Ringle Segment of the Ice Age Trail

The Ice Age Trail Alliance held a trail cleanup event for the Ringle Segment this weekend, and even though I would have loved to have signed up to help, I couldn't bear the thought of not spending time with Charlie this weekend. And since dogs aren't allowed to participate in these events, I chose to spend my time hiking with Charlie and blogging about our adventures to promote the trail instead!

After yesterday's challenging hike with Matt and his dog, Bob, I was inspired to do another long-mile day. Charlie and I headed to the Ringle Segment... a segment near my home that I hadn't completed yet. The last time we were here was February 2016 and there was still snow/ice on the ground. Today was a balmy 70 degrees with no snow in sight!

Unfortunately we heard several nearby gunshots as soon as we exited the parking area and Charlie totally flipped out. I had hoped that someone was just target shooting near the landfill and that if we continued hiking North, we could outrun the noise. But Charlie was already spooked and she panted full of stress for most of the hike.

Luckily once we reached the Klaver Klame (our destination before heading back), the gunshots had subsided and Charlie seemed to relax for a bit. We played a game of fetch using pinecones on top of the klame and took a short break to let our heart rates return to normal.

Look at those ears! Sign on tree says "Klaver Kame"

The landscape wasn't as challenging as Harrison Hills, but still had quite a bit of rolling topography. Being that it's still early in the spring season, the landscape isn't that interesting yet. A lot of brown leaves and sticks covered the trail and not much greenery has budded out yet. Plus, there were no decent lakes or streams to let Charlie swim.

The most notable feature of our hike today was the sound of frogs! This segment is surrounded by many boggy ponds that are filled with singing frogs.

VIDEO (frog chorus):

VIDEO (Charlie goes swimming in a muck puddle):

On our return hike, we once again heard the sound of gunshots. Charlie was in a full-on panic at this point and pulled me down twice, causing me to scrape my hands and bruise my knees. I had also developed a couple of blisters on my feet that required a quick stop to put band-aids on. On top of all that, we happened to be down-wind from the Marathon County Landfill that borders part of this trail and the odor was not pleasant at all. Also, it appears that rude hunters have dumped deer carcasses near where the trail crosses the road behind the landfill. And since Charlie gets a little freaked out by dead things, this only added to her stress.

During the last half-mile of our hike, I ended up having to let Charlie off-leash because she was so frantic to get to the car to escape the gun noises. I knew if I let her off she would make a bee-line for the car and either hide under it or pace around it until I got there, which is exactly what she did. Unfortunately I hit my breaking point before I let her off-leash because she had just pulled me down for the second time and I lashed out at her... yelling and smacking her butt. 

I felt bad for doing that and adding to her stress but I was pretty stressed out too. These things happen though. 

Charlie covered my hands and arms in kisses all the way home which made me feel forgiven, although I think she was just grateful to be in the car and moving away from that place! I also gave her a special dinner tonight of sweet potato, sardines and egg mixed in with her kibble. Food cures all!

It was interesting how closely she stuck by my side during the hike and even insisted on hiding between my legs several times when I'd stop to take photos. In looking through the photos from the day, she was either running toward me for protection or looking around on high alert, distracted by every noise. In retrospect, we should have left the trail right away and found a different place to hike today. Lesson learned.

Hiding by mom.

This turned out to be a bit of a bummer day for us and I can't say I have good memories of this segment. I'm sure in the summer, when the foliage is bloomed out, the trail might be more interesting. But honestly, I probably won't be back to hike this one again. I'd rather spend my time re-hiking the Plover River or Grandfather Falls segments, or taking a road trip to explore somewhere new.

Stats from Map My Dog Walk app:

Harrison Hills, Part 2

This is the face that woke me up at 5:30am this morning:

In preparation of an early morning hike today, I had packed up the car the night before. Charlie knew something was up and was totally confused when we went to bed Friday night... she had been expecting a hiking excursion. Apparently she immediately remembered the packed-up car when she heard the automatic coffee pot turn on this morning and she came to wake me up. This girl LOVES to hike!

Earlier this week I made plans to join another segment hiker on the Harrison Hills Segment of the Ice Age Trail and help with shuttling. We met at 8am this morning and staged our cars with one at the beginning of the segment and then drove to another point to hike back to the first car.

The mileage of this segment exceeded my comfort level, so I only joined them on the first 6 or so miles. Hopefully by the end of this season, Charlie and I will be able to do bigger miles in one day! But since Charlie is carrying a little extra winter-weight and I haven't worked up to that intensity yet, we took the safe route today and stuck with a distance that was comfortable.

Because of Charlie's dog-reactivity, I wasn't sure how she would get along with Matt's dog, Bob, but they did really well today and Charlie even seemed to enjoy their company!

