The Early Hiker...

Gets wet feet...

Actually the early hiker avoids the heat and enjoys things that generally most others don't see on a regular day hike.

Fog~

Fog wraps the morning
In a soft and silent hug
A gift from the skies

 I knew I'd get wet feet but it was only a 3 mile hike and part of it would be on an old road. Part of it would be mowed and part of it would be mostly dirt.

The sun came up just as Charlie and I hit bridge # 13. It is a historical bridge and it one of the few remaining original bridges through the valley.

Picture from 2022:

The view at sunrise....with mists coming off the water.

We made great time enjoying the cool air [50 degrees F!] and birdsong.

Charlie and I got to the first turn off at this Ho Chunk Bridge.

This trail was nicely mowed but my boots still got wet from the dew.

We turned before the second Ho Chunk bridge at Indian Creek and headed up into the pines.

The equine trail joined the all use trail and this coyote was out enjoying the trail also.

Multi use trail means we all share the trail! No, I wasn't afraid for Charlie at all. I yelled out good morning to the coyote and he/she took off to the west through the tall grass and into the forest.

We entered the last let of the trail which goes through a thick forest.

A beam of morning light lit up this geranium.

It was pretty neat walking through the deep forest with the morning light shining through in places. The leaves look fresh and happy with the sunlight...

I felt fresh and happy.

I always stop at this Maple Tree when I hike this trail. I have tried time after time to get a shot of it. The tree is simply stunning and will stop a person in their tracks...if they appreciate trees.

I think this may be the winner. It looks magnificent with the morning light coming through the forest at an angle.

Charlie and I headed down the slope and hiked back along Cty P to where I'd parked.

Section # 10 and Section # 33 could now be marked off from the map.

3. 29 mile in 1 hr 36 minutes. We didn't hurry and we stopped for a snack. We enjoyed the hike as it was still cool when we got back to the car.

I do really love summer mornings!

The Visit

Man ohhhh Man, the storms rolled in Saturday with heavy rain to the tune of 3/4 of an inch before Eddie and Megan arrived.

We visited and watched the weather.  I'd planned a point to point hike at KVR with them before but it looked like an alternate plan needed to be considered.

After I made lunch for Rich, we gathered our stuff together. 

There seemed to be a break in the storms for part of the afternoon and we decided to take advantage of it. We grabbed rain coats and headed out.

I decided on the Black Hawk Rock loop as it would knock off section #33 and a portion of section #31 which ran alongside the county road.

I decided that a shorter hike would be the best thing to do, we just didn't have the time to do the longer hike.

Charlie was tickled to ride in my son's Orange Whip Subaru. He was immediately enchanted by Eddie and Megan and was determined to demand as much of their attention as possible.

We hiked up old 131 as it is paved and led us to the meadows just past the covered bridge at Indian Creek.

We had fun looking at the different shrubs along the way:

Grey Dogwood:

Prickly Ash:

Silky Dogwood:

I found out that Megan was as curious as I was. Awesome!

And...she loves foraging in the woods!

The skies were heavily overcast and everything was wet. When we hit the trails, the compacted dirt was slippery in spots and muddy in others, not bad for hikers. The trails had been closed to bicycles and equine.

Everywhere in the forest we started to find fungi. It was a fungi fest!

Here is a small sample:

The light was so poor that my little camera took a lot of blurry shots that are not worth looking at. But the forest floor had surprises at every turn.

Then I learned that Megan loves cool trees. Trees with 'faces' or shapes fascinate her. I do too. Hmmm.....sounds like someone else I know [Miss Aurora!].

We headed up the steep trail to Black Hawk Rock and the fog from the valleys started to roll up through the trees. It was eerie and cool at the same time.

I had them go in front of me once we got closer. I wanted to hear their reaction when they stepped out of the woods and onto the Rock.

There were ... Ohs and wows... 

Just as I hoped there would be. 

We stayed on the rock for a while and then climbed down to explore the base of the rock.

We got back to the car. I think the consensus was that it was a good hike with so many wonderful things to see.
Of course, I LOVE taking others out to explore the Reserve. 

I told Eddie and Megan about the ice caves and the other neat bluffs that I'd explored and found.

After we had pizza, the rain and thunderstorms moved in briefly again and we all went to bed.

