The Starkweather (But No Moore) Park Expedition

The Eastmorland neighborhood here on Madison's east side is where I call home. It's got a split personality, of sorts, as the section south of Milwaukee Street is mostly single-family homes with a few apartments and the usual stuff you find in neighborhoods like churches, restaurants, taverns, stores, and whatnot. Having already perambulated through much of the southern part of Eastmorland (see here, here, and here), I decided to take a stroll north.

The northern third or so of Eastmorland features a disused concrete factory, an abandoned farm, and a smattering of commercial/industrial business. Oh, and Madison's main post office which apparently no longer sorts mail, those duties having been concentrated in Milwaukee. This means that, when I send cards to my in-laws on the other side of town, it first goes east for sorting and then sent back to Madison for delivery. I'm glad to see the Post Office is doing its part to combat climate change.

Also to be found is Starkweather Park and that was my destination on a recent walk. Well, truth be told, it was that and Voit Pond, a former gravel pit turned lake north of the farm's field.

I crossed Milwaukee Street and wandered onto what used to be the Durren farm. The property is now mostly a gravel lot used by construction crews as a staging area. Ergo you've got piles of gravel while sewage pipes/water mains make the lot a temporary home. At the north end where the gravel end and nature begins, I spied some pretty flowers.



From here it was off into the narrow wooded strip that runs between the Durren property and the farm fields which, to the best of my knowledge, is part of Starkweather Park. It was rough going with everything overgrown and fallen trees littered about. Every once in a while there was a clearing that allowed a peek out onto the field.



There was a also a fair amount of litter strewn about – mainly bottles and beer cans – but also a rather large pile of garbage.



At some point the woods ended and a small field of short grass began. There was a patch of flowers I'd never seen before and they smelled delightful.



On the far side the grass was quite tall but I spotted trail leading in. I thought that perhaps this is was how other folks looking to get to the pond went.



The grass ended and but the trail continued into the woods and it became well-worn.



The trail wound this way and that and, at one point, I looked up only to find a trio of tents.



The camp was quiet and no one seemed to be around but I did my best to walk around it rather than walk through what passed for their living room. However, this detour took me only about 7-8 feet away from the camp. It was sadly ironic to find the shelters of some homeless folks after having stumbled upon a homeless person inside that oddball fireplace with the Shrek-like antennae on Stoughton Road earlier in the day. I wasn't totally surprised, though, as other homeless people who lived out of their cars often park in the Swiss Colony lot. Though perhaps not as often as they used to these days.

The trail continued a short way past the camp before ending. Rather than struggle through more branches and brush, I decided to go west and see if I could get to Voit property. This involved climbing over an old barbed wire fence and so I tried to recall if I'd had a tetanus shot lately.

When I got over the fence, I found myself at the bottom of a small hill. Once I got to the top I looked out and saw the pond.



Descending the hill I saw that there was better access to the water a bit to the south so I began walking down the dirt road. It was littered with prints from cloven hooves. Did Satan hang out here? More likely deer, I reassured myself.



I reached the shore and found that the water was quite clear as a fish swam close in. The water was quite warm.



While shallow by the shore, I figure that it must get quite deep having been a gravel pit in a former life. Aside from the faint din of Highway 30 to the north, it was actually rather quiet and certainly quite peaceful. The bucolic scene was disturbed by the tops of a couple buildings in the distance, but, otherwise, you wouldn't think that you were actually in a city. If the Voit property ever gets developed, I hope they preserve this area.



After a time, I headed back north up the hill. I went down the far side and found piles of concrete chunks and broken slabs of black top which I found rather odd. Regardless of the detritus, there was a beautiful view of Starkweather Park.



Starkweather is a conservation park with most of it being wetlands. There is a path that runs along the east and north sides before going over Starkweather Creek and under Highway 30 and eventually running into Commercial Avenue. I was on the west side so I decided to hug the tree line on my way back.

It was again rough going with lots of downed trees and brush so I figured I'd head out in the wetland grass for a stretch. The grass was taller than me so I got a good aerobic workout trudging through it. I stumbled upon a couple small clearing where deer must go for naps.



Well, I pressed my luck and ended up in water – they are wetlands, after all – and turned back. Of course I couldn't actually find the dry patches that I traversed earlier and so my shoes got soaked. But I eventually made my way back to the woods where I took a breather. Being an office drone, I wasn't used to all that exertion. Hugging the tree line was again difficult so I went further in and found myself at the homeless camp once again. It was just as still and eerily quiet as before.

But this also meant I could easily find the path out. Instead of going south I took a detour to the shuttered Swiss Colony warehouse to check out some urban ruins, so to speak. The gate at the rear was open.



Where the property line ended, the park began and so I was treated to some fine vistas.



There were three piles of garbage more or less equally spaced – TVs, mattresses, etc. – but, oddly enough only one patch of graffiti.



Over on the east side of the building was a fire hydrant and next to it was this:



I would later discover that this is an indicator post, a thingy which allows one to open and close a valve that is buried.

My legs were pretty sore so I figured I'd grab a bus home since I was within spitting distance of the East Transfer Point. Unsurprisingly, the 31 bus left while I was still a short distance away and the 16 wouldn't depart for half an hour so I just hoofed it back home.

A few days after my walk I learned that the hill I had stood atop that overlooked the pond had, in fact, been another pond. It was filled in with road debris in 2005 for reasons unknown. This at least explained what all those chunks of concrete and blacktop were doing at the bottom of its north side.

While Starkweather Park is surely safe, much of the rest of that area looks like it will be developed in the near future. This coupled with all of the new construction on Cottage Grove Road will transform Eastmorland. I would not scoff at a coffeeshop at Milwaukee and Harding.

I look forward to returning to Starkweather Park. Next time, though, I will be using the trail. If I remember to bring my binoculars, I can do a little birdwatching. And my feet will stay dry.