The Stoney Ridge segment is located in Southern Wisconsin and marks the beginning of the Waukesha County portion of the Ice Age Trail. It also marks the beginning of our attempt to 'Follow The Yellow Blaze Trail' in its entirety. We do have a plan to post more information about the Ice Age Trail, but the siren song of the trail was too strong so we started the trek; there is always time to add the details later.
After fueling up on coffee and carbs (in donut form) we arrived at the trailhead.
No matter how many times we asked, the friendly Wooly Mammoth refused to take our picture by the sign... so this is the best we could do.
The trail began by winding through a section of dry prairie that was anything but dry due to the recent rains. In fact, it was quite muddy! Eventually the gentle, rolling hills of the prairie gave way to hardwood forests, pine plantations, and a few steep uphills and descents. The "nature" portion of the hike was fairly uneventful. We spotted a hawk soaring above, a few rouge chipmunks skittering in the brush and a couple of hounds taking their humans for a walk. The rest of the story is probably best told through pictures. Enjoy!
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| The Ice Age Trail is conveniently marked with Yellow Blazes to guide the hiker across the state. |
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| Prairie (which was NOT dry) |
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| Bridge over muddy waters |
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| Field and Stream |
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| Hardwood forest marks the end of the prairie |
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| Pine Plantation |
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| Can you guess what the Wisconsin state flower is? |
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| Eastern Tent Caterpillar Nest |
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| Stoney Ridge Segment According to Garmin |
Total Miles In Waukesha County Segment: 40 miles
Total Miles Completed: 3.1 miles
Until next time...follow the yellow blaze trail!
