ICE AGE TRAIL

After two appointments in Rockford, Illinois, I headed north towards Madison, Wisconsin for my Tuesday meeting.  I stopped in Janesville, to make my first contact with the ICE AGE TRAIL.

The information directly below comes directly from the Department of Natural Resources website for Wisconsin:

The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail located entirely within Wisconsin. The trail is also one of 42 designated Wisconsin state trails and the only one specifically designated as a "State Scenic Trail." From Interstate State Park on the Minnesota border to Potawatomi State Park on Lake Michigan, the Ice Age Trail winds for more than 1,000 miles, following the edge of the last continental glacier in Wisconsin.

One of only 11 National Scenic Trails, the Ice Age Trail is intended to be a premier hiking trail and conservation resource for silent sport and outdoor enthusiasts. The trail traverses some of Wisconsin’s most scenic landscapes and helps tell the story of the last Ice Age by highlighting Wisconsin's unique glacial features..

.

In the mood to take a 1000 mile hike?  Consider Wisconsin's ICE AGE TRAIL

.

.

My hike began on the Janesville section of the Ice Age Trail, aka The Devil's Staircase, and eventually ended on a long hike along Route 14 as I made a complete 20 mile loop through Janesville, Wisconsin. 

The very first segment of the hike yesterday began with THE DEVIL'S STAIRCASE.

The Devil's Staircase segment of the Ice Age Trail ascends the bluffs alongside the Rock River in Riverside Park. The Devil's Staircase included only the two miles of my 20 mile hike. 

This stone stairway is NOT the DEVIL'S STAIRCASE, certainly not the 'devilish' part!

.

Your Food Diary For:

Monday, July 11, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Omelette - 3-egg Omelette With Cheese	399	0	20	26	611	1
Kirkland - Pre-Cooked Bacon, 3 slices	120	0	9	9	525	0
Turkey & Cheese Sandwich	290	33	10	19	890	6
	809	33	39	54	2,026	7
L U N C H
Subway - Footlong Steak and Cheese	760	96	20	52	2,060	16
	760	96	20	52	2,060	16
D I N N E R
Hissho Sushi - Philadelphia Roll	340	51	10	9	586	0
Hissho Sushi - California Roll White Rice	554	112	6	10	1,240	0
Glaceau Vitamin Water Zero - Squeezed (Lemonade)	0	10	0	0	0	0
Cashews - Raw Cashews	160	8	12	5	5	2
Dark Chocolate Squares	220	21	15	0	30	21
UNSWEETENED BANANA CHIPS	170	16	10	2	5	1
Add Food Quick Tools	1,444	218	53	26	1,866	24
S N A C K S
Wonderful - Pistachios 1oz. Bag, 1 oz	80	4	7	3	80	1
Nestlé - Chunky Bar, 1 package	190	25	11	2	15	21
Apple - Apple Gala	240	66	0	0	0	51
Twix Ice Cream Bar, 1 bar	250	28	14	2	75	23
	760	123	32	7	170	96
Totals	3,773	470	144	139	6,122	143
Your Daily Goal	7,295	912	243	365	2,300	273
Remaining	3,522	442	99	226	-3,822	130
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
	*You've earned 5,365 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 182.5 lbs in 5 weeks     

.

Your Exercise Diary for:

         Monday, July 11, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	10	74
Walking	333	3,081
Daily Total / Goal	343 / 30	3,155 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	343 / 210	3,155 / 4,130

.

.

.
This undated article was lifted from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Devil's Staircase segment of the Ice Age Trail in Janesville winds along 50-foot limestone and sandstone bluffs along the Rock River. Photo By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ice Age Trail's Devil's Staircase segment a natural oasis in Janesville

By Chelsey Lewis of the Journal Sentinel

Otherworldly could be one adjective to describe this trail.

But not in a hellish sort of way. More in a Jurassic Park, prehistoric kind of way.

