It was a good day to hike the IAT Blackhawk segment, so that’s what I did. The skies were clear and sunny but the temps were very cold — 20 F when I arrived, 28 F when I departed — so I had to dress up in many layers, and even then I was pretty cold for about the first hour, but after tramping a couple miles through the forest, I warmed up and stayed warm for the rest of the hike.

I started from the parking lot on Highway 12, just east of Whitewater. It’s a pretty big lot, well-signed and easy to spot from the highway. There are five or six sign boards with maps and information about the various trails in the area. There’s even a porta-potty, something I don’t usually see when hiking the IAT.

I hiked the IAT north around the west side of Lake La Grange, then on into the Kettle Moraine State Forest. I only went as far as shelter 3 because I didn’t have a ride back to the parking lot, so I had to double back down the trail. On the way back, I took the shortcut on the east side of Lake La Grange to the parking lot. Total distance, about 8 miles. I walked it in 3 hours 15 minutes.