Backpacking on the Ice Age Trail
My adventerous daughter recently returned from a solo backpacking trip on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail: More than 60 miles of this 1,200-mile footpath wind directly through the Kettle Moraine, making it popular for thru-hikers and backpackers, although during her trip my daughter never saw another hiker
I have never even gone to the cinema alone, so I am a bit in awe that she slept two nights alone in her tent in the forest and loved it so much that she is already planning her next hike. She is very much at home in the woods, while her husband was happy to stay at home with the cats
The Kettle Moraine State Forest is one of Wisconsin’s most remarkable natural treasures, spanning over 50,000 acres across southeastern Wisconsin. It is world-renowned not just for its dense hardwood forests, prairies, and pristine lakes, but because it contains some of the best-preserved examples of glacial topography on Earth.
Kettles, eskers, moraines and kames become not just words that you learned in earth science class in school.
The yellow markers mark the trail.
I have decided to directly share the things she told me about her trip. I am so proud of her!
"The section of the Ice Age Trail that I will be in is part of the Wisconsin State Parks system. So I have to have my stickers that show that I have paid to park and use the park system. I had to call a couple of phone numbers to let them know that I would be leaving my car overnight so that they could let the Rangers know that it's supposed to be there"
"I've never heard of anything specifically bad happening along these sections of trails, but it is good practice to make sure there is nothing in the parked car that is being left in a public parking lot overnight. I have opened up my back seats and my glove box and center console so that if someone comes looking, they can see that it is empty and not smash up my windows or something dumb."
"These clothes are specific for hiking. They are all fast drying, lightweight, or used for sun protection. The pants can zip apart and become shorts. The shirt is a sun hoodie, the socks are merino hiking socks and can be worn for several days without needing to be washed, and the undergarments are made of a quick drying Merino that is also meant to be worn for days on end without having to be washed. Fortunately, I don't really have to put that too much to the test since I won't be gone that long. Lol"
The only other clothes that I am taking is a hiking raincoat, a hiking puffy coat (that will also be my pillow), and a pair of tights and tank top to sleep in or change into if my other clothes are wet.
All of my outer clothes, boots, backpack and tent have been sprayed with Permethrin to kill the ticks that have been absolutely horrible this year. When ticks come in contact with it, they die within minutes. It is a necessary prevention method in this area to avoid becoming sick.
"This is a plastic bag full of freeze dried food. Corn, beans, small pieces of corn tortilla. It's meant to taste like some sort of southwestern bowl. It tastes okay, but I figured it would taste even better if I brought some tortillas and an avocado."
"Once the boiling water is poured in it gets put inside of a insulated bag to keep the heat in while it rehydrates. This one took 8 minutes plus another 7 minutes of rehydration time."
"This is a sturdy plastic container that has a locking lid that can't be opened without a key. It's to keep Bears out. We don't really have bear issues in this section of the park but a future trip that I am taking will require a bear can so I figured I might as well take it. Plus there are always raccoons and random rodents that would be more than happy to get into the snacks. I kept this can outside of my tent at the edge of my campsite."
"It was nice to have the table and it was nice that it wasn't windy and I was able to just throw everything around at my convenience."
" There are a lot of good maps for the entire trail. This map is downloaded directly to my phone and I will not need cell phone service to use it. It has all the markers for any alerts, water sources, camping sources, and anything else that I might need to know marked out on the trail. And it will work just fine while I'm moving along even if I don't have signal for my phone."
Tagging one of my favorite hikers @daveks
Beneficiaries of 10% of this posts rewards go to ecency. Support the projects and communities you enjoy
If you enjoy using Ecency and want the project to continue you must take the time to vote for funding.
https://ecency.com/@ecency/open-source-does-not-mean
https://ecency.com/proposals/379%0A%0A
!PIMP
!PIMP
!LADY
!PIZZA
Thanks Pix
!LADY
!PIZZA
View or trade
LOHtokens.@melinda010100, you successfully shared 0.1000 LOH with @pixresteemer and you earned 0.1000 LOH as tips. (1/35 calls)
Use !LADY command to share LOH! More details available in this post.
That should be very exciting. A great experience with nature.
She loved it!
That's having a great adventurous spirit from my point of view; I'm the kind of indoor person who hardly ever leaves the house.
!ALIVE !BBH !HOP !LUV
She is very at home outoors!
Tipped
Your daughter is incredibly brave! Solo backpacking in the wilderness is something many people admire but few actually do.
!PIZZA
She has grown up spending a lot of time in the woods and is very comfortable there. She has a lot of woodland knowledge and that allows her to feel at home sleeping in her tent!
I have bare minimum knowledge about such things, I am so proud of her 🤗. I wish to buy a house near the woods and lakes. I hope I can make it in the future.
She knows the name of every tree and which mushrooms are edible.. Squirrels and chipmunks come to her and take peanuts from her hand. When she was a kid we lived in the middle of 60 acres of Wisconsin woodlands with a creek running next to the house. She spent every minute outdoors. I hope you can make your dream come true.
That sounds like an incredible childhood! Living by a creek in the middle of the woods is exactly the kind of dream I’m talking about. Does she still get to spend a lot of time out there or is she mostly backpacking in new places now?
She and her husband live in town in a little house with a large lawn where she has built a waterfall and grows plants to attract wildlife. She spends every spare minute she can find in local parks, forests and walking trails.
I could tell that she's pretty much connected with the nature. 😇
Is this really the length of the footpath? Is this really the length of the footpath?
Yes. People most often hike it in segments.
It is actually probably a little longer than that. It goes all through the entire state of Wisconsin in the US. It isn't finished being connected by hiking trails yet. There are places where you walk on quiet roads. There is even a ferry water crossing! Almost 700 people have hiked the entire trail. Some have started at one end and through hiked the entire thing at one time. It takes some people about five weeks to do that, and it takes some people closer to five months! (That would probably be me. Lol) People of all ages have finished the trail. Some of the people that did the entire thing all at once are in their 40s, 50s, even late 60s and early 70s!
oh,it's very cool.
Yeah, very beautiful photos! 😊📸 I'll be participating in the contests soon as well. 🎉🏆✨
Thanks! Looking forward to seeing your contest entries!
Oh, how cool it is that there are places like this for weekend travel. It seems like wildlife, but there are also paths and amenities
Hiking trails provide a great way to spend time in the woods!
As someone who wouldn't even enjoy camping alone, I have so much respect for people who can spend nights solo in the woods. I smiled at the part about adding tortillas and avocado to the freeze-dried meal. That's exactly the kind of trail upgrade I would want too! 🙂
I agree! It's important to be good to yourself after carrying a heavy pack up and down hill all day!
A nice trip—not many people would dare to go.
She has a lot of woodland knowledge and is quite at home in the woods.
I think that you love traveling♥️
Traveling is also my one of the favourite hobby.