After solo-hiking for so long, it was nice to have some company for a change. And it also felt good to finally complete this section of the trail. Charlie and I had hiked a portion of the Harrison Hills Segment back in 2013 and somehow never made it back to do the rest. I had forgotten how challenging the hills were! By the end of the hike, I definitely felt out of shape.

It was my first time doing an early morning hike and I'm so glad I finally got to experience that. There's a different kind of quiet and stillness in the morning, especially this time of year when there's a light layer of frost on vegetation that sparkles in the rising sun. Birds were singing and frogs slowly warmed up enough to begin their chorus. The woods were quiet of ATV noise and other human sounds that can distract from the wilderness experience. It was just nature and the slow awakening of a gorgeous day.

This segment has quite a few small kettle lakes that the dogs took breaks to explore. And at one point we even saw a distant beaver dam across a lake.

Beaver dam is on far side of lake.

Close-up of beaver dam on left.

Charlie did really well with the challenging landscape and distance today, so we're going to try doing more of these types of hikes in coming weeks. It's nice to know that the weather is warm enough now that we can be out all day!

My thanks goes out to Matt for inviting me along on the hike today and being patient with us. Charlie insisted on being the lead dog for most of the hike and I appreciate that Matt and Bob allowed her to be "queen" today. I was really proud of how well she did with meeting a new dog and we had a great time!

Me and Charlie. (Photo credit: Matt Mitschke)

Contrast

Today was such a different day in contrast to yesterday. Where yesterday was all about breezy blue skies, sunshine and light... today was calm, cool and damp with a landscape in shades of gray and brown.

Even though the weather was cloudy with off-and-on sprinkly rain, we made the best of it. Actually I kind of love hiking on days like this. Typically the trails are void of people so Charlie can wander off-leash and I can relax and enjoy the scenery instead of keeping an eye on where she's wandering.

Plus there's something very peaceful about sitting in the woods on a log and listening to the rain drops hitting the dry leaves and making little plinks in the water nearby.

Echoes of geese honking across the lake filled the woods and hollow thudding of woodpeckers hammering the dead wood all around us. Squirrels scurried in the leaves and took flight up tree trunks to tease Charlie below.

My pace was slow and deliberate today. Eyes on the sky and the birds soaring above the lake. One foot in front of the other interspersed with periods of sitting and enjoying the scenery while throwing Charlie's stick.

Even though Charlie rolled in poop and dead things today, her fur was infused with the scent of earthy woodsy leaves. I almost hated to give her a bath when we got home because I absolutely love that sweet smell of leaves!

Hope you all got outside this weekend no matter what the weather brought you. Fresh air is fresh air! Get outside and enjoy it.

VIDEO (birds soaring and geese honking with Charlie watching):

VIDEO (I love her happy tail!):

No Jokes, Just Perfection!

What a freaking gorgeous day it was today! Wow. Charlie and I spent the majority of our day at Turtle Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail. I knew the weather was going to be sublime, so I wanted to choose a place where we could be by ourselves, immersed in nature. Turtle Rock is my "go to" place for this type of thing.

It was the perfect day to be there. Not a soul in sight... just trees swaying in the light breeze and the crunch of dry leaves under my boots. Tons of birds singing in the woods and even a flock of geese followed us while swimming along the shore of the Wisconsin River.

All in all, it was just what I needed after a busy, long week at work. Just a day to road trip, hike, sit on a rock and take in the view with my dog. Perfection!

VIDEO (I could sit and listen to this stream all day!):

VIDEO (geese following us along the shoreline):

VIDEO (ignore my irritation with Charlie... she wouldn't stop playing fetch!):

BB Visits Rib Mountain

Today is BB's final full day of his stay with us. We'll be heading down to Madison tomorrow to return him to his "mom." And although it's been challenging to walk two dogs at the same time (I can never keep the leashes untangled!), we'll miss having him around. He's got a playful spark and youthful spirit that makes us laugh constantly. But I'm sure he'll be happy to get back home and into his normal routine again too.

Anyone who has ever had a guest visiting them knows that there are always a couple "must see" places that they like to show off in their home town. Wausau has several of these, but Rib Mountain State Park is a top choice for most people who love outdoor activities, so I decided to take BB and Charlie hiking and sight-seeing there this afternoon.

Despite the gray, cloudy day, the air had a tinge of "spring" to it and the snow-melt filled the tiny streams that trickled down the hillsides. It was a very peaceful walk along the lower trails on the backside of the mountain.

We toured the crumbled remains of the old Dynamite Shack and then drove up to the top of the mountain to take in the views of Wausau. It's always a bit of a surprise to drive past the ski lifts still operating on the ski hill when there is no snow anywhere else. BB enjoyed the trails and the leisurely drive around the park with his head hanging out the window taking in all the scents.

Tomorrow will be a road trip day and hopefully a couple of short hiking adventures along the way. Then we'll begin our week again... weekends always end too soon!