I had a walk around the neighborhood where we live but after completing my morning chores I felt the need to get out and get another walk in some place I hadn’t been before. There are several nearby segments of the Ice Age Trail I haven’t visited yet, believe it or not, so I picked one and headed across town to knock it off my list.

The IAT Verona segment runs through a few wooded lots between ticky-tacky housing developments (there are SO MANY DEVELOPMENTS!) on the southwest side of the Madison metro area. I parked in a lot at the north end of the segment, then walked north up the tail end of the Madison segment as far as County Highway M so I could call that one done. Out and back to the parking lot was probably 40 minutes.

After a brief pause to relieve myself (there’s a porta-potty in the parking lot! I don’t believe I’ve seen that anywhere on the IAT segments I’ve hiked before!), I headed south to walk a loop around the Ice Age Trail Junction Area, a hilly field planted with prairie grass which was all shoulder-high and the color of sand this time of year. I didn’t cross into the fields around the soccer park because my feet hurt and I was getting tired of walking into what seemed to be headwinds no matter which way I turned. There will be plenty of time soon to come back to finish the segment.