We woke up to more rain and sat around the table chatting and having some delicious coffee that Megan had brought with them.

We took one more walk in the mud and wet woods down to the creek and back. We found slugs and fungi. Apparently Megan likes slugs. Slugs and toads!

I was delighted that she loved nature as much as she obviously loved my son.

As they left to go home Rich asked them to not stay away and come back to visit again! 
Megan nodded and said they would FOR sure be coming back. 

I smiled. I enjoyed their visit so much. I will look forward to showing them more wonders of our area in other seasons. 

However, I am realistic. They both have careers and are hard working. 

We were so pleased to finally meet Megan. Oh, we loved seeing Eddie, don't get me wrong! 

But there are awesome ice falls and caves to see yet...
and winter is coming!

As August ends and we head towards September, we enter yet another interesting season in the Driftless Area.

Proper Preparation

It dawned on me this week while I was checking the weather and looking for that special one day hike I normally do at KVR or one of our County Parks, that there would be a full moon setting during the sun rise on Friday.

With that, we were supposed to get our first frost advisory and temperatures in the low 30's.

It dawned on me. 
What an excellent opportunity to get back up to Black Hawk Rock and see the valley below with more fog in it and of course the moon setting over the hills to the west and the sun rising in the east!

The cold temperatures would guarantee valley fog and since the forecast said there would be no wind, it would be tolerable on top of the bluff. A full moon would brighten the forest trails so the hike wouldn't be in total darkness.

So what I planned on was taking the regular camera and the infrared camera with the IRChrome lens. With the morning light and fog, the light spectrum could be really interesting.

I'm such a dork. I sometimes do plan ahead. I woke up in the middle of the night and debated with myself over which camera bag to take. The sling one? The backpack one? Did I need warmer gloves? Would I need gloves?
How about a stocking cap?
Or my fuzzy winter cap?
Long johns or tights?
Coveralls? No, too heavy.
Did I have Bill's phone number in case I needed help? [Yes, my friend Bill knew I was going and offered help in case of something like a flat tire.] 
I'd let my neighbors know the plan also.
All bases covered.

Plan plan plan. Our boss used to tell us Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I walked out the door with a cup of coffee in a thermal cup and my gear. The drive was awful. I hit dense fog. I figured I would as the way to Black Hawk Rock was along the Kickapoo River. Any drastic change in the air temperature above the river produced valley fog.

And the fog was thick.

I climbed the trail and walked out on to the bluff. I'd never seen such dense valley fog from that height before.

The clouds and fog were dense to the east, and to the west the moon shone brightly.

The shot below is looking over the edge of the rock. I climbed out of that fog from the valley below.

There is a significant drop here and I rarely go stand at the very edge. I stay well back.

This photo below was the only glance of the sunrise that I got before the clouds and fog covered it.

One of the things I really like about the newer Olympus camera I got last year is the ability to take shots in low light without a tripod. I can do nearly a full second exposure hand held. And this was not the 'best' or pro camera. It is an extremely simple camera to use.

And then in moments, the bluff across the valley disappeared. The fog crept up over the rock at my feet.

I gathered my things and headed down the trail.

The fog was rather neat and lent a mystical look to the forest. 

It was so hard to capture in a proper photo, but I gave it a good try with my fast lens, the 1.8 Oly version of the nifty 50mm.

This is where the prep came in. I know that the IRChrome filter picks up the color variation in the leaves and generally picks up fog exceptionally well.

This first IR shot is in approximately the same spot I used the regular camera for.

Note the pine tree, it is the same one in the photo above and below.

And as I got down to the valley floor, there were places where the fog had lifted up.

My parking spot.

I felt good on the drive home.

Everything went well and I felt like I'd planned well.

I still have a lot to learn in how to deal with the light bouncing off from the fog, the moon, and the sunlight coming from another direction.

But it felt good.

Next full moon?

October 31st.

Hmmm.

Until then I'm going back to looking at cool things on the forest floor and the fall colors while they last.

I have a new trail to explore this week at Duck Egg. I'm hoping Charlie and I can do it Monday.

Right now my hikes will be solo.

As you may or may not have read, our state is now an Epicenter for Covid. This is my way of dealing with it and it's Isolation.

