Hiking the Greenwood Segment of the Ice Age Trail and the Connecting Route to the Mecan River Segment

Turkeys strutted in the middle of Buttercup Drive near Coloma, not minding my car a bit. I stopped and waited for them to clear the road. Excited, I thought about seeing turkeys this close up along my hike. When they finally moved off, I parked my car at the trail head parking at the northern end of the Mecan River Segment of the Ice age trail. As I hopped out of the car, my feet flew out from under me. Yes, it had done more than a little mid-April snow dusting in this area. Freezing rain had encrusted the 4 to 5 inches of snow covering the area. I would definitely be hiking in micro-spikes.



I got myself together and walked west briefly on Buttercup Drive, then north on 6th Lane to the IAT trailhead on Bow String Drive. The forecast called for a zero percent chance of precipitation. This morning started out at 33°F. Given this, I wore a fleece jacket and fleece pants, with no tucked away rain suit. As I reached the Greenwood Segment of the IAT, light freezing rain began to fall. 

Every hike has a goal, and in addition to simply finishing my target segment and then reverse hiking back to the car, I hoped for two things. First, I hoped to see and photograph a turkey. I had seen many in the surrounding vicinity on my drive to the trail head, and this seemed like a real possibility. Second, I hoped to finish the hike without getting soaked and cold.

On the IAT, the fallen, shattered ice from the trees littered the encrusted trail. Each step started out slippery, and ended with my foot cracking through the icy snow. My micro-spikes helped with the slippery, but not the slowness. Before long, I descended into a kettle and greatly enjoyed watching ducks on the quiet kettle lake. The view of this kettle lake made for the top beauty spot of the hike. I tried to photography ducks on the lake, but between the brush in the foreground and the low light, a good duck photograph simply wasn't meant to be.

The kettle lake about a half mile north of Bow String Drive.

Standing on top of a heap of ice crusted snow littered with shards of the ice falling from the trees.

Freezing rain continued to fall as I headed up out of the kettle to the northwest and crossed Brown Deer Court into the Greenwood Wildlife parking area. I had seen plenty of tracks, but no turkey yet. From here, I following the trail to Pine Tree Point. After enjoying the log bench and footrest overlooking an open field, I continued through a tunnel of pines, then up and down rolling hills until the trail rejoined Brown Deer Court. I followed Brown Deer Court for about a half mile, crossed County Highway GG, and rejoined the trail. 

Plenty of bird tracks, but no turkey sightings.

Along the Greenwood Segment of the IAT

The wind became gusty and I worried some rather threatening skies would turn the rain heavy at any moment. Back on trail, the hiking slowed as crashing through the snow with every step made for slow hill hiking. As I finished the  Greenwood Segment at 9th Avenue, the darkest of the clouds slipped away, and sun began to peek through the clouds. 

The rain stopped and I backtracked back to the car feeling glad I didn't cut my hike short due to the light rain. The 4.7 miles of trail along the segment were slow going, but the 0.5 miles of road walking mid-segment as well as the the 0.5 mile walk to complete the connecting route from the Mecan River to the Greenwood Segment were faster.

The sun came out!

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Around every corner and bend, I expected to see turkey. But alas, I never did see a turkey on my hike. But...I did see plenty of tracks - and about not wanting to get soaked and cold. Yes, I did get a little wet and a little cold. But the wind came along on the backtrack and my fleece felt fairly dry as I finished hiking. Despite not getting a short at a good turkey photo and getting a little wet, I am glad I stayed and enjoyed my brief time on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. 

Lessons learned? Always pack rain gear even when no rain is in the forecast. And if you have a wild turkey blocking the road, for heavens sake get your camera out right then and there and take your shot!

That's all for now. Let's get outdoors and keep our wild places wild!

Total Distance Covered -  The Mecan River Segment one way is 4.7 miles (7.6 km) and the connecting route to the Mecan River Segment is 0.5 miles (0.8 km), for a total of 10.4 miles (16.7 km) out and back. 

Difficulty - Moderate for this time of year due to the ice and snow on the rolling hilly spots.

Trail Conditions - The trail is well-blazed and appeared to have low usage. The only other evidence of foot tracks in the snow were deer and turkey. The snow was very icy and slippery, 33°F (-0.6°C).

Highlights -  The freezing rain stopped and the sun came out! Rolling hills, ducks, and views of the kettle lake.

Total Ice Age Trail Miles to Date - Total official trail distance completed to date - 411 miles (658 km).

Amenities - Greenwood Wildlife parking area along Brown Deer Court. The Buttercup Drive IAT trailhead and parking area which is signed "this is the halfway point on your 1200 mile journey" (I love this sign! So encouraging). This trail head parking area is about 4 miles from Coloma. Coloma offers restaurants (Subway, A&W, and others), lodging, and gas stations.

Location - Parked in the DNR parking area on Wisconsin Buttercup Drive.