Ice Age Trail: Plover River Segment

March 20, 2024

Starkweather Beer Company

When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side. Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day. While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone. It's a new favorite stout for me. Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy. It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner. I opted for the Reuben sandwich. Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing. Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing. Both are great beers. Justin update: After a long h

We parked at the Hwy 52 trailhead for the Plover River segment of the Ice Age Trail. Neither of us had ever hiked this 11.36 mile in/out trail.

By parking in the middle, we effectively cut the trail in half. we started with the north half first.

Most of this trail was dry and through heavy forest. The trail rose up along ridge lines. Hundreds of wildflowers were sprinkled along both sides of the trail.