9-10 Trail and bluffing

As you can see by the 'map' of my walk with Charlie, we ambled and rambled. We took our time to explore off trail as well as explore the trail.

The 9-10 Trail has two river access campsites. I'm not sure I'd want to camp with the skeeters. However, what cooler way to find a campsite than to Kayak or Canoe to it?

Since the Kickapoo is so prone to flooding, there are warning signs at the trail head for those who hike/bike/or ride their equine in. I imagine a person could walk their tent and camping stuff into these sites much easier than trying to drag their equipment up the hills.

However coming in from the river would feel so much more remote.

Canoe or Kayak access to camp S.

The trail is fairly wide to start with and nicely forested. Charlie lead the way.
This part of the trail is basically a way of keeping equine and other trail users off the highway between Bridge 9 and 10. Thus the name, The 9-10 Trail.

We broke out into a mowed path with the woods on one side and a corn field on the other. 
Yawn.

I turned around at the end of the trail not far from the trail head of the Big Valley Trail where it meets Hwy 131. We walked back. And then I kept an eye out for an old equine trail. They are faint and hard to spot, but the deer and other critters still use these old trails.

I ducked through the underbrush and ...

there it was... no words really to describe the feeling here...

and then there were the mushrooms...

and

Charlie was rather unimpressed. 

But he tolerated me saying ... ohhhh....

ahhh

Charlie LOOK!

Unless I said 'Cookie', he was just going to sit and watch me. What a good little trail dog.

We found our way back out and I headed across the bridge to check out part of the Dutch Hollow Trail. I found an old alternate route that was no longer maintained.

Charlie and I paused to find a safe way down off the bluff.

We finally found the old trail down.

More 'shrooms...

We headed back to landing #10 and crossed the 9-10 trail off our list. However, I do want to go back once the leaves have fallen to see all the rock formations in all of their glory.

And find 

more old

trials.