is there some underlying factor that makes Wisconsin so special? Both guys traveled near and far but Muir kept his family farm on Fountain Lake near to his heart and Leopold kept returning to his shack on the Wisconsin River. We may not be surrounded by snow-capped mountains, deep and wide canyons or the shimmer of the ocean, but we do have lakes and rivers that support a vast array of flora and fauna. We are blessed with such a beautiful state but most people don't realize it or really care about it. That disconnect from nature is a huge problem with the world today. We treat the outdoors as our toilet (which I have been doing lately) and ignoring the delicate nature of it. This starts with kids who never get out and appreciated what real nature is. That's why the Summer Saunters program Luke and Chris started in Lodi is a great idea. They take youngsters out to various sections on the IAT and have them hike and write about their experience. It may not seem like much, but it's planting a seed in their mind that hopefully, with enough nurturing, will grow into a love or at least appreciation for Nature. It's one thing to learn about this stuff in school, but its another thing to go out and actually see, feel and smell the land.

Luke and Chris work with kids from a small town who probably are already somewhat well versed in the woods and prairies, but Leah followed the blueprint and started a Saunters program in Milwaukee. She said some of those kids had never left the city, much less viewed a forest, meadow or peaceful stream. To get them out of the city and into a more wilderness setting would have to be an eye-opening experience for them, laying the groundwork for more thought, appreciation and curiosity about our world. The Milwaukee Saunters program can be nothing but good. You don't have to thru-hike or disappear into the wild to gain a better understanding of the world of wilderness. Take a canoe trip down a quiet river, go to a park and hike the trails, walk through a prairie with a wildflower book and try to identify a few flowers or maybe go camping somewhere a little more rustic that doesn't have all the amenities you have at home. Going a day without a shower won't kill you! Get out of your comfort zone!

The same problem applies to food today. We don't know where it comes from, only caring about the cost. That's why I liked when Hotz and I went to Brennan's to get food for dinner and Luke and Letha having great local and fresh food and Jennifer having a beautiful garden. It frustrates me when I have friends who have the means to eat better (local and fresh) but choose Walmart because its cheaper. The local stuff is healthier too! Ok, enough with the unoriginal preaching!

I walked across Buffalo Lake into Packwaukee for lunch. They take pride in the Indian name of the town, but why not just name the lake Tatanka Lake too? That would be a lot more interesting! I had lunch at T's Causeway and these two younger fellows walked in. One talked about "two story beer bongs right out of the dorms in Madison." Oh, this might get interesting. They started talking pretty big about how much beer they could chug when the bartender, who was a pretty good looking lady, said she had something of a beer bong. She pulled out a horn, not quite a beer bong, but something awesome to chug out of! The bartender filled the horn with their beer of choice, Busch Light of course and the first guy started to chug. He stopped halfway through complaining that it was too cold. He eventually finished it and his friend tried and did the same thing. So much for being badass drinkers. I'm at the end of the bar by myself, watching all this go down. Now is my time to make a move. "Fill it up again" I say. "I'd like a shot at that." I chugged it without stopping putting the youngsters to shame. I mean its only a single beer, anyone can do that. Yeah, its cold, but you just man up and do the job. Pussy's.

A short time later another guy walked in and tossed a box on the bar. He told the bartender to cook them all. Turns out he worked for a food distributor and had some food the needed to be eaten up so he brought the fish down to the bar to cook in the deep fryer. Nice! I had four pieces and figured it was time to move on. On the way out of town, the sheriff stopped me and warned me about the rabid raccoon ahead... interesting.

I walked to Gary and Mary Jane Thalacker's house who have hosted hikers in the past. They were so nice! Gary brought me out a huge plate of BBQ pork over spaghetti and a side salad. Oh man! I mowed through that without any trouble even after all the food I ate earlier in the day. Gary retrofitted an old RV into a mobile kitchen. It may be one of the coolest things I've seen. He travels around and is a BBQ vendor at various events. We should hook up with him for an MSC event. Then he showed me the smoker where he cooks his meat. "Just open the lid and smell" he tells me. I opened it and was whisked away to a land of BBQ and smoked meaty goodness. I had to do everything to stop drooling. I found out Mary Jane was a big Civil War buff. What more could I ask for? I had a place to pitch my tent, surrounded by the tools of BBQ pitmaster and got to talk Civil War for a bit. Doesn't get much better than that! I'll have to stop back there after I'm done with my hike, they were awesome. Gary also showed me the Ox Cart Trail which is an old trail that they used back in the 1800's before we had real roads. It was the main highway in the area and would be a great place for the IAT to cross. Fascinating stuff. In the morning Mary Jane brought me a thing of strawberries to keep her title of "strawberry lady" current. That was a good night and morning!

Time to get a move on. I'm thinking about making a push to Waushara County and Johann's!

Devli's Lake Pictures

My co-worker came out and hiked Devil's Lake with me. And this is all I have to show for it.

You, Me and the Devil Makes 3

Aug. 22
Woke up to Luke yelling at me for not finishing my beer the night before. I don't know how it happened, but that was a travesty. The last few sips of the warm Lake Louie was great. Luke and Letha got me going just in time to catch the ferry. I enjoyed staying with them. Being a teacher, Luke is of course loaded. When he picked me up for lunch the day before, he had $100's falling out of his pocket. He didn't know what to do with them all. His friend Chris, on the other hand, is also a teacher but doesn't flaunt around his affluence. Luke may be an asshole, but he's from Iowa so you can't hold it against him too much, plus he is a helluva griller. He is also sort of my trail mentor as I knew nothing about hiking before talking to him, again, amazing for an Iowan. Letha is so pleasant and nice and is great at feigning interest in what I had to say. There are "gems" along the IAT like Gibraltar Rock, but I think we should have a list of unofficial gems like the Washington House in Two Rivers, Luke's grilling and maybe this Johann's I keep hearing about in Waushara county. I'm sure there are plenty more out there.

I took a pleasant trip across the ferry and immediately stopped for ice cream. It may have been 10:30 in the morning, but it tasted sooo good. My bureau coworker Joe called and said he would hike through Devil's Lake with me. Hell yeah! We met up, had a PBR, and I ate the lunch that Luke packed - all the leftovers from the previous night. Now, thats trail food! It was nice walking with Joe beause he knows the park so well and filled me in on everything I was seeing. I had never explored Devil's Lake before so hiking through it was a real treat! The views from the bluffs were amazing and the rock work to build the steps was mindblowing. My knee was hurting pretty good going up, but going down the pain went away. The pain is coming from under the knee cap so it can't be too serious!

We got to the park office and Katie came to pick us up. We went to my campsite, had some beers and dominated the taco's Katie had brought. She planted taco's in my head Thursday and I was finally able to scratch that itch Sunday night. They were great! Giese stopped by and had a beer or two with us. It was a lot of fun to have 3 friends hanging out with me at the end of the day. I have some pretty special friends! Giese left and we dropped Joe off at his car so Katie and I went swimming as night was settling in over Devil's Lake. The air was a bit chilly and so was the water, but a Baywatch entrance helped warm me up. What a refreshing way to end the day! It was a lot of hard walking through Devil's Lake and I know more awaits me as I continue my journey.

