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!