West Bend, Wisconsin, May 25, 2025, by Roger Carpenter / Greg in Wild
I have hiked 956 miles and 82.8% of the IAT, but I have not answered any of the questions asked by readers in the comments. By the way, knowing that many people are visiting my site and writing comments is one aspect of the hike that gives meaning to the effort needed to complete a thru-hike!
Lori asked: What do I think about during the hours of solitude on the trail? https://elkpass.com/2025/05/21/janesville-to-delafield/#comment-2257
I am reminded of something a yoga teacher once said during a class: ” See more by thinking less.” This implies the power of meditation, something I have not received formal training in. When I hike, I employ my senses to feel my surroundings as I move along the trail and through the landscape. Birds, animals, wind blowing through the trees and prairie grasses, water gently cascading through a streambed, the view in every direction. I stop from time to time to gaze in the distance. The views on the Ice Age Trail are as diverse as the geography of Wisconsin: forests, farms, barns, dairy cattle, ducks, geese, and the waterways they inhabit. Sometimes, a turkey surprises me in a prairie and flies off in an urgent burst of wings and feathers. Whitetail deer run away before I see them. They are much too fast to get a photograph. I never get bored with, even after 63 days!
I do get to thinking often. The long roadwalks are delivery systems for daydreaming and thinking. Cindy is currently hiking a Camino route between Portugal and Santiago de Compestela in Spain. How is she doing? What changes should I make on my writing project? I worry about climate change and the systematic denial espoused by the current occupant of the White House. I wonder how the proposed Federal budget by the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives will affect my personal finances and, more importantly, the lives of those who might lose health care, pay more for essential food and goods, or lose their jobs. How are my favorite baseball teams doing? What can I speak about at my brother Jim’s memorial in June? When will I finish the hike? How many miles should I hike today? Where will I camp next? What should I eat for dinner? Oh, I do love the conversations I have with random encounters on the trail. It’s about 70% meditation, 70% thinking of stuff.
Next question (actually, more of a comment that deserves a response):
From Bonnie Prangue, who wonders how I could keep motivated in the bleakness of the cold Northwoods. https://elkpass.com/2025/04/22/cold-northwoods/#comment-2220
There is a wide gap between a thru-hike and a much shorter hike. Knowing the Ice Age Trail would take two and a half months, I had to choose among the variety of conditions that exist during that length of time: the cold months of March and April; or the hot, humid, buggy summer month; or autumn, when I would be subject to progressively fewer hours of daylight, Trail closures for hunting and progressively cold weather.
I chose an early spring start and have never regretted my decision. I did get frustrated with the relentless reappearance of cold, rainy weather. But I was prepared with good gear. The day before I arrived in Antigo on April 20 was the worst, followed by the day I shivered my way into Montello, where the nice people in the coffee shop Table 15 warmed my soul while I dried off and drank a hot mocha! Without leaves and foliage in the forests, I could see better through the trees. And there were no ticks to worry about, although ticks have emerged in May.
By starting in northwest Wisconsin on March 24, I considered this the “IAT thru-hike with an edge.” Sometimes, long-distance hikers embrace “Type 2 Fun,” which happens when things get uncomfortable but is fun to reminisce about later. I had more than a few Type 2 Fun moments, and I felt more alive than I would on perfect summer days. The secret sauce in my backpack was a pair of waterproof socks called Seal Skinz. Even while hiking in a couple of inches of snow, my feet never needed foot warmers. My hands are another matter. Even in late May, I wear a pair of Mont Bell heavy mittens!
Moreover, in the daily chills and bleak canopies of spindly tree branches in the Northwoods, I had long, desirable hours of solitude, unexpected encounters with animals, and the opportunity to appreciate the nice, sunny days when they occurred.
West Bend: I am taking a double zero day here. I was too fatigued to get back on trail with just a single zero day. I also needed to drink some great beer. The 1840 Brewery taproom in West Bend is the perfect place, and I do not mind the 1.6 mile walk from my hotel, which is closer to the IAT than to the fine amenities of West Bend. The end of the hike is approaching, and the mental game of finishing well must be nurtured. The bottom two photos are my old shoes, with 500 miles of wear, and the new shoes. The color of the new shoes is sick, but it was all REI had in my size.
