Afternoon Out!

After bribing Charlie and dressing him up in a sweater and ribbons, I promised to take him for a nice long hike at Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

It only took about 2 dozen shots to get one that worked. 

Charlie was a good sport and is swiftly learning that I always have treats when we do this.

Off we headed! Charlie even trotted to the Subaru and attempted to jump in when I opened the door. That was a big first. He wanted to go for a ride which is unusual for him. Perhaps he felt he'd been cooped up at home for too long?

By the time we parked at the Star Valley access area, Charlie was beside himself. As soon as I unhooked him from his 'carseat' harness, he jumped over me and was ready to rumble.

I was pretty surprised to run into one of the KVR workers who took time to visit for a bit with us. He was removing Honeysuckle bushes from the edge of a cornfield on the KVR property. I said I was fighting Buckthorn on my own place. 

I whistled to Charlie and we were on our way again. We turned down Old 131 trail and headed towards the ponds and the river. The last time I'd hike here with Charlie, it was in the high 80's and hot. Charlie was in his element. The cooler weather agrees with him. 

We came across two muzzleloader deer hunters. Charlie greeted them and I asked how their hunt was going. Not so great. However they commented that even though their hunt was a bust, the day was beautiful. 

By now Charlie was beside himself. Tail up! He trotted along with a purpose. The smells on the sides of the trails needed his attention. He had to mark the area as we walked. That alone keeps a little dog very busy.

There was a couple sitting on the bench out on the floating deck of the east facing pond. Charlie was a-quiver! I asked if I could let Charlie come out to say hello. They were delighted. As was Charlie who immediately sat at their feet and looked back at me as if to say. "Stay there. I'm fine getting petted. Go away."

I whistled and Charlie came back. I swear he was smiling. 

My goal was to check out the closed trail and the old horse crossing that had been closed after the 2018 floods. Campsite G had been a pretty neat place to camp out with river access and I thought it would be a good time to explore it. Soon enough the cliffs above the river would be sporting ice formations.

Below is the view of where I was going taken in December of 2017.

December 4th, 2020

Interesting to see that I'd picked nearly the same exact spot 3 years later. The pile of wood and debris in the first shot is no longer anywhere around. That debris was part of a bridge from further upstream from the flash flood of 2016.
The bank has changed with soil and grasses washed away and the rock remains steadfast and strong.

We found the campsite and poked around. I found some campfire wood up on the bank but it wasn't used and it was quite aged. The Reserve has taken this site off their map, however I think canoers still stop there. 

We moved on and turned back. I'd seen what I wanted to. The ice was forming on the backwater ponds.

The only real spot of bright color was the Highbush Cranberries. Not many were left on the bush.

The couple had left the bench on the floating dock. Charlie and I stopped there for a treat for him, an apple for me.

I didn't want to get caught out too late, so we turned back towards Star Valley and hustled.

The gent that was clearing Honeysuckle was still there. He apologized for asking, but inquired if I was a local. So we struck up a conversation. Of course it was about his passion and mine. Battling invasive species of plants. We talked about cutting and bagging and cutting or cutting and using on a dab of herbicide. He wanted to know how I kept track of which stumps had which methods. I explained my crazy method of marking with spray paint.

Two large brown hounds came trotting up to Charlie and I who were sitting in the middle of the trail. Charlie was ecstatic. Big Friends!

The owner came around with his shotgun. He had been hunting pheasants.

The hunter apologized for his hounds and I waved him off telling him I'd raised plenty of hounds over the years and thought his were beautiful.

Off they went while I finished talking with the invasive species guy. His specialty is going after those nasty plants. I commented on seeing his truck this past summer and he said to stop by for a chat if I saw him next time out.

We headed back to the parking area but gave the hunter plenty of room so if his dogs did flush a pheasant, he'd be able to get one.

Charlie had other ideas. He wanted to catch up to them and play.

I reached the parking area and the hunter was just loading up. He said he didn't get a decent shot all afternoon, but it still was a good day. I agreed. 

