Merrimac Preserve

 

As the weather worsens, there are usually fewer people hiking on the weekends.  We are past peak color, but area trails are still crowded.  

I headed out mid-day during the weekend in search of the trail less traveled.  Curious, I drove by Gibraltar Rock and  found the parking lot full beyond capacity and all the way out to the road in the undesignated spots. The lesser known trailheads in the Lodi area were similarly busy.  

I headed to the next town west:  Prairie du Sac.  The Great Sauk trail leading out of town, featured busy bicycle traffic in both directions.  Nope!  I started driving north of town, intending to head out to the retired Badger Munitions Plant, where some new recreational land has been established.  However, I missed my turn and found myself on Hwy 78, driving towards the south end of Devil's Lake State Park, where two million people visit each year.

I turned up Hwy 113, not really expecting to see much in solitary hiking opportunities.  I noticed a truck parked in a small parking lot on the east side of the road.  An older,  yellowed sign said "Merrimac Preserve."  I had low expectations, thinking that the trail would probably be good for a short hike.

As it turned out, this was one of my best hiking finds in recent memory.  The trail was in great shape, having recently been mowed.  Bridges and boardwalks, built in 1996, provided relief from the wetlands and crossing streams.  The Merrimac Preserve transitioned into the Riverland Conservancy.

 

We hiked the orange and blue trails, passing through woodlands and wetlands.  One of the streams was deep enough for Callie to swim in.  To the north, views extended to the Baraboo Range.

Callie and I hiked for over two hours (five miles or so) and never saw another person.  Devil's Lake State Park, with all of its crowded trails,  was in plain sight.  I've passed this small parking lot over a hundred times without knowing the preserve was there.  This time, my meandering paid off. 

Gibraltar Rock: Hiking in the Dark

 

I mentioned in my previous post that Gibraltar Rock is now open after being closed since spring, due to the pandemic and the crowds that congregate here.  

There were no crowds at 6:15 a.m. on a recent weekday morning.  In fact, there were no vehicles in either of the parking lots.  Julia and I very rarely hike in the dark.  We won a lottery at Bryce National Park a couple of years ago for a guided moonlight hike to the bottom of the canyon.  We've also stayed too long for sunset at Gibraltar and ended up hiking down in semi-darkness.  

This time, there was no moon, and the heavy woods gave no hint of pre-dawn for most of the way to the top.  Again, we were totally alone on top of the cliffs.

There was just a hint of light, but we knew that there would be an opportunity for a better view on the return loop.  We followed the Ice Age Trail back down to the main parking lot.  On the way, we passed five people, with our same idea, mostly older and wearing masks.  They started a little bit later than us and left from the main parking lot.  

By the time we started heading back up again on the former park road, the sun was starting to rise, making it much easier to hike. Motor vehicles have been prohibited on the park road for many years, but with no one hiking on it for months, the former asphalt pavement has narrowed and is going back to nature.

At the top again, we lingered for awhile and enjoyed the view.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that someone had already littered with a plastic bottle at the best view on the cliff.

The hike down was easy, now that we could clearly see.

I've done this hike many times, and I'll never tire of it. 

Ice Age Trail: Gibraltar Segment

Gibraltar Rock Natural Area is well-known across the Midwest, especially by rock climbers.  I've mentioned before that it's a happy spot for me. 

DNR closed Gibraltar at the beginning of the pandemic because the trails are narrow, and the crowds are often large.  I thought about sneaking in more than once, but never did. 

 

The Gibraltar Segment of the Ice Age Trail is from Slacks Road to the Merrimac Ferry.  Although the trail is open, I haven't hiked it much because it's been very busy throughout the summer.  I took a chance last Friday morning at about 8 a.m. and was rewarded with only one other car in the small parking lot.  

No hunting or unleashed dogs are allowed on this segment.  The absence of bullet holes in the sign was a comfort.

The trail starts out in heavy forest and then opens up into prairie.  The leaves are beginning to change, but we've also having windy days.  Fall colors may come and go quickly this year.

Eventually, the trail follows switchbacks down to the Wisconsin River and the Merrimac Ferry.

On the way to the ferry, we only passed one person.  On the way back to the trailhead, we passed about eight people.  Callie and I moved off the trail each time since none of the other people were masked.  The parking lot was now full.  Time to head home. 

