April 29, 2025.
April 28 saw downpours, severe thunderstorms, and tornado watches for this region of Wisconsin all day and well into the night. I took a zero.
I knew the trails would be a wet mess after all that rain, but I set out for a short five-mile hike to get the eastern portion of New Wood segment. As anticipated, much of the trail was mud/giant puddle. Then I got to the creek crossing that no one ever worries about, and oh my. I only attempted it because there were trees upstream with branches stretching over/into/across the water, and I was able to hold onto them while very slowly wading through the crotch-deep and fast-moving water. Had there been no trees, I would not have attempted it. The current was too fast for me to use my poles for support.
Was soaking wet after that but had only 0.7 mile left of my hike, so I didn’t care.
I am doing some sections out of order now over the next few days so the water can go down and I can avoid unbridged crossings.
