Starting point—Manitowoc
Ending point—Manitowoc
Distance—1.6 miles
Cumulative Distance—113.8 miles
Well, we've already racked up more hiking days (albeit not mileage) on the Ice Age Trail in 2016 than 2015. With an absolutely gorgeous day, temperature reaching 60 degrees, we headed back to Manitowoc for a bit more trail time.
When we were packing for the adventure, we discussed whether we should take strollers or backpack carriers. Dave's response was that it would be all roads or paved trail. (He later amended this to say he meant hard packed gravel trail.)
Well, we had perhaps a quarter mile or so of paved surface. Then we encountered some hard packed gravel. Then some ice. (AJ thought it was funny to have ice on the Ice Age Trail. We saw less humor in pushing strollers up a hill covered in ice.)
Then we got into the fun stuff with big steps, steep hills and the ultimate steep muddy hill. Let's just say it was a bit adventurous with strollers, and that made it a really fun hike. (In hindsight, backpack carriers would have been simpler and left a lot less mud on the car ride home.)
We ended the hike a bit sooner than planned, so the boys could enjoy some quality time in a really neat park. Dave watched them while Kerry took the less muddy roads back to retrieve the car.
Although we might not have covered a lot of ground, it was well worth the drive for all the fun we had.
Starting point—Two Rivers
Ending point—Manitowoc
Distance—5.9 miles
Cumulative Distance—110 miles
Well, it took more than a year for us to get on the Ice Age Trail again, but we made it at least once in 2015. We took advantage of a sitter for our two boys and the relatively nice December weather and headed to the trail with the intention of knocking off about 5 miles.
We were waylaid from the start because the Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve was closed for deer hunting season, and that's right where our hike should have started. Dave was frustrated that this is the first time we couldn't follow the trail in order because we had to skip the section to comply with the closure.
We caught the trail right outside the Preserve and still hiked about the same distance we had hoped. For December, it was a pretty nice day in the low 40s with plenty of sunshine. It was windy by Lake Michigan but much nicer a bit inland.
We enjoyed our time outside and the tour of Manitowoc as we weaved our way around new streets and familiar spots to David, who worked in Manitowoc for 8 years.
It was also really nice to have a friend come pick us up to shuttle us back to our car, so we didn't have to do a loop or shuttle multiple vehicles.
Here's to hoping for more Ice Age Trail hiking in 2016!
