A study by the University of Wisconsin concluded that 1.25 million people used the Ice Age Trail in 2012. Of course, through-hikers on any trail represent a tiny fraction of those who use it. In contrast, the number of Ice Age Trail through-hikers to date is still under 150 and the trail’s first known through-hike wasn’t reported until 1979, the year before it was designated a National Scenic Trail. Some 17,500 hikers in all are believed to have completed the Appalachian Trail. There were just 10 through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail in 1970, but more than 1,000 completed the trail last year. Long-distance hiking has boomed in popularity since the 1970s. “Every time the pain was superbad, I would just keep walking, just thinking about taking the next step,” she said. “One day a time, one hour at a time, one step at a time” became her mantra. McManus writes of being disoriented, backtracking and hunting for trail markers that were sometimes missing or hard to see.Īnother challenge was persevering despite a bacterial skin infection called cellulitis that developed in her feet. GPS reception is unreliable, so detailed maps and a compass are essential. Hikers use roads to connect the trail segments. Only a little more than half of the Ice Age Trail is completed and some sections are in poor condition. That also lightened her load: She didn’t have to carry a tent or more than a day’s worth of supplies.īut simply finding her way proved to be a big part of the adventure. McManus chose to run the trail on what’s known as a supported hike, meaning that she was picked up and dropped off each day at predesignated spots by car. Croix Falls across the northern half of Wisconsin in a squiggly east-west line before dipping into a giant U, with its eastern terminus in Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay. The Ice Age Trail follows a landscape of woods, hills and wetlands sculpted by the retreat of glacial ice 12,000 years ago.
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