The Master Griller

Aug. 21

Brad was determined to get me on the road at a decent time and failed. I decided I was going to slack pack by dropping my pack off at Luke's house in Lodi. Slack packing is a great thing. Brad dropped me off by Hwy 12 and I got going at 9:30. I made pretty decent time getting to the Lodi Marsh. Right before I turned onto Lodi - Springfield road, I came across a pumpkin patch with some monster pumpkins. There were a few that I would have trouble rolling over. I entered the Lodi Marsh segment with high expectations knowing who takes care of it, but the first tree down across the trail squashed that ideal. The segment is quite beautiful with glimpses of what's to come through Columbia County, big valleys and hills. I waltzed into Lodi in search of a beer so I called Luke to see if he wanted to have a drink or two. He picked me up and we headed to a bar on the outskirts of town where we met his friend Chris. A bloody, snit, beer, order of cheese curds and a philly cheese steak later, I was ready to hit the road again. It took awhile to get my stomach in order after that impromptu meal. At the Lodi High School, they built a sweet bridge that is the largest structure built on the trail. It's pretty impressive. By the end of the day, I made it to the Merrimac Ferry after passing through the Murphy property which is where the October MSC project is. I've been helping with trail layout there so it was nice to see what Tim and Luke had been up to while I've been hiking. They didn't mess anything up too bad. There are some amazing views from the property looking across Lake Wisconsin towards Devil's Lake. That project is going to be awesome!

Luke picked me up and we headed back to his place for dinner. Luke and his wife Letha pulled out all the stops for dinner. Before we had the big meal, they laid out a great spread of fruit, bread, cheese and chips and salsa. I would have been content with that but more food was to come. We had beer can chicken, tenderloin, corn on the cob, grilled tomatoes and grilled eggplant. That was one of the best meals I've had in a long, long time and the best one I've had on my hike. I have had some great meals so far, but they all bow down to Luke and Letha's. I like to grill and think of myself as a decent griller, but Luke put me to shame with his bounty of perfectly cooked meats and veggies. I can only dream of attaining his skill of taming the flame.

I've had it pretty easy so far as I've only camped 7 times since the start of my journey, but that is about to change. My long run of friends along the trail has come to an end, leaving me to my own devices. My meals wont be as good and sleeping accommodations will not be as posh, but my hike will go on. I have a nice run the next week and a half before it gets real up in Langlade and Lincoln Counties. The untamed trail of the Northwoods awaits!

Trucking Along

Let's do some catching up....

Aug. 16

Randy made breakfast and I put some of Jim Powers homemade maple syrup on the pancakes. Great way to start my day! I got going at Devil's Staircase after Randy packed me a lunch consisting of leftover chicken legs and bacon. Now that's some trail food! Devil's Staircase is a pretty neat section as it squeezes between cliffs and the rock river. There is some amazing rock work towards the end of the section that if you get a chance, you should go check out. Taking a shortcut through a new residential development, my cavalier attitude blocked me from looking at the directions so I took a wrong turn and ended up in a bean field...whoops. I figured it out and continued the road walking. I ended the mostly uneventful day at the Albany trailhead for the Sugar River Trail, where Jennifer was kind enough to pick me up. We headed back to her place after deciding that a big salad would hit the spot. Jennifer has a nice garden that supplied most of the ingredients in the salad which was quite delicious. After the salad was when the magic started. She introduced me to ice cream with Honey Bunches of Oats, topped with Cowboy Dave's maple syrup. Oh man! That may be my new favorite food. Cowboy's maple syrup has a great smokey flavor that goes amazingly well with the cereal and ice cream. I started the day with maple syrup from one MSCer and ended the day with syrup from another! I then found out that Jennifer is a direct descendant of Roald Amundsen who is the first person to reach the South Pole. I'm a huge fan of polar exploration and have read quite a bit of literature on the topic, so being this close someone as awesome as Amundsen is a big thrill. We spent the next half hour discussing polar expeditions. That may not be everyone's cup of tea, but that was right in my wheelhouse!

Aug 17.

We reprised the cereal with maple syrup combo for breakfast, but switched the ice cream for yogurt. It wasn't quite as good, but I'm not complaining. Jennifer dropped me off right as we were getting into a great conversation on the classic movies Jurassic Park, Congo, and Independence Day. The mid-90's were a bastion for awesome movies with even better quotes. Jennifer was going to pick me up at the end of the day so I was able to slack pack. After walking for awhile I decided it was time for a break so I was about to cross a street and sit down when a bus pulls up full of kids. I half expected Luke to jump off with his Summer Saunters kids and start walking, but a lady hopped out and told some kids to start walking. The bus rolled away as I sat down. A bit later, I rose and continued my hike. I had gone a mile or so when I started getting passed by kids running. I realized that the bus probably had the long distance team from Monticello on it. The first kids who ran by were quiet with good form, but the last ones to pass were breathing hard like Gimli walking through Lothlorien and had horrible form.

Onward I traveled, making good time. Sometime in the morning I realized I had a tunnel to go through and I didn't have my headlamp with me. Hmmm. I thought I'd be a man and descend into the darkness without the aid of a light. That changed pretty quick after entering the tunnel and was wishing I had the light of Galadriel in my pack. I opened up my cell phone to guide the way, but the feeble light it gave off was swallowed up by the hungry darkness. I noticed a light shimmering on the wall ahead of me so I thought someone was coming the other way, but then the light went off. My mind flashed through movies like My Bloody Valentine where the killer used a pick to bash the heads of the victims. I had no idea what was ahead of me when the light reappeared and I figured it was someone coming from the other end. Lucky enough it was just a guy walking his bike through. No pick wielding murderer or balrog. By this time I could see the light at the other end and continued on my way. I was almost out when an owl hooted and I nearly crapped my pants. My underwear was saved that disgrace. My feet kept me moving all the way through the Brooklyn Wildlife Area. I made 24.5 miles, my best day yet! Jennifer picked me and brought me to Theresa's place in Belleville. We ordered pizza, talked trail, and played some cribbage (I won 2 of 3 of course). I like seeing all my trail friends off the trail and in their own environment so I get to see who they really are. I know that Jim really loves his dog, Jennifer has a sweet taste in books and Randy is still Randy. Not a bad day!

Aug. 18

Theresa got me going early because she had to get to work (what is this work thing I keep hearing about?). I got going at 6:45, my earliest start yet. I had a little extra hitch in my step today because I was going to end up in Madison! My friend Joelle offered to hike with me through Verona. I hadn't had anyone walk with me yet so I eagerly took her up on the offer. She brought me a little lunch consisting of watermelon and cookies. Perfect! Through fair Verona I strolled with Juliet. She stopped by the Wisconsin version of a modern day Apothecary on her way and picked up a few potions (or at least a 6er of Capital), which we enjoyed along the way. We passed through prairies with blooming compass plants, which by any other name, is still a compass plant. Juliet and I made it to the end of the Verona Segment and enjoyed the last of the beers. Neither of us committed suicide, but it wasn't a total loss. My friend Hotz picked us up and dropped Joelle off at her car. I was hesitant to get into his vehicle because he was wearing a shirt and tie and I looked like a hobo, but in I went. It was great walking with someone and have them there to listen to my ramblings. I thank Joelle for the beer, cookies and walking with me!