Wake up early

I wasn't going to go, but the Rooster alarm on my Smarty Phone woke me up. Fumbling to shut it off, I knocked my glasses off the stand and they landed somewhere in the dark with a clunk.

Oh great, I thought, now my glasses are trapped by the Dust Bison under the bed. Ah, well I'd rounded up those bad little Bison the other day so maybe not. I slid out of bed to try and find the glasses. 

Damn that Rooster. But it was pretty funny. I located the glasses and grabbed the phone finally silenced the Rooster. Well. 

Now I was awake. I hit the button on the coffee maker while I checked the weather in the valley. Cold with warmer air on the ridge. The little icon showed a car with foggy headlights.

Perfect!

That was exactly what I was hoping for a bit of valley fog and no winds to blow it away. The coffee burbled while I grabbed a pair of leggings to put on under my cargo pants. Charlie peered at me from under the blanket on the couch. I patted him on the head as I passed by to grab my to go cup and shut off the coffee maker.

And there I was. Off on a predawn adventure. I was glad I'd done a trial run in the daylight and knew about how long it would take me to drive there and park. 

I was feeling pretty optimistic I halfway there my dashboard computer dinged and gave me a message that I had a 'low' tire. Well, if that didn't beat all! I pulled over and checked the tire pressure dashboard gauge and the tire was down 3 pounds. I looked at the rear tire and decided I was safe to drive.

That icon on the dash board was irritating as all get out. I find the new sensors wonderful tools but almost too sensitive.

I parked, grabbed my over the shoulder bag and turned on the headlamp. I was glad I'd also brought a small but bright flash light. The start of the trail is wide but it was nice to see more of what I was getting into than less. 

It was an 8 minute cardio pounding hike to the final trail. I stopped there and caught my breath. The forest was still silent around me. No bird calls, just the sound of the trees and rocks. I know ... trees and rocks don't make noises. 
But they do.

And then I reached my goal and I was stunned. I sat down on the rock and pulled out my gear. I took a drink of water and waited and watched.

The lighting was tricky looking northeast but the shadows and light were amazing.
I turned southwest, the predawn light lit up the valley below...

I sat and watched the valley fog rise and move. It looked as if it were alive with a mind of its own. 

I had the whole place to myself and I felt as if Mother Nature was putting on a show just for me. Oh I know that is not true, but it felt like I was the only person in the universe to see this. 

And I felt very humbled.

Before the sun came over the horizon, I packed up and left. If I timed everything right, I'd be back home before Rich even woke up.

One more glance over my shoulder.

Amazing.

I didn't need a light to negotiate the trail back down and some birds started to rustle in the forest.

I hurried to the main trail but stopped by the huge oak tree.

The sun was making its appearance through the leaves. I thought perhaps that one time I would have enough time on my hands to stay and watch the light change in the forest below.

I felt I could have stayed for hours.

Perhaps some day I can.

Back to the car and that damned tire icon. 

I got home safely and finished making coffee. 

How calm yet excited and renewed I felt after seeing something so incredible.

And that is why I like to wake up early.

Feeling Free

 

Sometimes I just have an idea and I have to go. My farm work is done, my house work is done...my feet want to wander and explore.

I wanted to see how long it took to get from the house to the top of Black Hawk Rock. 35 minutes ~~ not driving fast. More like the pace I'd set if it were dark and perhaps a bit foggy. I took Charlie and he was a super trooper. I parked and took the short route.

In less than 8 minutes I was ready to climb the steep trail up. 

That took another 8 minutes as there is some difficult footing to negotiate and I went slowly and carefully as though I'd be walking in the semi dark with a headlamp. The elevation climb is 195 feet.

And then there is the view....

Granted, the sky was rather blah, but that is the haze from the Western Fires. I've been here a few times, but the view never disappoints me. I'd gone early enough also to have the view to myself.

I did set up my little red camera on a small tripod and operated it with my cell phone for this shot. 

I sat there for quite a while.

I imagined climbing up to this spot predawn. That could be magical. Photographically speaking, it could be awesome or a dud. But that didn't matter. I want the 'feeling' of it. The awe it would bring. 

Somehow right here, I felt free, unencumbered by all those difficult day to day things I normally had to do. I felt terribly alive and at peace inside.

And the short hike isn't too hard to enjoy either.

Black Hawk at dawn.
I'm ready for it.