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Trail conditions good for hikers, skiers

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

Cold weather hit us again this week keeping some hikers home. The numbers on both hikes were down slightly, but the attendance was still good and on Wednesday we welcomed a new walker and another whom we had not seen for some time.

Some of our weekly walkers enjoy cross-country skiing, and when conditions are good, they sometimes opt to ski the trail.

Before the Tuesday hike, I joined some of these skiers at the Nordic Trails and found the ski trails to be in excellent condition, and snow in the forecast for Thursday ought to make them even better for the weekend.

Then, I met the others at U.S. Highway 12 for our hike, which took us on the loop of trails between Highway 12 and Esterly Road.

We started out on the Ice Age Trail and walked all the way to Esterly Road at a fast pace to keep warm.

By the time we arrived, we were toasty warm and stopped to share some trail mix.

Although negotiating the trail was not difficult, the walk back on the snowmobile trail was relatively easy because of the packed snow on the trail.

The Wednesday walk took place at the Muir Trails. We saw no bikers this day.

As we started out, it was colder than the night before, or at least it seemed so, and a cloudy sky prevented the sun from warming us.

We actually did warm up relatively fast as we walked helped by the temperature climbing a bit.

We saw many animal and bird tracks in the snow.

In several spots there was evidence left by deer trying to find an acorn snack where the snow had been dug up.

We walked against bike traffic on the white trail to the rainy dew trail intersection.

We took that trail to the orange where we split up.

Norwin took the more adventurous hikers on the rest of the rainy dew while I led the remainder on a shorter walk in the other direction on the orange trail to the white, finishing on that pretty trail, a total of three and a half miles.

Happy trekking, Russ

Activities

Saturday Jan. 9, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., 3rd Annual Night Hike and Cookout: Meet at the Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, Wisconsin Highway 67 entrance in Williams Bay, hike at 6 p.m., then roast free hot dogs and enjoy with other outdoor food provided by Harold and Cheryl Friestad while enjoying a large bonfire. RSVP if you plan to attend by e-mail to Harold at haroldf@charter.net so that he knows how much food to purchase.

Tuesday Jan. 19, 7 p.m., Annual Meeting, Walworth/Jefferson County Chapter, Ice Age Trail Alliance: Meet at US Bank, Elkhorn. Contact Russ Helwig (262) 473-2187.

Saturday Jan. 23, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Candlelight Ski at Nordic Trails: Food for sale and fire for food you bring to roast. Contact Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest headquarters (262) 594-6200.

Friday Jan. 29, 7 p.m., Moonlight Hike/Snowshoe, Emma Carlin Trails: 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.