Summary
"The trail has really followed through quite nicely on [Raymond Zillmer]'s vision, because if you are in Madison you have your choice of driving 15 minutes to Verona and walking on a trail that you wouldn't exactly describe as wilderness, but which is a really nice recreational opportunity if you are looking for a way to stretch your legs after work," says [Eric Sherman]. "If you go a little bit farther to the Lodi Marsh segment, it's quiet and has more of a wilderness feel. Then you go far- ther north and you can go backpacking three or four days. The trail really does provide what our founder was after - a way to get people out in a variety of ways."
If overnight camping is more your style, you don't need to go up north for those longer backpacking segments. The 18mile Devil's Lake segment begins in Merrimac and loops west, crossing over both bluffs at the lake. It then curls back east through rich forest to end at Parfrey's Glen, a geological wonder in its own right. I have done it as an ambitious day hike, but a more enjoyable experience is dividing it into two days, with an overnight stop at a tent site in Devil's Lake State Park.This is a recreational option that makes sense. The trail's combination of seclusion and accessibility makes it feel like a distant travel destination right in our backyard. Plus, the variety of wildlife and seasonal wildflowers and berries guarantees you're never hiking the same segment twice. We're fortunate to be surrounded by so much protected natural beauty in Wisconsin; the Ice Age Trail is one of the best ways to explore it.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Glacier's Edge: Hiking the Ice Age Trail
There's something captivating about the Ice Age. Perhaps our seemingly interminable winters make it easier to imagine ice (over a mile thick!) permanently covering the land. Woolly mammoths stomping across the terrain before a massive glacier have inspired a couple feature-length cartoons and the recent Hollywood dud 10,000 B.C.
The legacy of the real Ice Age, though, is a stunning work of geological art carved across the continent....See the full content of this document
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