May 5, 2025.

Last day on the Ice Age Trail for 2025. Connected the dots by doing the segment I had skipped a few days ago. Now, to finish the Ice Age Trail next year, I need from Lake Eleven to the western terminus, which is about 240 miles.

Mondeaux Esker segment can be summed up like this: East=bad, west=good.

I came in from the eastern end, and those easternmost 4.5 miles are deep mud, rotting logs, tall marshy grass, and water. UGH.

From the Mondeaux lodge westward, however, the trail is mostly high, dry, and scenic. Lovely.

I am spending the next few days doing chores and errands before flying to New York. I’ll spend a month in NY hiking various smaller trails with a full backpack, then I’ll start the AT as a flipflop.

Many thanks to the kind and wonderful people of Wisconsin, especially Linda Sadler Collison, Karen Helgeson, Summer Lin, Jill Hk, Tanya Jensen-Stroede, Buzz Meyer, Sarah the triathlete, and Ruby Jaecks for their great company and/or support.