Backpacking on the Ice Age Trail

My adventerous daughter recently returned from a solo backpacking trip on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail: More than 60 miles of this 1,200-mile footpath wind directly through the Kettle Moraine, making it popular for thru-hikers and backpackers, although during her trip my daughter never saw another hiker

I have never even gone to the cinema alone, so I am a bit in awe that she slept two nights alone in her tent in the forest and loved it so much that she is already planning her next hike. She is very much at home in the woods, while her husband was happy to stay at home with the cats

The Kettle Moraine State Forest is one of Wisconsin’s most remarkable natural treasures, spanning over 50,000 acres across southeastern Wisconsin. It is world-renowned not just for its dense hardwood forests, prairies, and pristine lakes, but because it contains some of the best-preserved examples of glacial topography on Earth.

Kettles, eskers, moraines and kames become not just words that you learned in earth science class in school.

The yellow markers mark the trail.

I have decided to directly share the things she told me about her trip. I am so proud of her!

"The section of the Ice Age Trail that I will be in is part of the Wisconsin State Parks system. So I have to have my stickers that show that I have paid to park and use the park system. I had to call a couple of phone numbers to let them know that I would be leaving my car overnight so that they could let the Rangers know that it's supposed to be there"

"I've never heard of anything specifically bad happening along these sections of trails, but it is good practice to make sure there is nothing in the parked car that is being left in a public parking lot overnight. I have opened up my back seats and my glove box and center console so that if someone comes looking, they can see that it is empty and not smash up my windows or something dumb."

"These clothes are specific for hiking. They are all fast drying, lightweight, or used for sun protection. The pants can zip apart and become shorts. The shirt is a sun hoodie, the socks are merino hiking socks and can be worn for several days without needing to be washed, and the undergarments are made of a quick drying Merino that is also meant to be worn for days on end without having to be washed. Fortunately, I don't really have to put that too much to the test since I won't be gone that long. Lol"

The only other clothes that I am taking is a hiking raincoat, a hiking puffy coat (that will also be my pillow), and a pair of tights and tank top to sleep in or change into if my other clothes are wet.

All of my outer clothes, boots, backpack and tent have been sprayed with Permethrin to kill the ticks that have been absolutely horrible this year. When ticks come in contact with it, they die within minutes. It is a necessary prevention method in this area to avoid becoming sick.

"This is a plastic bag full of freeze dried food. Corn, beans, small pieces of corn tortilla. It's meant to taste like some sort of southwestern bowl. It tastes okay, but I figured it would taste even better if I brought some tortillas and an avocado."

"Once the boiling water is poured in it gets put inside of a insulated bag to keep the heat in while it rehydrates. This one took 8 minutes plus another 7 minutes of rehydration time."

"This is a sturdy plastic container that has a locking lid that can't be opened without a key. It's to keep Bears out. We don't really have bear issues in this section of the park but a future trip that I am taking will require a bear can so I figured I might as well take it. Plus there are always raccoons and random rodents that would be more than happy to get into the snacks. I kept this can outside of my tent at the edge of my campsite."

"It was nice to have the table and it was nice that it wasn't windy and I was able to just throw everything around at my convenience."

" There are a lot of good maps for the entire trail. This map is downloaded directly to my phone and I will not need cell phone service to use it. It has all the markers for any alerts, water sources, camping sources, and anything else that I might need to know marked out on the trail. And it will work just fine while I'm moving along even if I don't have signal for my phone."

Tagging one of my favorite hikers @daveks

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