Hiking the Ice Age Trail in Winter
Imagine a picturesque winter wonderland in the forest. Soft flakes falling from an inky gray sky. Snow dappled trees gently creaking and groaning. Rolling hills covered in fresh white powder. Add a few well clothing-layered strangers stumbling and tumbling up and down said hills and you have the setting for our hike on the Ice Age Trail last month.
Reconnecting with our Home State
Since leaving Portland to begin our nomadic journey almost two years ago, we’ve found ourselves spending a portion of the winter in our home state of Wisconsin. We celebrate the holidays with our family and take some time to re-group and plan our travels for the new year.
We always have the best intentions of a brief stay, but somehow our time frame gets extended. This year, we decided to just roll with it and take advantage of the opportunity to explore more of the state where we were born and raised.
Wisconsin is one of those unassuming places. When people think of the dairy land state, they often picture corn fields and farms. They may have heard of the state food—cheese curds, and the state bird—the mosquito. Conversely those familiar with the area will gasp and proclaim, “Oh! Wisconsin? It’s such a beautiful state!” Both people by the way, will insist on pronouncing it, “Wis-CAN-sin!” in their best nasal drawl. I don’t know anyone from Wisconsin who pronounces it this way and there are much better examples of the Sconnie accent—just chat with me for a bit and I’ll enlighten you😉
Wis-kon-suhn is in fact a nature lovers paradise (assuming your love includes mosquitoes). For real though, the state is filled with dense forests, rolling hills, historic towns, chains of lakes, and rivers edged by rocky outcrops.
Battling the Winter Blues
While its scenery is gorgeous, Wisconsin is a place of brutal extremes. Summertime brings hot muggy weather—the kind that induces sweating the moment you step outside—and we’ve already covered the bug situation. Winters are colder than anything you can likely imagine. At this very moment, it’s colder in Wisconsin than in Antarctica. It’s so cold that a state of emergency has been declared. It’s so cold, that many of the bars are closing for the day. This is serious folks.
Needless to say, spending more time in Wisconsin has come with its own challenges and adjustments. How to deal with winter weather could be an entire post itself. I’ll just say that last year during our time in Wisconsin I certainly felt the effects of the season. This year, I decided to actively attempt to counteract the winter blues. Namely by trying to keep myself busy and motivated. One of the best ways to do this? Getting outside, of course, and connecting with other adventurous folks!
Connecting IRL
One of the things that has inspired us the most in the last year is all the incredible people we’ve met during our travels. In the spirit of meeting new people and trying new things while in WI, I reached out to a fellow travel blogger that I’ve followed on Instagram for a while.
Maria runs a website called Wisconcierge where she writes about her travels around Wisconsin (and beyond). She’s a new resident of the Midwest and I love reading about all the unique places she explores in our home state. Also, her Instagram photos and captions are fun, sincere, and inspiring.
Honestly, asking a perfect stranger if they want to meet was a bit scary—in a fear of rejection way. Not to mention that messaging someone you know a ton about, but have never met, and who knows nothing about you, definitely has stalker qualities! It turns out my fears were completely unwarranted.
Not only was Maria welcoming and excited for a meet-up, but she brought along her friend Gina who’s an amazingly talented wedding and portrait photographer as well as a fellow outdoor enthusiast. They suggested that we get together and hike a section of the Ice Age Trail. This is something that Tom and I have long been wanting to do, so it was the perfect meet-up!
Hiking the Ice Age Trail
Over the last year and a half, whenever we’re in WI we’ve discovered new places in our home state. Places we knew existed but had never explored. The Kettle Moraine State Forest section of the Ice Age Trail is one of these places.
With Maria, Gina, and her dog Sid we hiked through shin deep snow on the 3.5-mile Parnell Tower Loop Trail. The temperatures were in the low 20’s F, but once we got moving, our multiple layers and the many stairs we encountered on the trail kept us toasty. Sidenote: Climbing stairs in 2 feet of snow is no easy task (see stumbling and tumbling comment above).
The hike itself was lovely. A quiet forest with only the sound of creaking trees and our squeaky boots. Snowflakes gently sifting down to the blanketed ground. A windy climb up Parnell Tower to striking views of the surrounding forest from above.
What was most enchanting about the day though was the human connections we made. We talked the entire hike. Sharing tales of travels, plans for the future, and exchanging ideas about running a website on your own.
We discovered that you don’t have to travel thousands of miles or during the “best time of year”, to have an amazing adventure. In fact, sometimes experiences are even more special because you didn’t have the cookie cutter peak season version of it or you found something unexpected in your own backyard. You just have to be open to opportunities, step outside your comfort zone, and try something new.
Not only did we have a wonderful day outdoors on the Ice Age Trail, but we also met some incredible humans. People that inspire and motivate us. People we’re lucky to now call friends.
When’s the last time you tried something outside of your comfort zone? How did go? And would you do it again?
One thought on “Hiking the Ice Age Trail in Winter”
Great read, now following!
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