Draped in summer's greenery, the Devil's Staircase is a beautiful segment of the Ice Age Trail in Janesville whose name is actually a nod to the deep, rock-strewn gully that cuts from a bluff top down to the Rock River.

The segment is a natural oasis in a city where the Ice Age Trail travels largely along a paved, somewhat urban route.

"You're standing smack dab in the middle of the two best segments of the trail in Janesville," Larry Swanson told me as I pondered which way to hike while standing in the gravel Ice Age Trail parking lot on County Road E. Swanson, a trail volunteer, was spending his Sunday fixing a trail sign post and cleaning up the parking lot's kiosk.

To the west, the 2.1-mile Arbor Ridge segment travels through the Robert Cook Memorial Arboretum. But to the east, the 1.7-mile Devil's Staircase beckoned with rumors of it being one of the most interesting segments in that part of the state.

The trail there was first built in the 1920s, although there is some debate as to who exactly was responsible, said Dennis James, chapter coordinator for the Rock County chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance.

The IATA's trail guidebook says the Civilian Conservation Corps built the segment in the early '30s, but James said the Public Works Department has also claimed responsibility.

"People wanted some trails that went along the bluff, so that whole park was purchased in 1922. It was very, very popular along there, and until 20 years ago or so, there were several artesian wells along there that just had the best water you ever wanted to taste," James said. "If it was the CCC, they usually left some kind of marks, posts or pillars to mark that, and I've never seen one. But it could have dissipated over the years."

Whoever originally built it, the trail had mostly disappeared until five years ago, when the IATA set about restoring it.

"Janesville is pretty much the southern terminus, the turning point for the Ice Age Trail," James said. "The impetus (for building this segment) was it was a really, really scenic path that would benefit not just hikers of the Ice Age Trail, but also the citizens of Janesville."

Today, a less-than-one-mile trail follows the Rock River through a heavily wooded area, flanked by blocky limestone bluffs on one side.

"There are a lot of wildflowers along there, you pass a couple of old quarries as you go along there, there are some geological features," James said. "There are limestone and sandstone cliffs which made it really valuable for someone to quarry before the 1920s. I think it's really very scenic, and then you're along the river. It's just a nice walk."

Route: From the parking lot on County Road E, the trail cuts through a small wooded area, skirts the edge of the Riverside Golf Course, then re-enters the woods for its journey along the Rock River.

The trail quickly descends, then climbs back up a steep, boulder-peppered gully known as the Devil's Staircase — the segment's namesake. While not particularly strenuous, the natural rock steps are prone to being slippery, so hike carefully.

Inside the protection of the forest canopy, the golf course and the city are a distant memory as the trail follows the river, then climbs the hill to parallel 50-foot-high limestone bluffs. Ferns and other cliff-dwelling plants blanket the bluffs' base, while trees provide shade from above.

About half a mile later, the trail exits the woods down a set of stairs (not to be mistaken for the Devil's Staircase) into Riverside Park. From there, the segment hugs the river's shoreline for roughly another mile through the park.

While short, the combination of bluffs, river and woods makes for a terrific jaunt in nature.

While you're there: Extend your hike and continue south along the river through Janesville. There are more than 23 miles of Ice Age Trail and 29 miles of connecting routes in Rock County.

"It's a splendid walk through the city, because you're walking through some of those greenbelts," James said.

Northeast of Janesville, the trail enters the 3.5-mile Storrs Lake Segment, which has new trail sections thanks to a mobile skills project this summer.

Get in even more time with nature at the Rotary Botanical Gardens, 1455 Palmer Drive. Among the 20 acres of botanical gardens are plots with an international focus, including French formal and English cottage gardens. 

Don't leave Janesville without taking in some history. See the spot where Abraham Lincoln rested his head for two nights while delivering speeches in Wisconsin on his buildup to a presidential run at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 426 N. Jackson St. The historical home still has the very bed and blanket Lincoln used. Tours are offered daily in the summer.

More information: For more on the Ice Age Trail in Rock County, see iceagetrail.org/volunteer/chapters/rock-county.