Hotz and I went to the store to pick up some food to grill. Ribeye's were on the menu, along with a plethora of vegetables. We picked up a couple 40's and headed back to the house to do some grilling! Rich and Nicole stopped by with baby Alex who is getting so big. It was nice to see them and see that they are doing well. Hotz's lady came home and we dominated the dinner food. Hotz's house may have been the nicest place I had stayed so far, I'm sure not complaining!

Aug. 19

Cross Plains (CP) and the IATA headquarters awaited me today! Hotz dropped me off on his way to work at 7:30 and I got going. It was nice with him because he lives a few hundred yards from the trailhead in Madison. The trail takes you though University Ridge Golf Course which was neat, but it was pretty disappointing to find the trail not kept up at all. I guess I expected a little more from the biggest chapter in the state on a highly visible section. Making it through U-Ridge, I passed by fancy neighborhood after fancy neighborhood. I questioned the need for a house that big. The houses are too big too enjoy and look pretty dumb anyways. The ones I did like though, were the prairie style homes inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. As the trail dipped in and out of the housing developments, I was dismayed by the similarity of all the houses. Each neighborhood has its own set of rules about what you can and cant do with your house or yard, even the mailboxes have to be the same (My friend Richie though, has the only black mailbox amongst the throng of white ones, which I like a lot. It's adds a little character to the place). I just don't understand what the appeal of that is. Yea! My house looks just like yours! One of the big problems with America today is the lack of creativity. We used to lead the world in creativity, but we have been slipping in recent years as education has been declining. Teachers try and instill the kids with the ability to think on their own and be creative, but those same kids go home to a neighborhood of sameness and lack of creativity caused by the iron fist of homeowners associations. Homeowner associations are a form of socialism in America. They are a mysterious group that has complete control over everything that goes on in the neighborhood, from the color of the house to the type and height of a fence. They let you do little things with your yard to keep you "happy" but in reality, its not enough to quell the monotony of boring houses. People need to be let free and think for themselves, I mean its their own house for pete's sake!

After ranting in my head about the homeowners associations, I arrived at the IATA office in CP. All the staff gathered around to gawk at the thru-hiker in their midst, anxiously waiting to hear my stories from the trail. Pretty quickly, they realized I wasn't as interesting as they thought and one by one they went back to something way more entertaining, work. It was great to see everyone there though. I had a few beers and chatted with whoever would listen. At this point I realized that most of them had been reading my blog so they already knew everything so I had nothing new to say. Mike and Brad worked up a plan for a fish fry the following night and Kevin invited me over for a few drinks after work. I showered at the office and was about to leave when Sharon, Tim and Brad stopped me and forced me to disassemble my pack and get rid of unnecessary items. I was in for a beat down. Sharon, who has hiked thousands and thousands of miles, told me to ditch a bunch of my stuff, but I held my ground on a few things. I ended up parting with my pudgie pie makers and pick-mattock, along with a few other items. I put my pack together and with my tail between my legs, I headed out (actually, they said my pack wasn't too bad which I thought was good coming from such esteemed hikers). Katie had offered up her place for the night so she came along to Kevin's where we "happened" to walk in as dinner was being served. Katie was planning on my making taco's for dinner so I didn't want to eat too much of Kevin's food. We ended up drinking, talking and being amused by Kevin and Krista's kid Charlie. He's going to be a helluva soccer player someday. The night flew by and next thing we knew, it was well after 9 and too late for tacos. Damn.

Making it to the office was a big goal of mine. I figured that if I made it that far, I would have gained enough credibility so, if I couldn't go any farther, I could show my face at MSC events again. The staff was great and extremely helpful. I love those guys (and gals)! Next up for goals is getting farther than Jennifer got while hiking the AT, 500 miles. Only 100 more to go to do that!

Aug. 20

Katie stopped at Kwik Trip in the morning so I could get a few snacks and a bit more breakfast before hitting the office and starting back up. No cooking or baking from her this time. I said my goodbye's to the staff and got on my way. The humid was terribly thick, making it hard to breath. I worked up a dandy of a sweat. It was nice walking the Table Bluff segment because I have fond memories of that project in 2006. I was so hungover on the Sunday of the project from a going away party in Madison that all I wanted, or was able to do, was carry duff buckets. Also, that's where I learned about the chilly willy....

I struggled with the humidity throughout the day, not making very good progress. I was almost to Indian Lake and running short of water, when I saw a couple of old guys sitting on the porch so I thought I'd try and get my water refilled. The old guy, who must have lived there, warned me that his water was unfiltered and from the well. I didn't really care if I was drinking well water, I just wanted something wet. He was walking into the house and I told the other old guy I was hiking the Ice Age Trail. The owner guy stopped dead in his tracks and asked me if I was a member of that group. In my head, I'm thinking "Just say no, just say no" but what came out was "Actually, I am." Shit. He shook his head and went in the house. With a full water bottle he came back out and we started talking. He went on a rant about how the ice age folks don't know anything. How would they know where the glacier went? The guy then brought up that he found some rocks with shells in on his land. I mentioned that this used to be covered by an ocean, but he countered with his theory. Someone bought some shells and lost them over there and thats why there are shells in the rocks. Hmmm. He kept rolling, saying historians don't actually know if Black Hawk came past the area in the 1830's because how would they. He also said that we don't owe the indians anything because they were dumb enough to sell their land for a couple bottles of whiskey. He didn't take my argument, that we killed most of them and stole their land, too well. I needed to get out of that conversation.

Indian Lake was nice, but the humidity was killing me. I cooled off on the end of the segment and set up a pick up from Brad. Storms were on the horizon as I walked. I crossed the bridge to nowhere over Hwy 12 and took a shortcut to where Brad was picking me up at. The wind started blowing like a banshee, so I took my hat off to keep it from flying away. Brad brought me a requested Gatorade and we headed to his place. Not a bad farmhouse! I cleaned up and we headed over to Wollmer's house. Now that is a house with an awesome basement. I could get real comfortable down there! We went to Lodi for the perch at Dolphin's. You get 8 big pieces with coleslaw, a bun and beans. Quite the plateful. I was the only one who finished because I'm a fat ass (I weighed myself at Brad's and I was down to 162...Yikes!). I have had a few epic fish fry experiences over the years so 8 pieces was nothing to sweat. The night ended after watching a bit of the David Hasselhoff roast on Comedy Central. There were some pretty vulgar jokes, but still funny. I got to bed a little later than I wanted, but oh well, I'll manage!

Sly Stallone and a snit

I'm a little behind on the posts but I should be caught up pretty quick!

Aug. 14
Barry's parents headed up North for a week of vacation in the morning so I got kicked out of the house and moved into a motel. I needed a day to rest my feet. Turning on the TV I was pleased to find Cobra starring Sly Stallone just starting (Stop being Sly and be a little more Frank). What a great film. The best was the end where Sly and the bad guy are fighting in a steel factory with molten metal all over the place. I couldn't help but compare that to the battle between Obi-wan and Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith on the planet with the lava and volcanoes. I'm pretty sure George Lucas stole that idea from Cobra. Of course, the movie after Cobra was the first Star Wars movie which started a marathon of the original trilogy. With Star Wars, a House marathon and a Top Shot marathon all playing throughout the day my day was set! The cherry on top was the airing of Independence Day, my favorite movie of all-time. What a lucky guy! I did not move much all day, quite the change of pace, but a much needed one!

