Fish, ticks and turtles!

We walk back to the truck with all our extra gear in tow and drive back to the trailhead. A short trail along rainbow lake brings us back to the Ice Age Trail and we follow along Straight creek. Half a dozen fisherman are out on the small lake, I hope there is enough fish for everyone.

Troll walks towards us and we walk to his truck together. We pass by a really sweet tent spot on the shore of Long Lake. It has a woman camping there, we’re a little too far to chat but it looks she’s out for a few days at least. Several houses line the lake and we get to walk on the driveway of a few of them.

A short road walk later we walk along some fields and get to a fence. It’s locked up rather tightly and we struggle to get it open. I almost give up and think about climbing over it instead. When we finally get it open Troll meets up with us again and we all take a break at a small hunting cabin with a picnic table. It’s really mostly me taking a break and relaxing and the others waiting for me to be ready to go again. They just don’t know how to relax!

Just before getting back to the truck there is a small pond with two turtles. We’re excited because Troll is a turtle fan but he didn’t even see them when he walked by them ahead of us!

A break in the parking lot results in me beating Troll in having the highest tick count. I have two during the break which puts me at ten for the day. Yuck! And the grass isn’t even that high yet. Luckily none of them burrowed in yet.

The McKenzie creek segment shows the creek flowing in the tunnel left by glacier activity. It looks no different than any other creek but it’s undulating and shimmering in the sunlight and pretty to look at.

We finish the day up with a crossing on a rickety bridge and a nice view of Dinger lake. We camp near a trailhead and have dinner with Troll who once again treats us to wonderful cooking. It’s going to be rough without him.