Getting there: Access the Devil's Staircase segment of the Ice Age Trail at the parking lot on County Road E north of downtown Janesville. The trail is about 80 miles southwest of Milwaukee via I-94, Highway 26, Highway 14 and County Road E. The trail can also be accessed from Riverside Park, 2600 Parkside Drive.


.

I did not spot this creature on the ICE AGE TRAIL, perhaps next time...

HALF DOME PLANNING GUIDE

Today I am going to share some tips for making a summit on Half Dome in Yosemite Park.  I start by duplicating my own facebook post from a couple of days ago.  This represents my attempt to be at least mildly amusing.

If one wants to make the 4800 foot ascent up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Park, I can offer these seven simple steps. STEP 1. Lose approximately 85 pounds (only necessary if one starts at 309 lbs) STEP 2. Train for six months: treadmill, elliptical machine, stairmaster STEP 3. Train to increase upper body strength (actually I skipped this step - I only wished I hadn't as I navigated the Half Dome cables to make the final 425 foot ascent) STEP 4. Be fearless (STEP 4 is actually impossible - so skip that one) STEP 5. Somehow manage to climb your way down from the mountain because cell phone coverage at 8842 feet elevation atop Half Dome is spotty at best...so if you want people to be aware of your accomplishment you are going to need to return! STEP 6. Allow at least 12 hours for the approximately 18 mile day hike from Curry Village in Yosemite Park. STEP 7. Don't forget your FitBit as you will get a kick out of learning that you have climbed the equivalent of 550+ flights of stairs. (Imagine climbing from street level to the top of the Empire State Building... Then imagine doing it nearly 5 more times)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

I found a website, yosemitehikes.com which also offered some helpful advice.

Hike Distance:  14.2 miles (22.7 km) round trip via Mist Trail

Half Dome Elevation:  8,842 feet (2,695 meters)

Total Elevation Gain:  4,800 feet (1,600 meters) from Yosemite Valley

Hiking Time:  10 - 14 hours

Why climb the trail to Half Dome?  Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite day hike - the one you can't die without doing, and the one you're most likely to die while doing.  t's got 900 feet (300 meters) worth of spectacular waterfalls at the bottom if you take the Mist Trail route; bigger-than-life panoramic vistas at the top; and a knee-knocking, hand-clamming cable ascent that will test your courage, your strength, and the tread on your shoes.

Permit Alert:  You'll need a permit to access the cable section of the trail. 

Crowd Factor:  High - so high, in fact, that the park service has instituted a permit system for the cable route, a perennial source of bottlenecks. In 2012 the park service switched to a lottery system, which remains in place. While getting a permit can be a challenge, the permit system has definitely reduced crowding, and the days of 45-minute waits to get onto the cables seem to be over.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

and finally... Here is some detail information on acquiring a Half Dome permit lifted directly from the official United States Government National Park Service website:  http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm

(The information duplicated below was for the 2015 season which will conclude in 9 days.... My advice would be to use the nps.gov.yose/planyourvisit website as it is updated for the 2016 season.

Half Dome Permits for Day Hikers

Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are required seven days per week when the cables are up (as called for in the Half Dome Plan in order to protect wilderness character, reduce crowding, protect natural and cultural resources, and improve safety).

A maximum of 300 hikers are allowed (about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers) each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond the base of the subdome.

Permits are distributed by lottery via Recreation.gov, with one preseason lottery with an application period in March and and daily lotteries during the hiking season. Backpackers—including those who want to spend the night in Little Yosemite Valley—should apply for Half Dome permits with their wilderness permit rather than using the process described below.

On each preseason lottery application, people can apply for up to six permits (six people) and for up to seven dates. Applications will only be successful if the number of permits requested is available on at least one of the requested dates. If enough permits are available for more than one of the requested dates, permits will be automatically awarded to the highest priority date, as entered by the applicant.

