• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Rain and sleet hamper this week's hike

Our Tuesday walk this week was plagued by a light mix of rain and sleet. Four of us braved the weather by walking around Lake LaGrange via Ice Age Trail and horse trail.

We saw two great blue herons and some ducks. The rain stopped for the last half of our walk, which ended quite pleasantly just before the rain/sleet mix resumed. The rain held off on the next day but the clouds and cold weather persisted. We divided into two roughly equal groups and hiked the orange blazed trail from the Nordic trailhead.

Our longer distance hikers added some of the white, blue, and the brown trail which more than doubled the length of the walk.

Ellen Davis reported that the shorter walk group observed two geese landing on the large kettle pond and observed one hepatica which was drooping with closed flowers from the lack of sun and cold.

Nineteen-monthold Dayne Cruz was pulled by his grandmother Rita Fox in a bicycle trailer, except for times he was practicing hiking. He really enjoyed stretching his legs and stayed on the trail.

My longer hiking group saw several hepatica and pasqueflowers, all closed due to the weather.

Happy trekking, Russ

Activities

Friday and Saturday, April 22-23, Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville celebrates Earth Day: Eleven activities geared toward children occur both days, and entrance into the gardens is free. Each child participating will be given a tree to plant. On Saturday, lectures will occur hourly from 9-2. Topics include; Green Energy Innovations, Composting, Rain Barrels, Conservation in Landscape Design, the Importance of Trees, and Garden Questions and Answers session with Mike Maddox. Visit http://rotarybotanicalgardens.org/events/earth-day-at-rbg for details. Saturday, April 23, 9 a.m., Trail Maintenance: Meet at Highway 12 trail crossing for maintenance and clearing trail. Contact Gary Klat (262) 473-4973.

Saturdays, April 23- June 4, 10 a.m., Wildflower hikes (May 28 meet at 1pm): Meet at the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest Headquarters on Highway 59 between Palmyra and Eagle to Join Ron Kurowski, KMSF-SU Naturalist, on his weekly spring wildflower hikes. Contact KMSF HQ (262) 594-6200.

April 30, 10 a.m., Hike at the Ice Age Trail Devil's Staircase, Janesville: Join Dave Bendlin, environmental studies teacher at Milton High School and see a large variety of native wildflowers along the trail. Meet at the north pavilion at Riverside Park. Rain date is May 1. Contact Pam, 608-563-4454.

Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m., Wildflower hike: Our IATA chapter members will meet at the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest Headquarters on Highway 59 between Palmyra and Eagle to Join Ron Kurowski, KMSF-SU Naturalist, on a weekly spring wildflower hike. Contact KMSF HQ (262) 594-6200.

Monday, May 9, 8:30 a.m.- 12:30pm, Invasive Plant Workshop: Meet at Tallgrass Restoration, 3129 County N, Milton. This event is for volunteers and groups managing invasive plants throughout SE Wisconsin. Professionals and public are also invited to attend. Cost is $3. For registration and carpooling info contact Beth Gehred, 920-541-3208 or at beth.gehred@tacrcd.com

Tuesday, May 17, 7 p.m., Monthly Meeting, Walworth/Jefferson Co Chapter, IATA: Meet at US Bank, Elkhorn. Contact Carol Prchal (262) 495-8502.

Saturday, May 21, 9 a.m., Trail Maintenance: Meet at Highway 12 trail crossing for maintenance and clearing trail. Contact Bill Kangaroo, 608-883-2825.

Friday-Sunday, May 20-22, Bike/hike/camp/relax: Camp the whole weekend or join for a day as we hike, bike (kayak?) and explore the wonders of Perrot State Park on the Mississippi River. Great wildlife viewing and the Great River bike trail. Tentative plan is to bike the Sparta-Elroy trail on Sunday. Contact Gary Klatt (262) 473-4973.

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.