Thursday, March 22, 2012

Take A Hike: Zillmer Loop Trail

It appears that we skipped spring this year and went from an unusually mild winter straight into summer.  We've had several days over 80 degrees- and it's only March.  While I shudder to think what this could mean when summer actually arrives, neither The Husband or I like to let good weather pass us by. We took advantage of the unseasonably HOT weather last Sunday and drove up to the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest to do some hiking.  After a quick stop to procure our annual state park admission sticker and a quick consultation with the forest ranger, we settled on hiking the yellow section of the Zillmer Loop trails. 
(source)

It was 80+ degrees when we set off from the Northern trailhead and after only a few minutes we came upon a 'scenic viewpoint'.

That was the last time we saw a road for our entire hike.
We only saw a few other people in our 5.32 mile adventure, but we did manage to see some critters.
The things I do for the sake of this blog...I HATE snakes!

Future butterfly?     
All too soon, we were hiking through the last pine plantation and up the final hill.


Distance: 5.32 miles
Time: 1:40:46
Avg. Pace: 18:56/mile

I can't wait to come back and try running on this trail sometime!  It's kind of a haul just to go for a run, but there are only a few big hills (as opposed to the humungous hills at Lapham Peak and Scuppernong), so it would be a great place to do some trail running.

Speaking of running (and all other things training-related), here's what I've been up to since my first outdoor bike ride of the year on March 12th.

Tuesday, March 13th: Successfully dragged myself to yoga.

Thursday, March 15th: Running
Distance: 3.58 miles
Time: 35:08
Avg. Pace: 9:49

Sunday, March 18th: Hiking
(see stats above)

Monday, March 19th: Indoor Trainer Ride
Distance:  10.55 miles
Time: 45:00
Avg. Speed: 14.1 mph

Wednesday, March 22nd: Running
Distance: 2.09 miles
Time: 20:05
Avg. Pace: 9:37

Thursday, March 23rd: Running (since my planned brick workout got rained out)
Distance: 3.50 miles
Time: 34:28
Avg. Pace: 9:52

And...since you've made it this far...how 'bout a gratuitous rabbit picture?
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Luvs the bunnies!!! We get an year pass for the state parks too. (especially now that we can cut through on as a shortcut off the island!) I'm going to try getting John into hiking. He can't run, I know this so it could be something we can do together.

March 23, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Megan said...

I love hiking. I always plan at least two hiking trips each year. We have a state park about an hour and half from here. Its perfect for day trips. My uncle has a place out by the Mississippi that we go stay at too. Its about 3hrs from. Great for a weekend get away. Hiking out there is pretty cool. I really wish I could do it more.

April 2, 2012 at 7:25 PM

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