The applicant must specify the name of the trip leader and may specify the name of an alternate. Each person may apply as a trip leader only once per lottery. People applying multiple times as trip leader will have all their lottery applications canceled. Permits will only be valid if the trip leader and/or alternate specified on the permit is part of the group using the permits. The group with trip leader or alternate must be present together at the base of the subdome, where rangers will check for permits. The names of the trip leader and alternate may not be changed once the application is submitted, and their permits are not transferable.

Preseason Lottery

During the preseason lottery, 225 permits are available for each day. The application period for this lottery is from March 1 through March 31 (eastern time). Applicants will receive an email with lottery results in mid-April (or can get results online or by calling Recreation.gov). We are planning on the Half Dome cables being up May 22, 2015 through October 13, 2015, but these dates could change based on conditions.Update: The Half Dome cables will be installed and available for use beginning on May 2. All 225 day hiking permits will be available via the daily lottery, as described below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Can you see that little RED DOT in the center of this photograph?  That is me, sitting on a ledge at the summit of Half Dome. It was a bit lonely out there! The word, 'awesome' is often overused - I am pretty sure it applied last Thursday, only five days ago,  around noon when I was soaking in the vastness of Yosemite.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~    Tuesday MENU breakfast      Multigrain Rice Cakes, Chocolate Granola Bar  495 calories lunch            two large apples, center cut bacon 6 slices         400 calories dinner          Manhattan Clam Chowder, Oat+Honey bars       620 calories SNACK       Multigrain Rice Cakes, gala apple                       440 calories TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 1955 CALORIES                                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  CALORIES BURNED MapMyWalk 1 hour, 2 minute walk 5 MILES                          1052 CALORIES Tuesday net calories 903 calories ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   fitbit day 34 17374 steps ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Each time I take a 'workout walk' outside... I like to snap at least a photo or two of something that I see that is interesting.... Today, It was the giant carved pumpkin at the Lincoln Park Zoo ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  GREEN DOT - STARTING POINT RED DOT - ENDING POINT

HALF DOME CABLES

Today I need to talk about the cables at Half Dome.  The cables allow the hikers to ascend the final 425 feet to the top of Half Dome. This last part of the hike makes the first 4312 feet of ascension seem like a piece of cake by comparison. Rick Deutsch, author of "ONE BEST HIKE: YOSEMITE'S HALF DOME" has the same sense of humor as my brother when it comes to minimizing just how harrowing that final ascent is:

...the Half Dome hike becomes an extremely strenuous one.  Included is a harrowing 425 foot vertical climb up the approximately 45-degree incline on the back side of the granite slope.  Not to worry; this is accomplished with the aid of two steel cable handrails.

Not to worry...Two steel cable handrails?  Really? This makes it sound like one is holding onto a bannister while walking up a staircase. It is not quite that way. In discussing this hike with my brother two days later, we were trying to remember how many sets of poles we had traversed in order to get to the top.  I found my answer in Deutsch's book

Each of the two cables is actually assembled in thirds, with each run anchored to the granite rock.  The cables are held upright by 68 pairs of 3-foot pipes placed into 5-inch holes drilled into the rock.  To allow a hiker to stand vertical, 2-by-4-foot boards are loosely fastened to the pipes.

Although Yosemite National Park is open year-round, the trail to the top of Half Dome is not.  Again, I return to Deutch's book.

The pipes and boards are put in place by the NPS (National Park Service) trail crew every late May (weather permitting) and removed in early October (usually after Columbus Day).  It takes about 20 skilled people to carefully handle the pipes and boards.  They are secreted away in the off-season.  The cables themselves remain on the mountain year-round.  Although not prohibited, it is not advised to ascend Half Dome during the off-season unless you are a skilled big-wall climber.  It is very dangerous to use only the cables to rappel up and down. 

As I re-examine the passages of this book that speak of the cables - I discover that the author of "ONE BEST HIKE: YOSEMITE'S HALF DOME" is a master of understatement.  That he wrote that it is not advised to ascend Half Dome during the off-season is unintentionally funny.  As far as I am concerned that would be the equivalent of saying: It is not advisable to jump out of an airplane without a parachute! Both statements clearly good advice, and both statements seemingly unnecessary!  Just one man's opinion.

