Ice Age Trail 2025 – Roger Carpenter

Ice Age Trail Days 21-23, April 13 to 15: It is COLD!

April 16, 2025, Merrill, Wisconsin, by Roger Carpenter / Greg in Wild

I appreciate the numerous kind comments written on this blog and Facebook about the passing of my brother, Jim. The thoughts expressed have comforted me and helped me move forward on the IAT. Thank you.

For three days and 51 miles, I experienced most of the discomforts an upper Midwest hiking trail in early spring: rain, deep, cold water, boggy trail, mud, snow and freezing temperatures. To make the experiences even more complete, I fell into a creek up to my lower torso! This is what the hiker community calls Type 2 fun! As I navigated the IAT gauntlet of these trail conditions, I kept reminding myself that I was not bothered by heat, humidity, mosquitos, and ticks. I came to the IAT well prepared because I made good decisions about clothing and gear. The photos, below, are in chronological order and provide the best description of the 51 miles of the IAT.

I carried an image of Jim on my backpack while hiking the Continental Divide Trail in 2016, one year after he was diagnosed with lymphoma.

Ice Age Trail Days 15-20, April 7 to 12: Mourning a Loss

Soon after Pat Kosher, a Trail Angel in Cornell, gave me a ride back to the IAT on April 8, I received a message from Chalice, the wife of my brother Jim. He was going to enter hospice. Jim seemingly had beaten lymphoma that was diagnosed in 2015, but complications from infections made him progressively weaker for three months.

The reality of Jim’s situation shifted my energy on the trail to one of despair, fatigue, and pain. There was no doubt that sadness made my body ache and my hiking uneven. The hummocks were mostly devoid of wildlife except for the occasional squirrel and waterfoul flying away. Silence was no comfort.

Pine cones held up for Jim as a wish for a peaceful passing

On April 9, while thinking constantly of my brother, the tedious, muddy, and boggy trail served to remind me of the courageous battle Jim fought for nearly ten years. So I fought the Ice Age Trail’s boggy Jerry Lake segment all day, desperate for dry, level ground to pitch my tent. When I finally found a suitable campsite in a dark, dense forest carpeted with fallen leaves, I realized Jim’s wife had sent no updates that day. Waiting. I moved slowly while preparing my dinner until I collapsed into my sleeping bag. Zipping the tent fully shut helped me hide from the universe for eight hours. In the darkness of midnight, I checked for messages. Nothing.

Days 9-14, April 1 to 6 on the Ice Age Trail

The snow was nearly all melted when I departed the comforts of Rice Lake. After the Uber driver dropped me off at the start of Tuscobia Trail, a wide, flat rail-to-trail, I entered another snowy but easy 11-mile hike to the Bluegill capitol of Wisconsin, Birchwood. Along the way a enjoyed a can of Hamms with my lunch in a bar. The friendly nature of the people I meet is make the short town stops a pleasure. Necessary, too, because sometimes bars are the best places to refill my water bottles! It is also reassuring to know that Bigfoot is alive and well in Wisconsin! With a forecast calling for more snow overnight, I stayed in a motel again.

On April 2, I ventured back to the IAT with 1 to 2 inches of new snow. There are many kinds of snow. For the next two days, I walked in a fresh, slightly wet.snow that lit up the hummocky forest dotted with ponds built by beavers that engineered dams several feet high and solid enough to walk on. At least one such dam crossing was the official IAT trail.

Ice Age Trail Days 2-7, March 25 to 30

From inside my tent next to the St Croix River I heard what sounded like a large object splashing into the water. Again and again it was the same splashy sound. A big fish, or a very big fish? It was 24 degrees outside, and I could no longer delay my exit from my warm sleeping bag. I looked to the river. Beavers! The two beavers near my camp would slap their flap-like tails before diving into the depths of the river. Perhaps it is their way to scare up breakfast. But the sound of beavers set the tone for the first week of my hike.

