Last solo hike on the Ice Age Trail! Three more day-hikes after this one, and I’ll be with a friend for those.

Sand Creek Segment is six miles long when you include the short connecting segments (road walks) on either end. I did it as an out-and-back, so I had a lovely 12-mile stroll through woods displaying gorgeous autumn colors. The only two things that were not entirely positive were a logging area filled with toppled trees and the fact that hunters can and do walk the Ice Age Trail, and some of them shoot extremely close to the path. Very loud and very near gunshots made me extremely nervous during the latter part of my morning, in spite of my hunter-orange vest.

It sure is pretty up here in northern Wisconsin, though. The yellows and reds are popping.