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Spring wildflowers ahead of schedule

Photo at left: Click for more recent photos from the the Ice Age Trail.

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Again this week, we had sunny days and perfect temperatures for our walks. Persistent warmer-than-usual temperatures have accelerated the spring wildflowers so that they are appearing more than two weeks ahead of time.

It also has been relatively dry, so that the rain we had this past weekend was welcomed and resulted in a few morels to be found if one knows where to look.

On our first walk ,we headed from our meeting place southwest to County Highway P on the Ice Age Trail and returned on the horse trail.

The woods from U.S. Highway 12 to the power lines had been burned a week earlier and a faint smell of burnt wood persisted. Native plants have deep roots and survive being burned to the ground while the invasive plants including much of the underbrush are killed.

Both Meg McCormick and I have started leading our Wednesday walks on different segments of the Ice Age Trail each week.

This way, the walkers who wish to may log them for the "Kettle Trekker" program where, for a small fee, one may earn a patch for hiking the entire 26 miles of Ice Age Trail and road connectors through Walworth and Jefferson Counties. Meg started at Duffin Road and my group started at Oleson Cabin to hike back to Highway 12. My hikes are longer so that we will complete the task in fewer walks.

There were four new walkers split between our two groups.

I started out in the lead for the first mile, but after crossing Duffin Road a couple of us did some minor trail maintenance and ended up at the end of the pack.

We stragglers also observed many wildflowers including Jack-in-the-pulpit, blue violet, yellow violet, wood anemone, pussytoe, and wild geranium.

As we walked by Lake LaGrange, a fair sized snake which was sunning itself slithered in hast off the trail disappearing in the woods between us and the water. It moved too fast for positive identification but was likely either a water or hog-nosed snake.

Many varieties of birds were singing which added to the enjoyment of our walk.

Happy trekking, Russ

Activities

Friday April 30, 8:45 a.m. Earth Day activities in the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Southern Unit: Three Purdy School classes from Fort Atkinson will meet at Horseriders Park for tree planting, hiking and garlic mustard pulling along the Ice Age Trail. Contact Hedda Patzke (262) 763-5375.

Saturday May 1, 8 a.m. Bird walk: Meet at the U.S Highway 12 Ice Age Trail crossing to walk in the beautiful Lake LaGrange area. Learn to identify birds by sight and/or sound with Mariette Nowak, author of "Birdscaping in the Midwest". Contact Russ Helwig (262) 473-2187.

Tuesday - Sunday May 11-16. Mobil Skills Crew event: First Mobile Skill Crew weekend for 2009: Enjoy a fun outing and help build new trail in Wisconsin's newest state park, Straight Lake State Park in Polk County. Besides trail building, help is needed for support such as with meals, greeting, etc. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Tuesday, May 18, 7 p.m. Regular monthly meeting of the Walworth/Jefferson County Chapter, Ice Age Trail Alliance: Meet at US Bank, Elkhorn. Contact Liz DeBraal (262) 723-2625.

Saturday, May 22, 9 a.m. Trail work: Meet at the Highway 12 trail crossing to assist with trail maintenance while enjoying the great outdoors. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Sunday, May 23, 9 a.m. Hike at the Nature Conservancy Crooked Creek Preserve: Meet at the preserve intrance on Bluff Rd north of Troy Center. Parking may be limited so call for details of where to meet for carpooling. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Saturday, June 5, 8 a.m. National Trails Day Hike: Meet at the Rice Lake shelter parking lot. Shuttles will be available to take hikers to the start and return when finished with hikes of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 26 miles available. Official kick-off of the "Kettle Trekker" program for hiking all 26 miles of Ice Age National Scenic Trail through Walworth and Jefferson Counties (does not have to be done in one day and participation is not required to hike). Bring water and food for the hike. Contact Russ Helwig (262) 473-2187.

Weekly Walks

We meet at 4 p.m. Tuesdays and 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Highway 12 Ice Age National Scenic Trail crossing located about four miles east of Whitewater.

We include two or more walks of different distances on Wednesdays, and also do this on Tuesdays when desired.

All ages are welcome.

Note that a state park pass is required to park a car at the Highway 12 meeting place.

A daily or yearly pass may be purchased at the meeting place provided correct change is available.