Journal-Sentinel

Chippewa trails bring slower pace to rapid lives
Posted: Oct. 28, 2006


Dennis McCann

New Auburn - As advice goes, "take a hike" lacks the literary resonance of "go west, young man." But as a plan for an otherwise empty day you can do no better than merge the two.

Even an imperfect empty day. The sky was still inky dark and spritzing rain when I packed up and headed to western Wisconsin for a late fall hike, but the reassuring voice on the radio said both conditions should change by midmorning, so I bought a cup of coffee the color of the lingering night sky and drove on. And by the time I reached my destination, the Chippewa Moraine section of the Ice Age Scientific Reserve in Chippewa County, the day had improved enough to be called almost dry, though gun metal gray at best. Still, the next day's forecast had included a chance of the dreaded "snow" word, so I couldn't complain.

And why would I? If the day was only a 3 on a 10 scale, I was in a lovely setting and once I left the noisy pack of fourth-graders learning about nature at the Interpretive Center, I found myself alone in this place of hills and glacial lakes, a setting Tim Bewer called in "Wisconsin's Outdoor Treasures" "one of the most beautiful properties in the state park system, yet somehow it remains one of the least visited."

It was, in fact, my first visit to the Chippewa Moraine, a land crafted by the last great glacial advance. There are dozens of small glacial lakes on the 3,855-acre property, along with eskers and kames and other features familiar to anyone who has hiked the Kettle Moraine in southeastern Wisconsin.

The Interpretive Center contains a number of exhibits that explain the Ice Age and its impact on the region, but my intention was to hike, so I left the fourth-grade din inside and stepped off on the Circle Trail, a 4.5-mile loop that takes in several sections of the much longer Ice Age Trail.

Enjoying the pace
I've been doing a lot more hiking and walking this fall, in no small part thanks to a knee that is feeling its age and doesn't want to run much. But I've enjoyed the slower pace. A few days earlier I walked the Whistlestop Half-Marathon in Ashland, a terrific event that drew nearly 2,000 participants over a variety of distances on the Tri-County Corridor, a flat and straight-away former rail trail through a woodsy setting. It's off the topic a bit, but I'd recommend that for next year.

The Circle Trail was altogether different but every bit as enjoyable, a walk not with others in the tracks of an old locomotive but alone in the footsteps of the long-gone mammoth on a trail that was seldom flat but went up and down and around and over graceful little wooden bridges between kettle lakes. As I began my way down the first hill I was reminded why mammoths wore wool; it was chilly and then some and my cold hands seemed to portend another ice age in the near future. But soon enough I was warmed by the work of walking, which in no other way should be compared to real work. This was pleasure.

The woods by late October were rusted as an old barn hinge, stripped of color by creeping time and a sun no longer up to the task of heating. But the trees without leaves were easier to see through, which afforded marvelous views of the steep hills and many little lakes. At one point where the Circle Trail was merged with the Mammoth Nature Trail, a sign advised walkers to slow down, noting "the stagnant ice that once stood here melted about one inch every 100 years."

So why hurry now? When I came to a bench conveniently aimed at little Horseshoe Lake, I sat for a while, then stopped again a ways up the trail to enjoy the nests of the heron rookery high in the spindly tall trees. It was quiet that day, but it would be fun to come back in spring when the residents are in full throat, and I made a note to do that. I pressed on, learning a bit about hummocks and dry lakes and other features from interpretive signs, but mostly just enjoying the day.

When I emerged from the woods after two hours of solitude, I ran into Ranger Brenda, who asked if I had at least seen any critters. Only birds and squirrels, I said. What else do you have? She pointed to the bird feeders at the visitor center that were higher than a bear's head for good reason. It's also possible for visitors to glimpse deer, coyote, beaver, fox or other animals, along with any number of bird species.

The center is open year-round, as are its trails. In addition to the 4.5-mile Circle Trail, and longer sections of the Ice Age Trail, Chippewa Moraine also has the short Mammoth Nature Trail, the 1.8-mile Dry Lake Trail and other options. Maps are available at the Interpretive Center, as are orange vests for hikers who come when hunting is taking place nearby. (Personally I stay out of the woods during gun deer season, but Ranger Brenda said there have never been any problems combining the two activities.)

The center is on County Highway M about seven miles east of New Auburn. For more information, contact the Interpretive Center at (715) 967-2800 or visitwww.dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/chipmoraine/index.html.

E-mail dmccann@journalsentinel.com.

From Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 10/29/06

Oct 29, 2006