Note: On the day after this hike, DNR decided to reopen Gibraltar Rock Natural Area.  I will try a sunrise weekday hike and see if I can beat the crowds.

Brewed Journey Camp

 

Justin watching Callie retrieve the Frisbee

I felt like a new man after a good night's rest in the Scamp, which is parked on top of my hill. Sunny skies with highs in the upper 60's and lows in the lower 40's are probably my favorite type of weather.  

I knew that I wanted to hike somewhere different today, but I decided to stay close to home.  The nearest Ice Age Trail segment to my house is less than a mile away.  Recently, I've avoided that trail because it is heavily used during the pandemic.  Historically, there have been other reasons to avoid the trail at certain times of the year.

 

This is a public hunting property.  The bullet holes all over the sign (which is in a public parking lot right next to the public road) tell you that not all of the hunters use good judgement.  Part of the sign, obscured by a bullet hole, says that dogs can be off-leash for most of the year on this property.  

Nevertheless, I decided to take my chances this morning at about 8 a.m.  It's about a five mile in/out hike from the Lodi Cannery to the Twin Pines parking lot on Riddle Road. Callie reports that we didn't see any unleashed dogs on the entire hike.  The scenery was beautiful.

 

During the first part of the hike, I approached three young adults on a narrow part of the trail without any room to pass.  Nobody was wearing a mask.  I moved off the trail into the brush about five yards to let them pass.  Just as they passed, we were all startled by a loud "Boom."  Someone from a concealed spot nearby in the woods took a shot at something. 

The rest of the hike was uneventful. I stayed more than a few minutes letting the view below soak in.

Upper Prairie overlooking the Lodi Marsh

Lost Year

I was reading another blog earlier this week, and the author made a point that resonated with me.  In many ways, this is a lost year.  That doesn't mean that I haven't had some good times, but it sure hasn't been normal.  

I've been fortunate during the last two years to take long camping trips with the Scamp during the spring and fall.  Neither one happened this year.  I tried to make up for that this summer by taking shorter trips and staying closer to home.  That was okay, but even that is coming to an end.  

Two things are working against me right now. As a full time caregiver for the foreseeable future, I only have two nights off.  One of those nights is Friday, and I haven't had any luck finding camping reservations for a Friday night.  

Second, many campgrounds are closing down for the season, making the number of available campsites even on Thursday night problematic.  

Even if I could find a campsite, the trails have been very busy on Fridays and Saturdays.  While Covid numbers are down for many parts of the country, things are bad in Wisconsin right now. We are experiencing a 50% uptick in cases, along with record hospitalizations and deaths.  

I have no photos for this week.  I checked my phone for "possibles", but then I remembered that nearly all of my walks this week happened before dawn. It is what it is.  I'll try to do better next week.

Scamping at Buckhorn State Park

Last week, I camped for a couple of nights at Buckhorn State Park in central Wisconsin.  

The weather wasn't great.  One day, it rained all day.  Again, that meant there were hardly any other people here.  Not a bad thing when Covid is running rampant in Wisconsin.  Like  trends and fashions, it took awhile for Covid to take root here.  But we are now among the nation's leaders in transmission and setting new records for hospitalizations.

Time to head to the woods.  Actually, Buckhorn isn't known for its woods; rather, the property contains some of Wisconsin's last barrens.  

Prior to the arrival of white settlers, there were 4.1 million acres of pine and oak barrens in Wisconsin.  Today, about 10,000 acres remain.  Agriculture and fire suppression won out.  

Buckhorn has some well-maintained hiking trails--mostly flat and easy hiking.  The Savanna Trail circles a nice pond.

 

The Barrens Trail is short, but Callie and I came across over a dozen wild turkeys just after sunrise.  Alas, I was too slow with the Iphone camera, settling for a landscape shot where the gobblers ran away.

Castle Rock Lake offers swimming, boating and fishing.  I don't do much of any of those, but it was nice to look at too.

We had one nice night for a campfire and took advantage of it.

Callie, assuming the position

We may stay home this week.  Temperatures are expected to dip into the lower 30's. I hate to winterize the Scamp so early, but we also don't like frozen pipes.