Thru-Hiker’s Memoir Takes Readers into the Ice Age Trail Wild

In 36 days, Melanie Radzicki McManus hiked 1,100 miles around Wisconsin, landing her in the elite group of Ice Age Trail thru-hikers known as “Thousand-Milers.” In her new Wisconsin Historical Society Press adventure memoir, Thousand Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail, McManus takes readers with her on an “into-the-wild” Ice Age experience.

In prose that is alternately harrowing and humorous, she journeys through the beauty and brawn of forests, prairies, wetlands, farms, and far-flung small towns; worries about wildlife encounters, wonders if her injured feet will ever recover, and searches for an elusive fellow hiker known as Papa Bear. Woven throughout her account are historic details of the still-developing Ice Age Trail – one of just 11 National Scenic Trails – and helpful insights and strategies for undertaking a successful thru-hike.

McManus has been a news reporter at a Green Bay radio station, a press secretary at the Wisconsin State Capitol, and editor of two Wisconsin publications. Since 1994, McManus has worked as a freelance writer and editor, specializing in travel and fitness. She has won numerous awards for her writing, most notably the prestigious Lowell Thomas Gold and Grand Awards for travel journalism.

For more information visit wisconsinhistory.org/whspress.