Aug. 15
Barry's grandma came and picked me up to bring me back to Milton to continue my hike. First, she bought me breakfast at Ray's in Edgerton which serves food on plates the shape of a pregnant triangle. If thats not a sign, I don't know what is! Barry's family was extremely generous and kind-hearted. If only more people were like them in the world. After being dropped off, I hiked to Janesville where I came to Terapin street. The spelling may be a bit off, but my mind went instantly into Terrapin Station by the Dead. With nothing to believe in, the compass always points to Terrapin. I love that line. Some rise, some fall, some climb, to get to Terrapin.

Janesville is starting to grow on me. I didn't care for it before, but the nice parks and trails were great. There was a billboard in town thanking Janesville for having the number 1 Cost-Cutters in the nation for the past 21 years. I'm not sure that is something to brag about. Next to that billboard was a sign for a guy running for some political seat. It said something like "Mike Johnson #44". Gotta love someone using their old football number to run for office! Janesville is like that kid in school who is reading the Boxcar Children books in 6th grade while everyone else is reading Huck Finn or other classics. They finish the book and run to the teacher so excited that they read the whole book and the teacher just pats them on the head, smiles and says "good job." They may not be the brightest kid in class but their enthusiasm for what they do endears them to you.

Walking into Janesville, I ran into Randy who picked me up and brought me to a bar for a drink. Now that's how staff should treat volunteers! He called his friend Sara and asked if I could stay over. She said yes, so Randy dropped me back off and I finished my hike through Janesville. They have a great bike trail through town, with lots of people using it. I like to see people actually using the beautiful trails. The trail runs by where the local water ski show is held. It is also the place where my friend Emily won the national champhionship for water skiing a few years back! That's awesome! Making it to the Devil's Staircase segment, I had Randy pick me up. We headed to a bar for a bloody and a snit before heading to Sara's house for dinner. While Randy cooked the chicken on the grill, Sara and I discussed classic Katherine Hepburn movies and musicals. I got the feeling Randy doesn't talk about "cultured" things like that. I think the only cultured thing about Randy is his smell. I give Randy crap, but he's a good guy. The dinner was great and so was the company. Sara was extremely nice and a treat to talk to! Randy made malts for dessert and we washed them down with some amaretto which I somehow spilled. Whoops! Time for bed.

Coming to Madison

Just letting all my Madison friends know that I'm planning on being in the Madison area Wednesday night. I don't know what my plans are yet when I get there, but I'm shooting to be there in the early evening. Let me know if you'd like to meet up. I apologize about the shortness of this post, but don't worry, a nice long one should be up in a few days filled with all the fun I've been having. It'll have the movie Cobra with Sly Stallone and how Star Wars ripped it off, a pregnant triangle plate, thoughts on why Janesville is beginning to endear itself to me, an evening with Randy and whatever else I decide to write about! I hope to see some of you later this week!

Pol Pot and the Wizard of Oz

Aug. 11
Boy, I sure picked the wrong year to try and thru-hike. It's been so hot, humid and mosquito filled that I feel like the big guy is out to get me. Onward I must go though. Pat lent me her bug net for my head, what a lifesaver. It isn't bad when I put bug spray on my legs and arms but I don't like putting it on my face which leaves way too much area for the skeeters to kamikaze me. Now with the head net I feel like Pig-Pen from Peanuts with a trail of mosquitoes always following me instead of dirt. I'm not sure how it happens, but the net invariably fills up with dead mosquitoes, what killed them or how they got there I do not know. The live ones on the inside tend to be stuffed with blood like a jelly-filled donut. I don't know where they are filling up but it isn't bothering me so who cares! When I squish the ones with blood, they stain my green head net red. It's starting to resemble the killing fields of Cambodia and I play the part of Pol Pot. I'm not sure who has more blood on their hands.

I made it to shelter 2 in the southern unit of the Kettle Morraine State Forest as the sun was going down. It was taken by three guys and they were kind enough to let me stay. Brett, Al and Alex shared a few beers (they had Busch heavies...I didn't know people drank that. I'm not sure I even had one before that night) and some chips. They showed me the famous "Double Rainbow" YouTube clip...wow (yes we were in the "deep woods" but that doesn't mean the internet doesn't work on those fancy phones kids have these days). That guy is goofy. We watched the sun dip below the trees from our vanatge point on the hill and saw the first glimpses of the Perseid meteor shower. The guys were on a camping trip before they went back to college in a few week. Being from Illinois, I give them credit for driving up here and staying in the backpack shelter in the middle of the woods. I think they'll be fine once they learn how to handle their booze. I wish them luck!

Aug 12.
Another absolute bruiser of a day with heat and mosquitoes. I did everything I could do to keep my spirit from being totally crushed by the oppressive heat and constant drone of the mosquitoes. It didn't help that there is a 15 miles gap or so between water sources from the horseriders camp to the Whitewater Lake Rec. Area. I was dragging pretty bad when I got to the Hwy 12 trailhead. I found a bench and just laid there in the shade for an hour. A friend kept me going by encouraging me and staying upbeat through texts. That was much needed. A short while later, a family showed up with all the backpacking gear they would need for an overnight trip. They did their best to ignore me but I warned them about the mosquitoes. They shrugged it off and entered the woods. 30 minutes later they returned and said "you were right, the mosquitoes are horrible." I sat there and thought to myself how this must look, a disheveled, wild man warning the "city folk" about the dangers that await them only for the wise wild man to be telling the truth. At that point I felt like a man of nature. After struggling over the last 4 miles or so, I finally made it to the Whitewater Lake Rec. Area! I headed to the office on the spur trail only to find two trees that had been knocked directly in my path with no easy way to get around. By the time I made it to the office I was dead tired and only thinking about a shower. I couldn't carry anything in my shorts pockets because I had sweated through them. Even my camera case couldn't handle my outpouring of sweat. I felt disgusting. Of course, the office was closed and after consulting the map, realized there were no showers. Ugh. I slammed two all sports from the vending machine (they still make all sport?) and weighed my options. Being a little short on food, I called local volunteer Russ who brought me enough to hold me over until I could restock Friday. It was another hot, miserable night.

Aug. 13
I awoke to an amazing dream. I was at the broadway premier of the greatest new play in 50 years. It was a reimagining of WWI. The Germans were winning the war but the Americans and English had a secret weapon that was our only hope of turning the tides, The Wizard of Oz. It wasn't the lame wizard from the movie, but an actual wizard like Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. The Germans were hatching a plan to capture the Wizard of Oz, thus ending all hope of the Americans. I don't remember much else, other than the three main actors, who were being lauded as unbelievably awesome, were Stephen Holden, Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scot, a.k.a the New York Times film critics. Man I have awesome dreams!

I packed up and got an early start, I was going to get to Milton today and get picked up by my buddy's parents who live in Edgerton. I was pretty excited to be going to a house where I wasn't sweating constantly and my feet could finally dry out. It had been so humid lately that I could not get anything to dry out so my feet were starting to bother me. The blisters on the balls of my feet were starting to really become a nuisance. I slowly limped along the many miles of roadwalk, never able to get in a good gait.