About 6 miles into the hike up the mountain, I was asked by my brother if I would consider making this same hike again.  At this point along the trail, I had not seen the final ascent other than pictures on the internet.  I emphatically replied that I would definitely do this again.  Shortly after making the final ascent and managing the cables back down to the sub-dome, I quickly amended my previous statement.   No, I would not be interested in making this hike again.  I would like to now amend this statement one time more.  I would make this hike again.

I realized that the biggest obstacle to climbing the cables and overcoming the 45-degree slope to the top of Half Dome was my increasing worry with every advancing step that I was going to have to figure out a way to get down.  As it turned out, navigating the cables down was much easier.  It did not require great strength.  Compared to the trip up, it was no problem.  This is not to say that it was simple, just that it was much easier.  Certainly the result of slipping would have been catastrophic, but one is not battling gravity in quite the same way on the way down.  And that makes a world of difference!

According to the Rick Deutsch book, more than 40,000 people attempt the Half Dome hike each year and most are successful.  This seems like a counter-intuitive statement at first.  If one takes into account the planning needed to secure a permit, and preparing for the hike by bringing the proper equipment, food and water after completing the proper physical training - I can see why a group drawn from this set of people would be successful.  There are no requirements set by the National Park Service restricting anyone based on age, size or strength.  THERE ARE MORE RESTRICTIONS FOR RIDES AT DISNEYLAND THAN THERE ARE AT HALF DOME.  At Half Dome there are NO restrictions.  Although no official records are kept, it appears that the common lowest age of successful hikers up Half Dome are as young as 10 years old.  Rick Deutsch claims to know people over the age of 80 who have made the ascent.  I made my ascent 42 days before my 58th birthday.  I can IMAGINE having the physical strength to do this again for a few more years - although I am guessing that that window will be shutting down before too long. That particular biological clock is ticking away inside of me...

The last tidbit of information that I want to share today is the length of the final ascent. As mentioned, the elevation of this ascent is 425 feet.  Rick Deutsch in his book uses the Pythagorean Theorem to divine the actual distance a hiker has to travel the cables.  He assumes a 45-degree angle (which might even be understated) and estimates the distance at a bit over 600 feet.  Climbing up that mountain that final 600 feet of an 8.2 mile hike from the trail head was the hardest 600 feet I have travelled in my life.  And absolutely worth it!  Getting down again also had it own rewards!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

On the way down from the summit of Half Dome I managed a selfie. In the photo my left hand is holding onto the cable and you can see the a part of the cable on my right.  As I remember it, I was about  2/3 down when I thought it was selfie time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 Saturday MENU

breakfast  oatmeal, bacon, three poached eggs                                550 calories
lunch        three KIND bars: Almond & Coconut                            570 calories
dinner       Homemade Chili, red delicious apple                             968 calories
SNACK   three Keebler fudge cookies                                            255 calories

TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 2343 CALORIES

Two days after the Half Dome hike soreness kicked in, big time.  I felt a tightness in my thighs that made it difficult to climb up or down even one flight of stairs.  This did not prevent me from taking a 90 minute power-walk on the Chicago lakefront while my daughter was attending an enrichment class in preparation for a high school placement test.

MapMyWalk 6.74 miles  (14104 steps)  90 minutes                 1287 calories

CALORIES BURNED 1287 CALORIES

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

Saturday net calories 1056 calories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

fitbit day 31

20926 steps
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
final thought for the day:
According to the sign at the trail head, the trail to the summit is 8.2 miles.  According to Rick Deutsch, the cables portion of the trail is approximately 600 feet.  Those cables are the most talked about part of this trail.  Mathematically, they represent a tiny fraction of the distance: 

Total trail length=5280 ft/mile x 8.2 miles=43296 feet

600ft divided by 43296 feet=1.3%.

That last 1% of the Half Dome Trail is a portion of the trail that one will never forget.  I know I won't.