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Winter storm provides a fresh blanket of snow for hiking

Photo at left: Hikers make their way through new-fallen snow Wednesday on the John Muir Trail in the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Whitewater. Click for more photos.

I canceled our Tuesday walk because of the hazardous weather warning due to strong gusty winds accompanying the snowstorm.

Come Wednesday, the sun was out, the winds became less strong, and the snow was beautiful for our outing. We decided to go to the John Muir Trails for our walk for two reasons, one is that the lot would be plowed out and the other is that the trails are protected from the wind.

Meg McCormick took walkers on the short walk leading with her snowshoes on via a combination of the red, rainy dew, orange, and white trails amounting to somewhere between two and a half and three miles of spectacular trail. They walked slowly and stopped often to rest and to enjoy the scenery.

The rest of us took a hike closer to five miles in length going north on the blue trail around to the connection with the orange near Oleson Cabin. We took that trail east to the intersection with the Old Lime Kiln trail. Then we went to the lime kiln and continued past to where the unofficial trail connects with the blue trail which we started out on.

There were several trees across the lime kiln trail. We stepped across most of them and walked around the others. After reaching the blue we retraced our steps back to the parking lot. We were walking much faster than the shorter walk group. We also had stronger hikers and four of us in the lead with snowshoes packing the trail for the others had us arriving at the same time as Meg's group.

There was an abundance of deer tracks as well as those of many other animals in the woods at the base of the hills. The less protected ridges had few tracks. On the way out we found some men with radio receivers who were looking for a couple of dogs who were following a coyote track.

Soup and sandwiches capped this day's adventure at the LaGrange Country Store where our walking groups were joined by Jo Staedter who normally hikes with us but had chosen to take advantage of the freshly groomed Nordic ski trails instead. She reported having a great ski on the new snow although the trails were a bit slow.

Happy trekking, Russ

Activities

Feb. 12-14, Madison Garden Expo. Help staff a table to share our handouts, calendar, maps, etc. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Walworth/Jefferson County Chapter, Ice Age Trail Alliance meeting at US Bank, Elkhorn. Gray wolf trackers Emily and Larry Schoenemann will give a presentation on how they monitor wolves. Contact Liz DeBraal (262) 723-2625.

Saturday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m., Whitewater Freeze Fest. Staff an informational table, distribute Ice Age Trail info and answer questions about the trail at the Cravath Lakefront. Contact Barb Converse (262) 473-7304.

Saturday, Feb. 20, 9 a.m., Trail maintenance. Meet at the U.S. Highway 12 Ice Age Trail crossing. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

Saturday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m., Hike/Snowshoe at Bigfoot Beach State Park. Park at Badger High School, 220 E. South St., Lake Geneva. Afterward, participants have the option to partake of vittles at a local eatery. Contact Peter Packer (262) 215-8277.

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.