My spirit was flagging until I met a lady riding her horse along the road. We got talking and she had me stop over to fill up my water and get some snacks. That must have been some sight, a lady riding a horse and a guy with a big backpack and limp walking side by side. Water refilled, she coaxed me inside with the promise of AC and a BLT. I couldn't pass that up! It turned out to be a BT as Brenda doesn't buy lettuce, but I didn't complain. She brought out a big thing of watermelon and I had a root beer. Ahh, life was good! Brenda and I talked for 2 hours about life, castrating pigs, and how pigs could cover up a murder pretty well by eating the evidence. It was a good talk! Brenda really picked up my motivation with her kindness and candor. That's what I love so much about this hike. The people I've met have been so much more than kind. On my way out, she gave me a bag of oreo's to keep me going. I had been trying to eat pretty healthy this year, but that has all gone out the door on my hike. I'll eat anything that has calories. Things that I never liked before are tasting pretty good now! I weighed myself at the end of the day and if the scale is right, I've lost ten pounds already. I'm not sure that is very healthy, but this hike has been a great way to lose those problemsome muscles that kept getting in the way.

With trench foot and scurvy setting in, I made the last charge into Milton right as the rain hit. A lady pulled over to offer me a ride, but she was only 140 miles from finishing segment hiking the IAT herself so she knew my answer. I made it to the nearest bar I could find. I needed to dry my feet off and have a beer. My feet would have to stay wet until I got to my friend's parents house, but the beer was at my hand. A guy bought me a beer! The parents came and we headed back to the house. They gasped in horror as I disrobed my feet, revealing a wet, shriveled, blister filled mass I call my feet. The balls of my feet are hurting pretty good so I think I'm going to hole up in a motel and take tomorrow off. Hopefully they get better! I don't want my dream to end less than 100 miles from Madison and the IATA office in Cross Plains! Thanks again for all the support!

Some Pics

I haven't been uploading any pictures so here are a few to appease the masses.

Lake Michigan at Point Beach

The only picture of myself. Between Two Rivers and Manitowoc.

I love Wisconsin and Cheese

Entering Sheboygan County and showing my faux-hate

A purrfect way to brighten my day!

Holy Hill

You can tell Waukesha is a Republican county

The Quixotic Odyssey Continues!

Aug. 10

Pat offered up her house for another night so I thought I'd take advantage of that and pack very light and cover some miles through Hartland, Delafield and Lapham Peak! Yesterday was tough for me so I figured an "easy" day of 20 plus miles was in store. Where yesterday I felt like the Man from LaMancha (or LaMonches if you will), my quixotic (quixotic is my dream scrabble word. If I ever get to lay that I can retire a happy man) quest was replaced by a solid day with plenty of water and food. Funny how that improves the situation.

Heading into Hartland is a monster house which apparently Jason Kendall rented last year. That thing is massive! Through Hartland they have a really nice trail that follows the meanders of the Bark River. Waukesha County has a neat thing where they honor great conservationists with ties to Wisconsin. Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Increase Lapham are a few they honor. My favorite is John Wesley Powell who, they forgot to mention, was the first person to successfully navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Did I mention that guy had one arm!? A true man among boys. I got to Delafield with the heat blazing and humidity stifling, I felt like the two suns of Tatooine were shining down on me (where is my moisture vaporator when I need one?), and was looking for a lunch that included a beer. I stopped into a place called the Loaf and Jug which I immediately realized was not a place that had alcohol. There was an old couple by the door so I asked them where I could have a beer with my lunch in the area. They said the only place in the area was the Mexican place down the street. Mexican was not on my menu. I walked out of the restaurant and walked another 80 feet along the trail and came to the Wells Street Tavern. Apparently those rich-looking old folks were too snobbish to ever dream of eating at a tavern.

Wells Street Tavern had an impressive single malt scotch and irish whiskey selection, plus a menu that was to my liking. A Two Hearted Ale from Bell's was in store for me. I chuckled while I ordered that because the day before when Leah brought me to the bar, she said I could get whatever I wanted and she would buy. I of course ordered a PBR. Actually, when I order a PBR, I say Pabst because I dont seem to stutter as much on that one. Leah kind of looked at me in disbelief as she ordered her fancy import. Back to the present day. They had an appetizer at Wells that they almost got me to order. It was a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, hand breaded and then deep fried! That sounded amazing but I couldnt justify spending $6 on it. If I ever go back, I'll be sure to get one though!

The walk through Lapham Peak was quite nice. They have done a lot of work with the prairies there and the wildflowers were still blooming. I thought compass plants were done by now. I'll take it though! Lapham Peak is the highest point in Waukesha County and is named for Increase Lapham. Increase was a pretty interesting dude. He started taking all kinds of weather readings around the state, but focusing in the local area. He proposed a state weather service that was disregarded, so he redid his proposal and presented it to the Feds and the National Weather Service was born! The first NWS weather station was on Lapham Peak (then named Government Hill). People from Wisconsin have sure kicked ass over the years. There is a plaque at the top where they commemorate the renaming of the hill to Lapham Peak. The plaque calls Lapham an "eminent scientist and useful citizen." I hope someday I can be called either an eminent something or a useful citizen. Chances are pretty slim but that would make a great headstone!

I climbed to the top of the observation tower they have there and looked for miles and miles in all directions. Holy Hill lay in the distance, barely visible, and to think I was there only a couple days ago. I had hiked as far as I could see to the North, but to the South and West lay virgin trail. Lots of it. Having come over 200 miles so far makes this crazy dream of mine seem even more realistic. I'll be in Janesville in a few days and Madison in a week. The path lays in front of me, I just have to follow it. I think I'll be off the grid for the next few days. I start midway through the Waterville Segment on Wednesday, heading towards Jefferson and Walworth Counties. My streak of MSC friends has run out and the ones I do have will be heading up to Waushara County for the project this weekend. I guess I'm on my own!

Comedy of Errors

Aug. 8
The haze of banality that clouded my thoughts has hopefully lifted. I forgot to write about how nice it was to leave Sheboygan County. It was like having that first ear of super sweet corn from Bob in EC in July, or a cold beer after a long day working the trail. Sheboygan always leaves a bitter aftertaste. One thing that does not leave a bad taste in your mouth is Sheboygan Summer from Joe Brew. Its crisp, clean aftertaste may be attributed to the fact it's brewed in Chicago. Who knows. After the rousing success of my last Star Wars reference (that no one probably got) I decided I better keep up sweet nerdy references in all my posts. I'll try to include a bit about Star Wars or Lord of the Rings in all my posts from here on out, or at least until I forget about it and stop.