One of the many wetlands along the IAT, this one with a beaver creating a wake in the water

On Days 2 through 5, the weather was outstanding, and the conditions enabled me to enjoy the sights and sounds of wildlife along the IAT. The many ponds and small lakes are homes for swans, Canada Geese, Snow Geese, ducks, and, of course, the beavers. I stopped often to listen. I heard several species of owls hooting day and night. Sometimes, near one of many partially frozen lakes, two Geese would honk in protest of my presence. Nearly all of the first 98 miles of my IAT experience have been solitary except for the birds, waterfowl, a couple of deer, and beavers. Oh, but I will never forget the tiny, curious chipmunk peeking through a tiny hole in the trunk of a large tree.

Ice Age Trail Day 1 was great!

March 24 2025: Cindy and I arrived at the parking lot near the western terminus at noon while I had the Day 1 jitters. A 5 minute walk to the plaque deaignating the IAT and I was ready to start the 1200-mile hike in sunny, chilly weather. Oh, how I was thankful for the nice weather. It could snow in late March. I was grateful for Cindy’s loving support and driving me 45 miles to the trail from St Paul.

Below are photos of the day, 7.9 miles to a riverside campsite on the St Croix River. Check out the links, too!,

Garmin MapShare: location and tracks.

Description of the Ice Age Trail

Roger Carpenter / Greg in Wild

Traveling from Portland to St. Paul

“I think your three favorite things are backpacking, baseball, and trains,” Cindy remarked while we shared a dining car table with a retired railroad employee. She is correct! I love taking a cross-country train to the start of a long hike. The long, slower-than-flying journey encourages me to transition more gradually to the 2 mph travel that will begin in a few days. As for baseball, the southeast portion of the Ice Age Trail reaches only 23 miles from the ballpark in Milwaukee, so a Triple Crown of experiences is possible!

Starting in Portland and progressing eastbound, Cindy and I saw the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail through the train windows. The snowy terrain along the southern edge of Glacier National Park was a scenic backdrop to a dining car breakfast. East of Glacier, clouds and snow disappeared, and the sunny weather made our 20-minute stops outside the train in Shelby, MT a great opportunity to stretch and walk.

March 19, 2025

Greg in Wild / Roger Carpenter

Boarding the Empire Builder in Portland, Oregon

Going to Wisconsin!

I entered a post on my blog in July 2024 after exiting the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) on just the seventh day. I did not make that decision lightly. On a steep climb just west of Glacier National Park, my pace slowed to a crawl, intense fatigue set in, and all I wanted to do was stop. I wrote about it here

To be sufficiently fit to go on long hikes, I am training at a gym to improve my cardio fitness and overall strength with weights and strenuous mat Pilates. I lost weight, too, Yoga continues to be an important part of my overall fitness regimen. Like before, I hike on trails in the neighborhood where Cindy and I live.

Day 1 on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT) will be on March 24, 2025! Enthusiasm and optimism are just two little ways to describe how I feel about starting another thru-hike. It’s earlier in the year when most people hike the IAT. But the cold weather will give my journey an edge: cold and snow is possible, but less buggy (mosquitos, ticks, etc)…until May, I suppose. When I finish the hike in early June, the heat and humidity might show up. But April and May will be a great time to see the forests and wildlife come alive.

I have family roots in Wisconsin. My grandmother was born there after her parents migrated from Europe to work in the forests of the Northwoods near Three Lakes. When I was just five years old, my family relocated to Janesville, a small industrial city in southern Wisconsin. I attended kindergarten and first grade in school buildings that still stand over 60 years later. The IAT is only a few city blocks from those school buildings and the city lot where our old house was. I will take that alternate route as I hike out of Janesville.

I will be looking for wildlife: bear, wolves, beavers, eagles, and more. I will meet the people of the towns the IAT passes through or nearby. I will enjoy hiking without the stress of high elevation (the highest point is a “hill” at 2,000 feet). Look for a celebratory photo on top of that one. The IAT might be less demanding than a high elevation trail, but I expect surprises in other ways. As always, I seek wild places to see, absorb and embrace.