IAT - 10-25-13 to 10-26-13 - New Hope Segment up to Plover River Segment

For this trip I hooked up with some fellow hikers that are also hiking the IAT.  We started at the Iola Winter Sports Club and hiked north.  The first day started pretty good with about 5 miles of actual trail, but after that we were out of the woods and pounding the pavement for 20 miles.  There were some long straight road stretches that were less than thrilling so I was very glad to have the company to keep things interesting.  The weather was nice and cool, but overcast for most of the day so didn't take too many pictures since the nice fall colors were mostly grayed out.

Iola Winter Sports Club ski jump.

Boardwalk along the trail.

There were a bunch of these cool sculptures along the trail.

Another little guy hanging from a tree.

A lake that was just off the trail.

Some trees along the trail.

Good view along a connecting route.

Cool looking barn.

Some cows that were very interested in us.

Kassie always making friends.

A TINY snake along the road.

The next day started with a nice sunrise and a (relatively) short 7 mile road walk.  From there the trail follows a bike path for a few miles and then we were finally back into the woods!  It was very nice to back in the woods and off of streets or flat bike paths.  From there the rest of the trip was much more enjoyable.  There were a few short road walks mixed between the woods, but overall we were in the woods the rest of the day.  The woods were very peaceful and we didn't see another person till we reached the Eau Claire Dells area.  The trail there follows the Eau Claire River with some nice views along the way.  We crossed the river twice on a bridge and then a dam and there were lots of cool rocks along the way.  At the end of the segment there is another 3 and a half mile road stretch that we knocked out as well so that we could all start at the Plover River Segment next time around instead of starting with a road walk.  All in all it was a nice couple days and got some good miles in.

Sunrise day 2.

Panorama of the sunrise on day 2.

Some kittens at a house we passed by.

(The other) Pike Lake.

The Mountain Bay State Trail.

Hill leading up to Klaver Kame.  This picture does not do the hill justice.

Old tractor along the trail.

Wouldn't want hikers to ruin all that beer drinking and killing stuff.

Small waterfalls along the Eau Claire River

The Eau Claire River.

View of the river along the trail.

View of the river along the trail.

Bridge crossing over the river.

Sean enjoying the view (and waiting to take a picture).

View from on the bridge.

View of the river along the trail.

Got to find out the name of this thing.  Very cool rock formation in the river.

Old bridge over the Eau Claire River.

Dam going over the river.

View from on top of the dam.

End of the Eau Claire Dells Segment.

Barn near the end of the Eau Claire Dells Segment near sunset.

Start of the Plover River Segment.

IAT - 10-19-13 - Hartland Segment to Delafield Segment

Since my trip the previous weekend got cut short I had an 8 mile gap to fill.  With such a short day I decided to get up early and enjoy the sunrise from Lapham Peak's observation tower.  I was the only up there on a nice 28 degree morning and took lots of pictures - some are below.  After that I drove over to the end of the Lapham segment where I had previously stopped and rode my bike back to Nixon park in the Hartland segment.  From there I hiked back to the car.  Because it was such a short stretch I ran most of the way and didn't carry my camera so no pictures of that route other then boring cell phone pictures I took of signs.  There wasn't much actual trail in the woods to this day.  It was a lot of road trail and paved bike paths so the running worked out good.  Made it back in a little over a hour, picked up my bike, and was on my way home after a short day.

View looking west.

View looking east.

View looking west.

View looking north.

View looking east.

View looking north-west.

View looking north.

View looking east.

Panorama from NW to SW.

Panorama looking north.

Panorama from NW to SW.

IAT - 10-13-13 - Holy Hill Segment to Hartland Segment

For this trip to close the gap I had in the trail now my wife and kids wanted to do some apple picking.  Originally we had planned to all do that together and then I could knock out the miles on the trail.  But we got a late start to the day, I got lost on the trial for a little, and we took a break to check out the Basilica of the National Shrine of St Mary.  With it being a Sunday that all added up to me not having enough time to go apple picking or even finish my intended route all the way to the end of the Delafield segment.

But it was a beautiful day out and I started on HWY E on the north end of the Holy Hill segment.  All was well until I hit the .5 mile connecting route along Pleasant Hill Rd.  Where the trail pickups again on the south side of the street it was completely overgrown when coming from the west.  I ended up walking a good half mile further down the road then I had to before doubling back.  Coming from the east I could see a blue sign marking the edge of Ice Age preserve and the start of private property so I went to see where the trail actually picked up.  Behind some bushes there was the familiar yellow blazed post completely covered.  

Holy Hill segment was looking good with all the colors from the leafs.

There was a bridge going over a small river.

The trail covered in all the leafs.

With that mess out of the way I kept on and met my family along the trail.  They had parked at the Basilica of St Mary and hiked north to meet me.  We hiked back to the Basilica together and fought the crowds up to check the place out.  It was pretty cool and had some good views, but overall I should have just kept hiking.  Back on the trail the southern part of the Holy Hill segment was packed.  Tons of people out to enjoy the leafs.

View of trail along the Holy Hill segment.

There were a ton of cars piling into this place.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of St Mary.

View looking north from the top level of the Basilica.

View looking east from the top level of the Basilica.

The crowded Basilica of the National Shrine of St Mary.

After a short connecting route I headed into the Loew Lake segment which was very nice.  Beautiful views along the trail and a very good hike.  Saw some horseback riders on the trail briefly.  They apparently came on the IAT just to let their horses do their business and then realized it wasn't met for horses and turned around and continued on the horse trail.  Thanks...

Nice views along the Loew Lake segment.

Some dead trees along the Loew Lake segment.

Milkweed along the Loew Lake segment.

But finished up the Loew Lake segment in good time and had a quick stop for a late lunch before heading into the Monches segment.  It was a short segment, but was enjoyable to hike.  The Merton segment was also very nice.  It follows and crosses a river which was pretty cool.  The bridges are nice and I'm sure they make the trail more accessible for everyone, but I almost wish they weren't there.  The crossings would have been some interesting rock hops that would add a lot of character to the trail.

Start of Monches segment.

View along Merton segment.

After a short road walk I arrived at Centennial Park and the beginning of the Hartland segment.  These must be some of the nicest public parks around.  Just beautiful.  Very enjoyable walk through their parks.  But the family was done with their apple picking and the kids had school the next day so I got the call that it was time to go.  There was some interesting road walking through alleys and down streets in the north part of this segment.  As I had my sheet of paper with directions out trying to navigate through town I see another hiker going the other way with her sheet of paper doing the same thing.  It was pretty funny.  But made it a little beyond Nixon park before I was picked up and we headed home.

Fountain at Nixon Park.