Saturday night, Katie sacrificed the good bed for me and tried sleeping in her own bed, leading to only a few hours of sleep. Now thats hospitality! Being a well-known baker, she rose early and had breakfast and cookies waiting for me when I awoke. Not a bad start to the day. Then I looked outside. Driving rain with a whipping wind and plenty of thunder. Great day for hiking! By the time I actually hit the trail at 11 (after Katie had refilled my garlic mustard seed bag. I figure having some fresh herbs along the trail may help entice more long-distance hikers), the tempest had blown itself out, leaving blue skies and a nice breeze. As I walked, I realized I hadnt seen a bar in over 50 miles. Is that even legal in Wisconsin? What a travesty! I passed a supper club kind of place that had brunch going, thought about stopping, but I dont think they know about second breakfast. I got closer to the Polk Kames segment and passed what looked like the first real bar in many a miles. Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was after noon, late enough for a beer, but a bit too early in my hike. I could wait until Slinger for a beer. I arrived at the Polk Kames segment and noticed what looked like Rambo's car (There are a lot of names my non-ice age friends dont know, but they could get to know the awesome people behind names like "Randy", "Rambo," or "Matt." You could come to an event, which are actually a blast, and join the family. The next project is actually this weekend in Waushara County and everyone I've talked to along the trail is going to be there so it should be a great time (especially because my smartass remarks and myself will be gone).). Awesome, a trail friend out doing some maintainence work! We talked for a bit and I carried on my way.

Slinger was next, where they were getting ready for the races that night. I'm sorry I missed that... Walking down the main drag I had a sense of deja vu when I realized that I had been at the bar I was looking at before. At the MSC project last May we stopped there for a few drinks while people kept calling and telling us the food was ready. Dont they know we had beer to drink?! Hankering a burger, I ambled into the Slinger House which has the "best burgers in the universe". Nickleback was blasting on the juke, a couple guys with tats sat at the bar and the bartender was good looking but in a trashy kind of way. Not what I was looking for for a burger place. I got a beer and watched the Brewers game, when McGhee hit a dinger and everyone at the bar got a free shot! I'll take it! After leaving, I realized I should've ate there because I was feeling a little tipsy with an empty stomach and maybe a bit on the dehydrated side. Oh well. Made it to Pike Lake State Park where I called Broman who had offered up his place to crash that night if the storms were going to be bad, he said the storms shouldn't be too bad. I carried on and found a camping spot a few miles farther down the trail. The storm hit at 3:40, bringing heavy rain, lots of lightning and big thunder. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Aug. 9
Woke up at 6:15 to some tree rain and maybe real rain. I packed up and headed down the wet trail to Holy Hill. If you've never been there or seen it, I suggest checking it out. It's this huge church they built on top of a big kame (hill) and you can see it for miles. Hartford may be the closest town but I'm not sure. I ran out of bug spray so I put the legs on my pants and put on my long sleeve shirt, leaving only my head unprotected. Those mosquitoes were still bastards. I wonder how many of them will die this year without sucking any blood? Not enough! There are a lot of people I would consider mosquitoes. Annoying, omnipresent and bring nothing good to your life. Jared from Subway is a prime example. That guy has been on TV about 5 years too long and he just looks like a dick. I can imagine him thinking he is actually somebody and looking down on all the "commoners". I hate that guy. We need some human-sized dragonflies to take care of our human mosquitoes.

I walked through the Loew Lake segment and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other than Weber Woods, the bugs were the most manageable leaving me to actually look around and see what is off the trail. Plus, I was looking forward to having lunch with Leah at a bar in Monches that had been talked up. Naturally when I got there, I found it closed. It didn't open until 3 on Mondays and it was only noon. I probably shouldnt have been counting on that for my lunch. I was famished and finished off most of the rest of my food, leaving only some Uncle Ben's rice. Not good. I thought I better keep walking, so I did. Leah was going to meet up with me later and she could bring me some food. Three miles went by and I took a break by a sweet train bridge with a river and road running under it. I was running out of water and didnt really have any food, but what do I see? Wild grapes! I munched on those for a few minutes. I can only imagine what people driving by thought. They could probably smell me as they cruised by with the AC cranked up. They were good though! I planned for Leah to get me after walking a railroad track for 2 miles and we could finally have lunch. Awesome. When I got to my ending point, I was soaked with sweat, dehydrated and hungry. A comedy of errors on my part! She arrived to find a shirtless, sweaty, really stinky (although ruggedly handsome) dude standing on the side of the road. She brought me the gatorade I had asked for and instantly chugged it. I needed that. Burgers were next on my mind so we headed into Hartland. We stopped at the Phoenix Bar and Grill which happened to only be serving Chinese that night. Weird. We tried the sports bar down the street but they werent even open yet. Not a good day for food! I ransacked the Piggly Wiggly and we headed back to the now open sports bar. My burger at last! We didnt finish til 6:30 and I had no motivation to walk anymore so Leah dropped me off at Pat's house in Oconomowoc where I was going to spend the night.

The last two days I've only walked 32 miles or so so hopefully I pick up the pace again. The heat took a lot out of me the last few days and perhaps my lack of sleep and food may have something to do with it also. I have lots of city walking on Tuesday through Hartland and Delafield until I reach Lapham Peak. Pat offered up her house again so me being a pansy, I'll probably take her up on the offer! Anyways, thanks for all the support everyone! I couldn't have made it this far without you. I'll try and keep the train going. As the great Huey Lewis once said, "You don't need money, don't need fame, don't need no credit card to ride this train." My train does take money in the form of crisp $100 bills though. It also runs on encouragement or as I would do, smartass comments.

Real Trail and Mosquitoes!

Aug 5.

Matt's cottage is great. It's the kind of place I'd like to have if I ever had a cabin. The place is at least 85 years old with all kinds of Crystal Lake memorabilia. They painted it "cabin" brown which really adds to the character. I like it! I got a late start because they took me out to breakfast. It was worth it I think. (I can't confirm whether Matt's dad Charlie is the same Charlie Kaufmann of screenwriting fame. Writing such movies as Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

I hit the trail at 9:30 and was immediately besieged by hordes of mosquitoes. The wind was calm most of the day but every now and then a whisper of wind would power through the leaves and push back the would-be vampires. Should be a fun day! I had 32 miles of uninterrupted trail ahead of me, and the oldest Ice Age Trail in the state. Trail construction and layout standards have changed a lot in the past 50 years. The trail was very steep and rocky but the scenery was beautiful. The dramatic terrain created by the glaciers is quite striking. My legs felt better today so that was a positive. I was going to meet Jim Powers at 8 at Mauthe Lake, 22 miles from where I started, so I had to summon my inner Shackleton to blast through the final 9 miles of the day. Needless to say, I made it. I had made the Kettles run in just over 10 parsecs...err hours. Another day in the books.

Aug. 7

Got another late start - Jim and I just couldn't stop talking - but I made it 10 miles in the first 4 hours. I thought I'd go high class so I had lunch at McDonalds. After lunch I had the blahs, not sure if that had to do with what I ate but I ended up walking 5 miles before taking a break, my longest stretch yet. I did see my first hiker on the trail though while I walked through the Otten Preserve! I see the same amount of wildlife in the woods as on road walks, but the animals along the road are dead. Had a treat in the Southern Kewaskum segment when I had to walk through 2 feet of water! That was a blast. It actually wasn't too bad, the hard part was taking off my boots and putting on my sandals among the thousands of mosquitoes. As I kept walking, I hit the West Bend segment, I feel like I'm starting to get somewhere! The day was dragging on and I didn't have a place to stay yet. I called Brad to help me find a place but to no avail. Shit. I ended up calling on my friend Katie to pick me up even though she lived 30 minutes away. I owe her! I think her parents were a little weirded out by her bringing home a stinky, weird, random dude. I'll take the shower and bed though! Thank you Katie! I pushed it the last 2.5 miles to finish before dark and made it in 35 minutes. I was flying! I noticed that this blog is a little boring compared to the rest. I think it may be because I didn't walk past a bar for the last two days. It's been a little rough, but I think I'll survive! Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, should be fun!