The young hound trotted over and had to nose Charlie up and down.

The hunter called his dog.

We all loaded up and headed out.

What a great afternoon! Charlie and I got our hiking fix and got to visit safely with other humans and dogs!

It was a win-win for us.

Old Harrison Trail + More KVR Trail Challenge

I decided that this hike should be shown to my son who says I cannot take a hike without stopping numerous times to take photos.
He is absolutely correct. I am trying to develop an attitude that while on these hikes I bring just a small pocket camera to carry plus some food and water items.

I've been working with Dixie to see if I can get her to climb into the dog kennel in the back of the Subaru. She can.
So yesterday was her maiden car ride and she did pretty well. Lots of whining but she didn't use her loud hound voice to bark in protest.

I started this route at the Visitor Center. I followed the Old Harris Rd Trail to Old 131 and headed north to Star Valley Trail, I peeked in at the 4H trail and headed east.
Star Valley to Willow Trail.
Willow Trail to Old 131.
Old 131 south to River Crossing Trail to the Kickapoo River crossing and backtracked to Old 131 again.
I headed south through the ponds and headed back to the Visitor Center. I completed 8 segments in one fell swoop.
However, the segments were not hard and only had one elevation on Star Valley so it was pretty straight forward and flat.

Back tracking can't be avoided in some instances because the trails aren't laid out with loops so you have to create your own 'loops'. I really like this hike as it was swift and I was surprised at how much I saw and how beautiful it was.

Harrison Road Trail:
Shadows of Dixie and I

 Pretty straightforward trail with some interesting landscape.

Old 131 Trail headed north towards Star Valley:

Some 'lovers' kissing on the side of the trail. I thought they might stop and look at us while we walked by...but they were too busy.

Dixie was off leash for most of the walk. We stopped at the Memorial at Star Valley Trail.

We must never forget these people. I like that.
I can't imagine how life must have been in this area. The land is very fertile and the river floods here often. I do love this area.
I had some water and a snack while sitting on a bench near this memorial.

We then headed up Star Valley Trail:

At the equine campground we found the trail head to Willow Trail. I am glad we chose to go this way because the trail sign was missing at the other end on Old 131.

Dixie was very curious about my finger puppet buddy. I set Stinky down to take his picture and she came and nosed him over into the dirt a few times before I finally got a shot.

Later we played "Where's Dixie!"

Dixie kept 'photo bombing' most of my shots.

But that was okay because she kept checking in with me all of the time.

I went to Campsite "G" and followed the horse trail.

~~ Nearly the same spot in the beginning of December ~~

At that point an Eagle flew over us and we watched him glide to the dead trees in the ponds.

I was excited and Dixie wasn't.

I finally checked my cell phone and decided to head straight back towards the Visitor Center.

Some pretty birch trees:

Dixie had her first real bridge crossing and she suddenly did NOT like it!

I had to lead her across and then she was okay with it.

We headed towards the Visitor Center and went up the stairs.

I leashed her up and we found the Subaru.

She was pretty sure that she didn't want to get back into the crate. But I asked her nicely and she did.

Our first 'doggone' adventure went well. Dixie settled in and quit whining. When we got home she jumped out of the car and trotted around as if nothing ordinary had really happened.
I'm wondering if she'll want to go next time.
I figure it will only take a trip or two for her to figure out how much fun we can have together.

This was my 3rd hike out. The logistics of the trails will now be a bit more difficult. So I need to sit down and figure out how to do them.

My neighbor has offered to follow me out and let me drop a vehicle off at the end of a trail and then she'd drop me back to at a starting point.

I am having a blast.
I'm loving this challenge.
And I am really getting to know the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. There is nothing like hiking all the trails to really get to know a feel for the land.

This route was rather easy, the footing was good and there was only one hill to really walk up and that was a rather easy elevation from Old 131 up Star Valley. There was more to see than I thought there would be even with the dull landscape of February with very little snow.