Photo by Bill Stokes
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in being continuously awed by women, but never more so than when it comes to “taking a hike.” There has been recent news of Jessica Killinbeck of Mt. Horeb hiking all of the Dane County parks; and Halora Kiddes, Sun Prairie, hiking all of the state parks during the recent pandemic. There is also Emily Ford, the Duluth woman who recently hiked the 1,000-mile Ice Age Trail in the winter.
And then there is Phyllis who over the course of her event-filled life, has hiked at least a portion of a trail in every National Park in the continental U.S., and has a medal-bedecked hiking staff to prove it.
It is the keeper’s good fortune to live with Phyllis who now has plans to hike the Ice Age Trail in segments limited in length by what her ailing hip and the keeper’s hiking endurance—which is not impressive, will allow.
It promises to be a great summer for the keeper so long as the hiking ladies will tolerate the burden of his turtle-pace trail presence.
