Roger Carpenter – 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

Hiking the Triple Crown of Long Distance Hiking, 1995 to 2021: Part 3 of 3, the Appalachian Trail

This is Post 3 of 3 about my pursuit of the Triple Crown of Long Distance Hiking and the Appalachian Trail. I started in 1995 with the Pacific Crest Trail, but finished far short that year. I hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail in 1996 and the Continental Divide Trail in 2016. To read the previous posts look for the link “Triple Crown Hikes” or click here.

I was nervous about hiking the AT. “Welcome to New England hiking!” my friend Brownie wrote in an email. “Why the nerves?”, I blogged the night before climbing Katahdin. This was not the well-graded PCT I hiked in my 40s, and Brownie knew it. I was 67, and about to walk and sometimes crawl over steep, rocky terrain for 2,169 miles on the AT for the first time.

The five-hour hike up and down Mt. Katahdin was spectacular. In Maine I embraced the lush forests, ponds and lakes, but learned quickly how the steep, rocky terrain can beat up a SOBO hiker. My good friend Marmot had advice when our paths crossed in Maine. “This is the hardest state on the AT; take more zero days here!” I took the advice and ultimately loved hiking the White mountains and the Presidential range in New Hampshire in great weather. Thru-hiking southbound was a good choice for me.

Hiking the Triple Crown of Long Distance Hiking, 1995 to 2021: Part 2 of 3, the Continental Divide Trail

After hiking the PCT in 1996 I waited twenty years before I could begin a thru-hike on the CDT. Family obligations, a mortgage and an interesting but tumultuous career limited my hiking on the long trails to occasional section hikes. Getting laid off from my job of eleven years relieved me of the stresses or a corporate career. After I announced to my Facebook friends I would attempt the CDT in 2016 I received an invitation from Whitney “Allgood” Laruffa to join a group he named the “Portland Mafia,” a collection of our friends who planned to hike the CDT. I knew nothing about hiking in New Mexico, and attending CDT Trail Days in Silver City before starting the hike was an introductory course for hiking the state. The old mining town has a rich history and robust revival as an arts community, and I looking forward to hiking into town soon after embarking from the border with Mexico on April 18.

Trouble happened even before I took step one on Day 1. After showering in the motel room in Lordsburg, I screamed fearfully after jamming a toe into the bathroom door. Despite the pain, and convinced that the toe was not fractured, I climbed in the vehicle driven by Tereasa Martinez, the Executive Director of the CDT Coalition, rode the bumpy gravel roads to the Mexican border, and soon took my first-ever steps on a hiking trail in New Mexico on April 18.

Pyramid Peak (6,014′) rises from the sand south of Lordsburg, New Mexico on April 21, 2016. See many more photos in the slideshow at the bottom of this post.

December 15, Day 176: Springer Mountain and the completion of the Appalachian Trail!

I really did it. On a nice sunny and breezy day I arrived at Springer Mountain in Georgia at 11:41am on December 15, 2021. Cindy and our friend Sharon hiked up to Springer Mountain along the Approach Trail and arrived at the same time as I did.

December 15, 2021 on Springer Mountain, Georgia

December 13: Getting close to Springer Mountain, 24 miles!

The weather is perfect…enabling me to savor the last few glorious days on the Appalachian Trail. I am embracing some special moments: seeing a Spotted Towhee, my favorite bird which are rarely seen on the AT but numerous in Oregon; conversations with other hikers who are passionate about this trail and curious about my thru-hike; the clear sky at night with the moon, planets and stars illuminating my campsites; owls hooting; the incredible sunrises and sunsets; and simply walking!

View to the south from Blood Mountain. Springer Mountain is out there somewhere.

December 10: Signs that the finish is near!

Since I last posted on December 8 I hiked 16.7 miles from Dick’s Creek Gap to Unicoi Gap, a section that looked easy on the map. In reality the altimeter watch I wear indicated I climbed 5,295 feet, many of which were steep. Only on three other days did the ascent exceed what I did on December 10. It’s no wonder I was tired! Lisa, the owner of Hostel Around the Bend, drove to Unicoi Gap and returned me to the hostel. I will resume hiking on December 12. The zero days at the hostel are conveniently timed for the rainy weather on the 10th and 11th. Along the 51 miles to Springer Mountain sunny and mild weather will inspire my footsteps to the completion of the Appalachian Trail!

Yesterday, December 9, there were no panoramic views or small things that inspired me to capture images for the blog. However, as I got closer to and crossed into Georgia I noticed the unusual and somewhat funny names of places on trail signs. I am devoting the images posted here to those signs and others I photographed during the last few days.