Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment Field Editor

Documenting the Ice Age Trail

This year I volunteered to be a Field Editor to help with the preparation of the 2014 Ice Age Trail Guidebook.  Volunteers select a segment of the 1,000 mile Ice Age Trail, take previous notes and maps into the field with them to review and do research on the segment they have.  In the end they'll add comments, updates, interesting facts and photos of the segment they're editing.  It's a really great opportunity for those of us that love the Ice Age Trail to slow it down and experience it in a different way.

Blue Spring Lake Segment

Lucky for me I was able to grab the Blue Spring Lake Segment to edit in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest section that included the one last piece of Ice Age Trail I hadn't yet hiked in the Southern Kettle area.  I had hiked from both ends of it previously, but had never hiked the middle piece of the trail I was going to edit.  So this turned out perfect for me.

Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Trail Segment

This section of the trail covers just over 7 miles of trail one way.  In order to completely and accurately take notes and compare to previous documentation, I decided to split it in two hikes and take my time.  Plus it allowed me to bring my dogs along for the hikes.

Day 1 - Hiking Young Rd to Horseriders Campground

On a perfect spring day with cooler temperatures, the dogs and I were off to start our documenting and editing of the Blue Spring Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail and hit up the one section of the Ice Age Trail in Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest I hadn't hiked yet.  We drove to the western edge of the segment and hiked the 4.2 miles of trail that this section covered (1 way - 8.4 miles round trip).  This section of the trail includes lots of hills, hardwood forest and some pretty great points of interest.

Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment Elevation Profile

It basically starts out immediately with a short hike from the road to a quick 100 foot incline up a few switchbacks to reach the Bald Bluff Scenic Overlook and Natural area.  The Bald Bluff overlook provides some great views of the area surrounding it.

View from Bald Bluff Scenic Overlook & Natural Area

After heading back down the other side of the bluff, you'll walk another 1.5 miles or so to get to the next point of interest, the Stone Elephant.  The Stone Elephant is large granite erratic left over from when the glaciers moved through Wisconsin.  History has it that the Prairie Potawatomi Indians used to visit this place often.

Personally, I'm still trying to see the "elephant" in this rock because after visiting the Stone Elephant twice now and viewing it from all angles, I can only really see a whale.  Guess I'll have to go back a third time.

The Stone Elephant

The Stone Elephant

The remainder of the hike on day 1 was a beautiful, peaceful walk through old oak forests and some pine forests.  The old oak forests included a lot of old black oak trees and in early spring, these trees were still bare or just starting to get their leaves.  It made them look so dark and almost intimidating like they were reaching out to grab you, but still regal and towering over the forest.

Old oak forest - Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment

After taking a short break at the Horseriders Campground for a quick drink and snack, the dogs and I turned around and walked the 4.2 miles back to the car.  Overall - this section of the trail in early spring is a winner.  Trees are growing their leaves, spring flowers are starting to bloom and the dogs and I basically had the first almost 4 miles of the trail to ourselves and on the return trip - the entire trail to ourselves until we hit Bald Bluff.

Day 2 - Hiking Horseriders Campground to Emma Carlin Trailhead

The second half of the Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment that I covered from the Horseriders Camp to Emma Carlin Trailhead was about 3.3 miles in length one way.  Unlike the first section we hiked that included the Bald Bluff and Stone Elephant, this section didn't include any points of interest like that.  This section instead was mostly hardwood forest with more glacial terrain of hills.  

Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment - Horseriders to Emma Carlin Elevation Profile

I've done this section twice before, once during a hot, wet summer and just this last winter via snowshoe.  I really like this section of trail.  In spring you'll see plenty of Mayapples (or umbrella plants).  These plants will appear and unfurl before the trees get their leaves, leaving the forest floor full of these beautiful, bright spring plants.  In the winter, this section is great for snowshoeing and getting great views of the valley floor.  The only downfall for this section is the standing water.  It's a breeding bed for mosquitoes, so if it's a hot, wet summer - bring plenty of bug spray or pay the consequences and plan to be a blood donor to mosquitoes.  

Mayapples on the Ice Age Trail

Winter on the trail - Ice Age Trail - Blue Spring Lake Segment

Now that I've documented, edited, photographed and researched it, I just need to finish pulling it all together and getting my section - the Blue Spring Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail - done and off.  So in 2014 - watch for the new Ice Age Trail Guidebook.  And when you pick up your copy - think of me when you're reviewing the Blue Spring Segment information.

And if you want to experience it, let me know, I'd be glad to take you out on the trail and show you some of points of interest and cool little areas I found as I took my time really getting a chance to take it all and know this area unlike I knew it before.


Additional Posts -
Hiking in the First Snowfall - Northern Kettle Moraine
Winter Hiking on the Ice Age Trail - Southern Kettle Moraine & incidents with hunters