Revisiting the Lake Trek: Segment 9

This segment spanned the 91 miles between Manitowoc and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It took me 5 days to hike, and was some of the most rugged lakeshore I encountered on the entire trek. This stretch also had the largest algae blooms (clodophera) I had ever seen on the lake.

I walked the first day of this segment alone, but was then joined for the remainder by my college friend Stephanie ('Stew') Lyon. Lois, from Sheboygan, also joined us for the morning of the second day. Stephanie's cousin Dave joined us for most of the last day. It was wonderful to hike with friends at my side.

Note: You may want to press the 'play' button, then pause it and let it completely load before resuming play. This will allow it to play smoothly.

You can find all videos from the Lake Trek on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/lniewenhuis

Segment 9 Day 3 Kohler Andrea State Park->Harrington State Park 14 miles

High of 70 degrees.

August 28

This day started out cloudy and cool, just perfect for walking on the lakeshore. This day's trek was all sandy beach (finally!). We began at the Koher Andrea State Park, a gorgeous park with a 'cord walk' through the rolling dunes.


Stephanie and I had several visitors this day, including two dogs who stayed with us for several miles. We also met two small girls who were serious frog hunters. They had captured a cooler full of leopard frogs (in a summer-long 'catch and release' project) under the watchful eye of their grandparents. We stopped to admire their skill and their grandfather looked at us, smiled and said, "Are you walking to Chicago?" We talked about the Lake Trek and the joy of catching the same frogs over and over to see how they changed from tadpoles to frogs.

Our day ended down by Harrington State Park where we stopped in to visit Milt and Carol Kuyers (in bottom photo). They treated us to cool drinks and a friendly chat. They are also grads of Calvin College and wonderful 'Lake People.'