Merrill School Forest a great first, second or third choice

/ Steve Hill / Leave a comment

Lesson learned: always bring snowshoes.

Frequent hiking buddy Chris Sadler and I were reminded of the need for winter preparedness during a not-so-well-planned trip to hike the Turtle Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail last week. We set out to knock a few more miles off the IAT, but Chris forgot to prompt his hiking buddy to prompt Chris to bring the paraphernalia required to negotiate the trail.

I suppose I could blame any addle-brained behavior on my part to osmosis. After all, it was Chris who spent the previous three weeks in South Carolina, where temperatures in the 40s apparently cause most of that region’s population to hole up, barring their doors until everything blooms again and they can hear ice cream trucks jangling down the street.

Truth be told, this was just one of those trips where I agonized over a destination, and thus never picked one until shortly before Chris came to pick me up. I asked when he arrived if he’d brought snowshoes, and because he hadn’t, we decided to skip them.

Continue reading →

Murry Creek Segment helps the good times last

/ Steve Hill / Leave a comment

Probably one of the greatest strengths of local newspapers is that your local columnists can’t sing in them, at least in print.  So we just share lyrics.

A fine musical group out of New Orleans, the Subdudes, reminded me this week that I haven’t been getting enough outdoor time, especially with the family. There’s a spoken portion of their song “All The Time In The World” when a character intones, “Look man, I’m hungry when I wake up … sleepy when I eat. Only time I feel good is with some dirt beneath my feet.”

Continue reading →

Winter walk at Mead overcomes the snowplow blues

/ Steve Hill / Leave a comment

The season of man versus nature has arrived.

It’s that time when Wisconsin can’t decide what it wants and the temperatures bounce around with variations of 30 or 40 degrees over the span of days – or even hours, which is where man and nature come in.

More specifically, it’s when a man has to battle for control of his sidewalk over the nature of that one snow-plow driver.

You know – that guy who shows off his prowess at clearing the street in front of your house when all the conditions are just right.

Continue reading →

Hiking Lodi in winter? Yes, peas

/ Steve Hill / Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Never put off until better weather a hike that’s perfectly wonderful today.

That was my experience for the Lodi Marsh and Eastern Lodi Marsh segments of Wisconsin’s 1,120-mile Ice Age Trail. When planning my next IAT excursion, I frequently deliberate over whether summer’s flowering or fall color increase a segment’s appeal. But this past Saturday, I decided it was simply time to go enjoy the Lodi area despite the chance of a snowstorm.

Along with frequent hiking buddy Chris Sadler, I already had walked roughly 12 miles on three segments from Lodi north to Gibraltar Rock (a beloved overlook)  and the Merrimac ferry on the Wisconsin. We agreed it was a favorite hike, in no small part because we enjoyed Lodi so much.

Continue reading →

Sandhill Wildlife Area offers a smart weekend choice

/ Steve Hill / Leave a comment

Of all the things that can delay getting outside to recreate, I didn’t expect last weekend’s to be my 15-year-old son being smarter than me.

We were itching to get out on his new clearance-sale cross-country skis, but weather and other circumstances haven’t cooperated. A half-foot of snow early in the week gave us another shot, so I rousted him from bed Saturday with a request to eat quickly, as the sun was brilliant and temperatures climbing.

Continue reading →