The Ice Age Trail Mammoth Hike Challenge

It’s time for the Mammoth Hike Challenge!

Updated 2024.

This post was originally written the first year I took on the challenge, which was 2020. The logistics haven’t changed much since then. Signing up for the challenge, whether individually, or in teams is a fun way to get out and enjoy the fall colors. The Mammoth Hike Challenge runs through the entire month of October.

I have been waiting in anticipation for October 1st for a few months now.

It may sound crazy to some to take on a challenge to hike over 40 miles of the 1200-mile-long Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin during the month of October, but I vowed back in July to do it.

One of my favorite segments of the trail is the Point Beach Segment.

The Mammoth Hike Challenge requires its participants to hike the trail anniversary number of miles (44 in 2024) of the trail any way you want (from choosing different segments to hiking a partial part of the trail many times), it doesn’t matter as long as you log (on the honor system) your miles and visit three Trail Communities along the way.

In the end, you fill out a completion form to get your certificate and a commemorative patch. It costs nothing to join.

I have started to deeply appreciate this beautiful Wisconsin treasure for a while now, and one of my bucket list items is to hike every segment of the Ice Age Trail. I’m sure I don’t have it in me to do a thru-hike (that’s hiking all 1200 miles), but breaking it up into segments with no time limit seems doable.

So when I learned of the Mammoth Hike Challenge in the summer, I didn’t hesitate to sign up. I am incredibly lucky to live just a couple miles from the newer Walla Hi Segment (2.3 miles) in Manitowoc County. If nothing else I could hike that segment to the end and back nine times and I’ll have over my required miles.

And so being October 1st, I was eager to get out and start.

At 10:15 I got in my car and drove over to the parking lot at Walla Hi County Park. I walked to the eastern end of the segment off Mueller Road and began my challenge.

I stopped many times along the trail to admire little details of nature. Sounds, sights, and smells. For the first mile and a half, I was alone. It was magical.

Then I encountered the first of three fellow hikers. This segment is a hidden gem and that’s fine by me. I will say that there was a chill in the air, clouds in the sky and the possibility of rain which may have deterred some from getting out.

I rather liked having the trail to myself.

When I reached the western edge of the segment at Lax Chapel Road, I felt invigorated but a little out of shape. This segment is hilly and in many portions you are walking along eskers and rocky terrain.

Even at that, no matter what your hiking ability is, you can tackle the trail. I stopped a few times to catch my breath and there are benches sprinkled along the way to enjoy a little rest. I didn’t want to waste too much time getting back to my car, because the clouds were turning dark and the threat of rain was in the air.

It seemed like the return hike took much less time. Before I knew it, I was back at the footbridge across the creek. Instead of finishing the trail back to Mueller Road, I took a shortcut down the gravel road back to the first parking lot. It was just in time because no five minutes later the rain came down.

Another five minute passed, and I was back home. It was great to have this first hike done! On Saturday, I plan on driving down to Whitewater, picking up Megan, and tackling one of the many segments in that area. The Whitewater Segment is over four miles and there are two other segments over seven miles near. I may just have her drive to an endpoint on one of those big segments, pick her up, and begin on the other end—time to hit my Ice Age Trail Atlas and do some planning.

You can pick up the atlas here.

Another helpful resource is to download the Guthook app onto your phone for trail maps that you can download offline. You can also plan your route and follow along as you hike. I used it today, and it works well. There is a cost for the app, but if you are going to hike the trail a lot, it may be worth it.

October 1st hike: Walla Hi Segment 3.6 miles

Follow along as I record my challenge this whole month.