The Train Keeps Rolling

Aug. 4
I sweet talked my friend Sarah into picking me up in Manitowoc last night, the cold beer on the trail at the end of long, hot day at Straight Lake paid off I guess! I ended the night with a few Schlitz and some horseradish cheese. Quite scrumptous. Sarah's boyfriend is a pretty nice guy, how he puts up with her is beyond me. She dropped me off the next morning in Manitowoc and I got my hike going again. I stopped into a Fleet Farm where I forgot my trekking poles, the same poles that had been to Machu Pichu. I dont think Joe and Monica would be too happy if their final resting place was a Fleet Farm. I figured I'd better back track a few hundred yards and retrieve them.

It was a bruiser of a day with the heat and humidity. I missed the lake breeze! Lucky enough I ran into another ice cream shop. Their cones are 25 cents a scoop which became free after a nice couple gave me a coupon! Score! As I'm walking, I'll get the occasional rock in my sandal or shoe, most folks would get them out but I like leaving them in because one of these times, a rock is going to turn into a pearl. No luck yet though.
Made it to School Hill which was my goal and found the bar. The town looked unincorporated on the map but when I got there, there was no sign but quite a few houses actually. Sure enough, one bar, one church. The bar of choice was Shadows. It was huge with a pretty good beer selection, although slightly old as shown by the Point winter and spring seasonal on tap. I was talking to an old guy at the bar when another guy yells over to the guy I was talking to. This guy looks like Gabby Johnson from Blazing Saddles, the old coot with a big beard who mumbles and is hard to understand ("I think he said the Sheriff is near!") but a little easier to understand. He yells "Al (the old guy), you drinking soda?" Al responds "Yeah, my diabetes is giving me troubles." Gabbyesque guy "You need more sex! That'll help with the diabetes. You gotta fist pound (as he raises his fist) a girl to cure your diabetes." The few of us in the bar chuckle. I couldn't really believe I just heard that. Anyways, they were going to let me sleep out back when this guy comes over and offers up his couch. I'll take it I said. John told me that he has had other hikers stay over in the past so I thought I'd continue the tradition.

Aug. 5
Shadows opened at 6 so I stopped in on my way out of town. I almost had a bloody for breakfast, almost. Ended up having a snapple instead which turned out to be diet meaning no calories and pretty worthless to me. Oh well. A sad note today, I crossed into Sheboygan County. I knew I was getting close because the air started smelling worse and animals were walking around with deformations. 4 legged dogs are rare in Sheboygan, 3 or 5 legs are more common. The only thing worth anything in the county is Johnsonville and Miesfelds. I should be out of the county soon enough.

I was making pretty good progress under the improved weather conditions when I got to Rhine Center. Rhine Center is an interesting corollary for unincorporated towns, it has the token bar, but no church. I like it. The bar resided in a sweet old building so I just had to stop in. Plus, on the sign it said "friendliest place in town" and it was the only place in town. It was only 11:15 but what the hell, lunch sounded good (also a PBR). The building the Black Dog Bistro was in was built in 1856 and once was a recruitment center for the Civil War. Yes, Civil War. Lots of interesting people have passed through there and I just added to that list! After an excellent sandwich, the DBD, I made it to La Budde Creek, the first section of real trail in many miles. It was nice walking in the woods for a change. I got to see some trail I had built during IAT-U in 2008, trail that was built entirely with my boot because I had no other tools and I'm awesome like that.

Next stop was the Sachse cottage on Crystal Lake. No one was home but that didnt stop me from refillng my water from the garden hose. I burned through the last couple miles to the Greenbush Segment trailhead. That starts over 30 miles of trail, I'm pretty excited! My friend Matt from the Ice Age Trail picked me up and brought me back to his cabin on Crystal Lake. I got a shower and did some laundry, I was pretty stinky. Matt's dad Charlie showed up and had money burning a hole in his wallet so he took us out for dinner at Culvers. Score again! Culvers is like the poor persons steakhouse. They dont have enough money for a fancy restaurant and they eat McDonalds and BK all the time so when they want to dress up and go somewhere nice, they'll go to Culvers. Its more expensive than other fast food places, but damn, its good. I love upgrading the fries to cheese curds. Real nice! Intersting side note, Charlie had his wedding reception dinner in Rhine Center in the same building I had lunch.

My feet are pretty sore and I'm not the swiftest but the miles keep flowing by. I should be in West Bend Saturday night and the Waukesha area shortly after. Hopefully if things keep going OK I'll be in Madison in 2 weeks, 2 long weeks. I wish someone could record what goes on in my head while I'm walking. Random movie quotes and song lyrics flow in and out, melding together into a symphony of awesomeness. You can usually tell my mood by what song I have in my head. This morning when I was doing great, I had "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot serenading my thoughts but this afternoon when my dogs (feet) started hurting, I switched over to the 357 String Band, mainly "Dust Devil." Hopefully there is more Lightfoot in my future! Whenever I do need a shot of motivation though, I just remember, Wollmer's no pussy.

Pout and Rally

If someone were running a hedge fund against my life, they would be filthy rich. Sunday night as I were laying down to sleep at my brothers place, a train rolled through creating a loud racket. I looked at the time and sure enough, it was the midnight train. I bet it could be going anywhere. I didn't know if that was a sign, but I knew I was in for a Journey.

Scott dropped me off in Tisch Mills and after a pep talk from Zig Ziglar and some Midol, I was back on the trail. Starting off on the Weber Woods segment was a treat. It was the first nice section of trail since I started. Thank you Katie for graciously allowing them to use your name! After that I was back to road walking. Looking at the maps, I eagerly anticipated coming to Assman Rd, just north of Mishicot. I got there and there were no street signs...utter disappointment. There may have been no signs, but a Cubs fan lived on the corner, sounds about right. I made it the Point Beach segment where I was assaulted by the worst horde of mosquitoes I have ever seen. I lathered up in two layers of bug spray and drank some DEET, but it still wasn't enough. I'd reapply the bug spray and the mosquitoes were like the killer gorillas in Congo. They'd send one or two in to test the outer defense and when they found a weak spot they would attack. Ugly gorillas! Amy good gorilla. I heard that section of trail is nice, but I couldn't see through all the skeeters. Horrible. To make things better I went for a swim in the big lake south of Gitche Gumee. Refreshing!
Later that night, I went to the shower building and looked in the mirror - Holy Cow... It had been cloudy most of the day so I wore my sweet American flag bandana. That may have been a mistake as I now sport a nice line on my forehead. It's tomato red on top and regular summer tan under. It looks pretty bad. This never would have happened if Joelle hadn't been wearing a bandana at a MSC project and I said "I think I'm going to start wearing a bandana." Thanks Joelle!

