Ice Age Trail - Springfield Hill Trail and our first Connecting Route

 

Tuesday, October 7, 2021 - Sue and I choose to bite off a segment we thought we could succeed at. 

So far, 5 - 6 miles is about what we expect to do, and hope to build on that. Since we are hiking together, we parked one car at Indian Lake, and then drove to the Springfield Hill Trail and did that loop first, and then worked our way south back to Indian Lake. We drove the route ahead of time to determine if we would walk the connecting route north to south or south to north. We have both, at different times in our lives, done hiking in other places, but Springfield Hill was a new place for both of us. It has some inclines, but the 1.6 miles seemed to go pretty fast, even for a couple of Wandering Nana's (one of which - me - is a slow walker). We enjoyed the boardwalk and the historic barn that actually had a sign explaining its' history.

One thing I had not taken into consideration before deciding to do the Ice Age trail is the connecting routes. The trail includes many actual trails through parks, woodlands, and private land but they are not all connected, so there are "connecting routes" that involve walking along roadsides. The connecting route between Springfield Hill and Indian Lake goes along Hwy 12 in Dane County for a short ways, which can be quite busy at times. We are pretty green when it comes to figuring out how best to navigate these connecting routes, so we ended up walking along Hwy 12 until we could cross the road to get to Matz Road. We stayed several feet off the road, which meant wading through some knee-high grass in places. When we reached to point where we needed to cross the road, it looked like there was a mown trail to that point, but we didn't see the start of the trail earlier, so not sure if it is part of the connecting route. The benefit of moving slower was enjoying the panoramic scenery as well as the asters along the stone ditch. Matz road took us most of the way to Indian Lake. It was a lovely walk, but definitely hills to navigate. The trees in south-central Wisconsin are starting to turn colors, so we got to enjoy that, as well. The cows even cheered us on to "moooo-ve" along, which we happily did.

After our walk, I spent some time meditating on what God might have for me, and the scripture that immediately came to mind is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." I have no illusions that God is going to miraculously turn all of the curves (and hills!) on the Ice Age trail into straight paths though it seems reasonable to me to believe a God that is powerful enough to create the universe can do that. However, I also believe that He is the one who is ultimately in control of the path of my life. That path has not always been pleasant, but some of the hardest times have also been the times when I have experienced the most growth. Sometimes it is spiritual growth and sometimes emotional or mental growth. I believe all are necessary if we are to live lives worth living.