09/24/06

IAT Thru Hike

John Bauer and Bill Rhodes - 2006 Ice Age Trail Thru Hike Journal

2006-08-04 / Friday

12:30 PM Status - He’s finishing the hike in Sandals!

Hi Friends of the IAT, 

Wow!  Please sit down, thanks.  John called from the Murphy Flowage Recreation Area (Map 102e) and left me two messages (at 12:12 pm and 12:19 pm) while I was out having a Friday Fish Fry for lunch .  Do not be alarmed - John is no longer walking in boots.  His boots died at about the 1,000-mile mark, he left them behind, and he’s finishing the last hundred miles in his sandals.   I’m only telling you this if you promise not to offer him any help in that regard.   John told me that he is bound and determined to finish this hike in sandals, even barefoot if necessary and that he wants absolutely no help from anybody.  He wants something to talk about, maybe the start of a legend, he wants to “be a man” and finish the hike as he puts it “naturally”.  That’s cool, I can respect that but he never said that we shouldn’t check on him to cheer him on, so if you feel inclined to do so by all means go for it. 

He told me today he had some pretty amazing, beautiful and gorgeous run ins with the wild life – he heard the Timber Wolves howling early this morning, he saw a Blue Heron, and he had a run in with a Black Bear.   It was a mid-size bear coming straight at him on the trail.  Luckily when the bear realized his presence he took off.  The bear stuck around long enough for John to get a photo, I can hardly wait to see his pics. 

His destination for today is Haugen, WI (Map 104e) where he wants to crash. 

Well, tomorrow morning I head out with my daughter Kadie on a four day tour of 12 waterfalls in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s UP which means I will be out of touch with John and will not be available for his finish.  Once I receive John’s final log entries and photos I will post them to the web site to share with you.   

It’s been a real adventure for me just to cover him and report his exploits to you all.  Who knows maybe he will be in inspiration for one of you to undertake a thru hike of your own?  I sure hope that’s the case.

 For now – Happy Trails!