Aug. 3
Tuesday rolled around to find me still alive. I walked along Lake Michigan for a couple miles, taking the boots off and letting the cool water flow over my feet. I finally made it to Two Rivers and crossed paths with the SAGBRAW folks. I had saw signs for them the day before in Mishicot. SAGBRAW is a big bike ride around Wisconsin and they happened to be going along the shore today. A crowd of us converged at the Washington House in Two Rivers, the home of the original ice cream sundae! I had an excellent large strawberry sundae that my new biker friends bought for me. Score! I stayed longer than I wanted but the old ladies who volunteer there were just so interested in my hike. One of them brought out a file folder from the last hiker who came through a year ago. Perhaps I can add to that file. Once I got back along the lake, I met a couple from Texas (Dwayne aaannnd I cant remember his wife's name...). We talked for 20 minutes about how awesome Wisconsin is and about hiking in general. I think I like talking to people.

Next on the agenda was Manitowoc where all they talk about is their shipbuilding past. Nice job staying current Manitowoc, what have you got since building 28 subs for WWII? Nothing. Eau Claire is home to the pizzazz pizza maker! Take that! Actually, the people were very friendly, which I think may be due to their close proximity to Sheboygan, home of the assholes. They didn't want to be another shit-bag town full of assholes, so they decided they would go the Canadian route and be friendly. It's a nice juxtaposition on Lake Michigan. There was a farmers market going on along the river and I got a peach and carrot for free. I guess I looked hungry. Before the Hmongs arrived, who had produce to sell at farmers markets? I think out of the 20 booths, 15 were Hmong. Did farmers markets exist before they arrived? They do grow some good veggies! I'm writing this from the comfort of the nice library in Manitowoc and they have a map showing how far it is to different cities around the midwest. Did you know its farther to EC than Dubuque, Iowa from Manitowoc? Crazy. Time to hit the road, the only thing I wish I had now was a nice cold Sheboygan Summer. It's a wheat beer and should be hitting stores soon. I have more miles to walk before the night is over!

The Weary Peregrino

Friday morning I woke up at Scott's farm halfway between Algoma and Casco and picked some fresh strawberries - not a bad way to start your morning! I figured Scott was an OK guy because when I met him, he was wearing a "thanks for the memories Brent" shirt. Classy. I trucked along to Casco arriving before 9, an hour before the fireman's cookout started. I guess I didn't time that too well. Shortly thereafter, I completed my run on the Ahnapee Trail. Thank God. The only redeeming point of the trail is the plethora of honeysuckle berries. Mmmmm! Also, I don't think I've ever seen ant hills as large as the ones along the Ahnapee. They are huge!

From there I started my road walk! I actually enjoyed the road walking more than walking the Ahnapee. The roads are divided into even grids so its easy to chart your progress, plus there are unincorporated towns (unincorporated is Latin for one church, one bar and nothing else). Another reason I liked the road walks is that its harder to show pain in public. There are small towns you walk through and more traffic, but if you're on a back road it would be easier to show pain and pout, moan and whine. The busier roads makes you be a little tougher, more stoic.

Walking along the road with a hint of rain in the air, I took pleasure watching the going-ons of everyday life. The farmers hurrying up to get the hay in or running the combine, people mowing their lawns, another guy fixing a door. Life keeps trucking along, but sometimes a forecast of rain can sure make it switch gears.

The tallest buildings in the country are usually churches. You can see them for miles away even with the rolling hills. I spotted the spire of a church in the distance and began having a conversation with the priest in my head (yes, I'm crazy). We had a good talk and I was ready to speak when I arrived. I walked in and the priest was standing there and I say "Father, could you spare some water for a weary peregrino?" "Of course my son" he answered. "How about a place to rest my tired feet?" I asked. "Right over here," he motioned. This of course never occurred because there was no one in the church when I walked in. I was a little bummed because I wanted to call myself a weary peregrino to ask for water. Then again, it was a Lutheran church and they probably would have kicked me out without any water.

I made a stop at Janda's Bar in Ellisville for a PBR (which should stand for Power-Boost Refueler). They had History Channel's Modern Marvels on the TV and the episode was on cheese! Did you know the original mozzarella came from Asian Water Buffaloes? Or that Mozzarella is the number 1 cheese in America? Also, 90% of milk is wasted in the making of cheese. Fascinating stuff.

I moseyed another 4 miles down to Stangelville, another unincorporated town! Sure enough, one bar and one church. I rounded the corner of the bar and encountered a lady outside having a smoke. We talked for a bit and she offered to buy me a beer. Turned out I was talking to Teri who owned the Flip of the Coin Bar. I like when things work out that way. Soon enough they were having me pick out songs on the jukebox. Its harder to pick songs when you are in a small town bar where most folks enjoy country, but I was able to cobble together enough classic country (Merle, Waylon, Willie, Alabama) and classic rock to please the bar. The only disappointment was they a Ted Nugent CD in the juke, but it didn't have Stranglehold on it. How a bar in Stangelville doesnt have Stranglehold on the juke is beyond me. If I could wake up to Stranglehold everyday, I would be a better man. I had a great time with Teri, Dave and Chandra at the Flip of the Coin. They let me sleep out back. 3 nights on the trail, 2 of which were spent at a bar! I like small town bars. Give me a Flip of the Coin or Dew Drop Inn over a Brothers any day. Better people, better memories.

Dave, Me, Teri and Chandra

As I lay in my tent that night, I could hear the people talking about what I was doing so if one thing came out of my evening at the Flip of the Coin, its that they know a little bit more about the Ice Age Trail. If you ever happen to be passing through Stangelville, stop at the Flip of the Coin and enjoy a beer or two.

It rained most of Friday night and into Saturday morning. I had a crazy dream that if I saw happen would be one of the sweetest things ever. It involved a national trails convention and someone showing up late being pulled by a sled dog team (because there was snow right up to the meeting room of course). I wish my life were as interesting as my dreams! I packed up in the rain and headed out, my goal was to make it Point Beach State Forest. I have fond memories of the Point Beach MSC project in 2006 where we had a luau and Cliff's Bar No Grill. I think we should have another project over there, but this time do the beach party right and have a pig roast!

My feet were covered with blisters and leg muscles sore but all that was manageable. I had been bothered by a pain in my knee since I started but for the most part it didn't bother me too much. Saturday both knees started giving me fits making it hard to even amble when there was any grade at all. I made it the Kohnle section and rejoiced for it was the first real trail section since Potawatomi. That rejoicing ended pretty shortly. Winston Churchill once said "If you're going through hell, keep going," I believe he had the Kohnle section in mind when he said that.

It wasn't hell, but the armies of mosquitoes, and wading through knee high grass and 2 inches of water wasn't too pleasant. I stumbled into Tisch Mills with soaked boats and diminished spirits. I found a bench outside the local mercantile and tried to put the pieces back together. Dry socks were in my bag and the boots will dry out but walking up or down steps (or any elevation for that matter) was killing me. I think Animal from the MSC projects walks faster than me at this point. I decided I needed a couple days off to rest my knees. My brother came and picked me up so I'm at his place in Green Bay. I'm sure the IATA office pool of how far I'd make it is heating up about now! The vultures are circling but tomorrow I'm heading back out to give it another shot. Like Bill Pullman in Independence Day who never gave up hope. When their big plan to bring down the aliens defense shield failed at first, what did he do? He accelerated towards the spaceship saying "I want another shot at it." As you know from history, his next shot hit the ship thus, saving the world. I may not be saving the world, but I do love Independence Day (the movie and holiday). I'll try to shake off the pain and continue my journey!