Hike 16

Starting point—Mishicot
Ending point—just outside of Mishicot
Distance—1.9 miles
Cumulative Distance— 88.4 miles

 This was our first hike of 2014 and our second hike as a family of 4! AJ claimed the backpack carrier, which meant he rode with Kerry. Teddy was bundled up in the stroller as it was in the low 40s since we were closer to the lakeshore. David pushed the stroller since he needed to take it a bit easier after his emergency appendectomy a little more than a week ago.

It was a sunny day, but the wind was a bit brisk at times. It was wonderful to be out hiking again, and we can't wait to hit the trail more this year even with the challenge of two little ones.

Teddy fussed a little bit, more from being tired than being too cold, which is a good thing. AJ complained about being cold once but for the most part enjoyed watching cars go by, singing songs, looking at the farms and blowing his whistle.

Our hope it to make it to Manitowoc in 2014!

Hike 15

Starting point—Nearing Mishicot
Ending point—Mishicot
Distance—2.5 miles
Cumulative Distance— 86.5 miles

We hit up the Ice Age Trail yesterday with our two sons. Yes, this was our first hike with our second son (outside of Mama). AJ rode in the backpack carrier, and Teddy rode in the front-pack carrier. We did a shorter hike (about 4 miles total with 2 miles or so being on the Ice Age Trail) because of carrying the two boys for the first time, but it was wonderful to be outside.

Gorgeous fall day!

 It was a gorgeous fall day! The temperature was right around 70, so it was excellent hiking weather. We were excited to be on real trail again, which is always a nice change of pace after being on the roads.

Teddy stretching while taking a hiking break.

AJ needed a snack to keep his energy up for the hike!

We ended our Ice Age Trail hike in Mishicot, where AJ watched people fishing for salmon and played in the park while Teddy nursed. Then we headed back to our car taking a more direct route and part of the IAT. What a great Sunday morning!

Hike 14

Starting point—Nearing Mishicot
Ending point—Closer yet to Mishicot
Distance— 4 miles on trail (6.8 mile loop - started at B, walked counter clockwise to A, then walked the trail)
Cumulative Distance— 84 miles

Well, we didn't manage any other hikes last fall or through the winter. Amazing how a little one hinders some of the cold weather hiking. That, and we also moved from Denmark to Oshkosh, which puts us further from the part of the trail we're hiking. 

We did manage to get in one hike late spring while we were pregnant with our second child. It wasn't an extremely long hike as we had a little one and a pregnant person, but it was great to be on the trail.

The section we walked was entirely on the roads, but next up will be a bit of real trail. Being on the road allowed us to run into one of Dave's former co-workers who was driving by as we were walking. It was nice to stop and chat with him for a bit before we headed on our journey.

This hasn't been the best year for us hiking in terms of getting out a lot, but we'll find our hiking groove again with two young children. 

Hike 13

Starting point—Tisch Mills
Ending point—??? Nearing Mishicot
Distance—6.6 miles
Cumulative Distance—80 miles

We had hoped for a longer hike, but AJ decided to nap the afternoon away after protesting naps all morning. Our hope was to get him into his carseat right after lunch, and he could nap in the car and on the trail. Great plan, except he fell asleep in his high chair while eating. He definitely needed a good nap, so we postponed our hike until nearly 4 p.m.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, and we had two sections of real trail! We put AJ into the backpack carrier, which he loves.

The fall colors were absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed the IAT signage in Tisch Mills.

Part of the trail through Weber(?) Woods has a creek that passes through.  It probably is a good thing it was fall and the water was low.  We didn't listen to the sign!

Walking through the woods gave us a first hand view of the color changes happening!

 Once we got back on the road, we ran into a bunch of dead snakes.  There was 3 or 4 of them that we came across in the few miles we walked on the road.  Although they looked alive, they were far from it!

As we came up to the car, we had three sandhill cranes take off - which gave us a nice silhouette against the beautifully setting sun!

 Hopefully we'll get a few more hikes in yet this fall and then some over the winter as well. We've made better progress this year, but we have a long way to go!

~Kerry, Dave, and AJ

Hike 12

Starting point—Bolt
Ending point—Tisch Mills
Distance—5.5 miles
Cumulative Distance—73.4 miles

We decided to maximize what's left of summer by hiking after work this week. It was wonderful weather (again).   Shortly into the walk, we stepped into the set of "Birds," although none of us were attacked!

We encountered quite a few people in their yards, a few walking/biking and several in vehicles, all of whom were very cordial. It seemed like everyone waved or said hello.   Can you blame them with as cute of a baby as AJ is? :)

One guy provided Dave's vindication for the pace we were hiking, since Kerry was worried it was going to be dark before we got to the car ... he started the conversation with "How far are you running?" 

The benefit of walking to dusk is seeing a doe and a fawn in the field.  They didn't mind us at first, but after a minute of watching they took off like a flash!

We also got to see an awesome sunset. 

Overall, another great afternoon/evening on the Ice Age Trail!!

~Kerry, David, and AJ

Hike 11

Starting point—Franklin
Ending point—Bolt
Distance—4 miles
Cumulative Distance—67.9 miles

Kerry needed to get an 8-mile run done for her half-marathon training, so we maximized our time on the IAT and minimized our use of vehicles. Normally we take two vehicles to shuttle ourselves along the trail, but this time we took one. After Dave and AJ got out at the start of our trail for the day, Kerry shuttled the vehicle to the ending point. And then the race was one ... Kerry trying to run to the starting point and back to the vehicle before Dave and AJ got there.

 It was a gorgeous day for a run, comfortable and sunny with some awesome cloud formations. It was nice to run along new roads to explore the area, but it was different to be "hiking" the IAT without Dave and AJ.

 

Dave and AJ's hike was a nice calm walk down country roads.  We seen about 20 yellow finches flying along the ditchline near the start of the day's hike. 

 The clouds looked threatening for a while, but nothing ever materialized in the form of rain. 

 

This section of hike did bring us the closest we will ever be to our house in Denmark.  We crossed county KB, which means we now walk away from our house for the rest of the trip!

Overall - good day to get out for a walk!

~Dave and Kerry (and AJ!!!)

Hike 10

Starting point—Montpelier
Ending point—Franklin
Distance—7 miles
Cumulative Distance—63.9 miles

There's something nice about walking in the country, knowing that most intersections also double as mile markers on your journey. We headed out to the IAT after breakfast this morning to beat the forecasted 90-degree weather.

Although it was warm, it was an enjoyable hike. Out little dude was happy the entire hike, playing with his feet, eating graham crackers, telling us stories and taking a short snooze.

 One of the most interesting things we saw was a school bus converted into farm equipment. The buck (bus/truck combination) was the front end of a school bus with a dump truck mounted behind it. It looked like a bus until it was nearly past us, so we didn't capture a picture of the creation.

We crossed Highway 29 today.  We won't see 29 again until we are more than half way done with the 1100 miles, once we get near Wausau. 

Even though the IAT is not done, and runs on some country roads, we still get to see some interesting things we wouldn't zipping by at 55mph.  One of the places was someone's wood carvings.  The entire yard was filled with them, and it was obvious that he had some great talent!

We saw quite a few finches playing along the road, as well as three sandhill cranes that disappeared into the wheat field as we approached.  There were a lot of wildflowers out on this beautiful July day!

It's amazing how different the corn looks, even right across the road. Some looks wonderful, and some I'm sure won't be harvested this year.

We walked past the Krohn Dairy Store, stopping on way back home for some feta, string cheese and delicious cheese curds.