Section 30 County P ~ KVR Trail Challenge

 

Recall that little blind? It is so tiny, even a little person like myself can barely move in it. 

However it is proving to be pretty fun on some mornings. This little 8 point buck was about 300 yards away at the other end of the meadow.

This little doe came from the neighbor's meadow and walked between the fence wires. 

She kept looking around and the buck at the other end of our meadow saw/smelled her. He walked towards me and she ducked into the woods just west of this shot.

That was all the action I saw on Friday morning.

Charlie and I loaded up and headed out to tackle the trail section I'd been avoiding at Kickapoo Valley Reserve. 

Charlie and I saw some traffic and a lot of pheasant hunters. Charlie got his fill of hearing shotguns go off near the Weister Creek Trail. He became a bit nervous but didn't freak out. 

In my opinion there is no benefit to having the side of the road be designated as a Trail to hike on. 

The Trail Section is #30. It runs from Pott's Corners to KV Ranch which used to have horses years ago and would take folks on trail rides.  A person could stay at the cabin and ride down the road to access the rest of the KVR Trails.

Part of the access was a gate that led to a short section of the West Ridge Trail that still exists but is poorly maintained. We found the marker on our way back from the end near the KV Ranch. 

It was hidden and had not obviously been used, yet is part of the Trail Challenge.

Once we brush busted through the berry briars we did end up on what used to be a nicely groomed steep uphill climb. When I got to the top of the hogback ridge, the trail disappeared off to the right somewhere. There was no evidence of it being used recently at all. 

We spent time searching and found pieces of the trail. There were no markers, however if one studied the leaves and the ground you could sort of figure out where it was supposed to be.

It was however, very pretty.

We followed the trail and ducked under branches and went around deadfalls until we came out on Strait Rd at County P.

The mileage for this one way was 1.87. We may have done more as we wandered here and there to scout out the trail.

We found an area in the West Ridge Trail [woods] that was loaded with Wild Ginger and Hepatica. I noted that it would be neat to see the abundance of wildflowers next spring.

We made it back to where we parked with no issues. The traffic wasn't too bad on the road, but still it kept me wondering why it was marked as a trail. 

I have one other trail just like this to knock off this week and it is a bit longer. It runs from County F near the Wildcat Mountain border, follows State Hwy 131 for a bit and then heads out Hay Valley Rd to Campsite U and the Hay Valley Trail Head. 

At least part of this trail has a beaten down trail in the grass off of the road on County F.

Having a partner for these trails would be really nice. As it is I am doing them solo with Charlie so we walk the 'trail' and turn around and walk back.

With Bill we'd park one vehicle at each end and walk point to point.

I'm still close to our goal though.

With all the backtracking Charlie and I have done, I figured we've done about 70 miles of hiking or more at the KVR. All of it has been an adventure.

Charlie has been a champ. I think it proves that little short/long dogs can do it too. There have been a few times when I've had to carry him in warmer weather, but mostly he is an avid hiker.

Our goal is within reach and I hope to have it finished off before the gun deer season begins.  I have 4 more planned hikes. Three of them will require me to again go over trails I have done to trails I haven't done and then return.

I'm okay with that as it allows me to see the same woods in different seasons.

Here is Charlie in his home made carseat waiting for a treat and a ride home.

I thought I'd regret not getting another terrier, but he has proven to be an excellent partner in hiking as well as cuddling.

And...we are off again hopefully today!

Big Big Valley

It really is just called Big Valley Trail. Probably because the trail head starts out on a dead end road called Big Valley. 

[ Charlie had opted out of this hike as we'd gone walking the day before on the gravel road and I suspect that his feet were still tender. When I walked with him to the car he simply sat and stared at me. He wouldn't move even with a nudge from my hand. When I asked "House?" He ran to the porch. ]

 

The parking is just on the side of the road next to Warner Creek.

Cross the bridge and there are two choices. Big Valley or Hoot Owl Trail. Hoot Owl goes to the right or east and Big Valley heads west. I took Hoot Owl last year with Bill and decided to explore Big Valley.

Since I had no partner with a vehicle I had to hike to the end of Big Valley at 131 and then walk back on County P creating a loop. 

What to say about this trail other than the bugs again were ferocious most of the time. I was able to tolerate them by using the headnet and not stopping taking any breaks.

I wanted to see exactly how fast I could hike this trail. 

The KVR Trail Challenge paperwork says that this Segment 49 is 2.24 miles one way. 

It is the longest segment except for a newer trail called the Wiester Creek Hiking Trail (Loop), segment 32 that is 5 miles. 

I thought a 'Trail Selfie' was in order, so here it is. 

I did not take more than this shot because stopping in this area was an invitation for a Skeeter Feast.

The trail winds through old forest canopies. This portion was full of pines.

This section was full of ancient oak trees. 

I kept hearing 'things' in the woods. Not scary noises but like someone was throwing stuff around.

I had to laugh when I realized it was acorns falling from the oaks.

When I finally got to an area where the bugs weren't so bad, I actually began to enjoy my hike and my mind wandered a bit.

This was a great hiking trail for a few reasons. It wasn't so hard that the average hiker or weekend warrior couldn't do it. It wasn't rough, it had gentle ups and downs. In two areas it did cross a couple of open fields high on a ridge for nice views.

I saw some equine tracks but almost no boot/footprints. This must not be that popular with other hikers given that it isn't a 'loop'. I saw only one tire track and wondered why, this would make a decent mountain bike ride for most people. 

Perhaps this trail is more popular on the weekends. I rarely hike on the weekends and if I do, I go as early as possible.

This would be a great trail in the winter. Winter hiking allows a person to see through the forest and discover all the hidden rock formations and see the curves of the land that are hidden by underbrush in the summer.

And I repeat. No bugs. No bugs. No bugs.

I was very surprised to find that I'd only taken an hour and 4 minutes to reach the end of the trail on Highway 131. 

I stopped at Bridge 10 for a few minutes to visit Bareass Beach [no, it is not a nudist beach] and to admire the Kickapoo River while I ate a snack.

The sunlight and shadows were so harsh that I didn't even bother trying to photograph the river and bluffs with my pocket camera. 

It came out well with the pocket IR camera though.

I took a long drink of water and turned down County P to hike back to where I'd parked.

I probably did a bit more daydreaming while I walked the road because the surface was even and I didn't have to watch out for roots and rocks. 

What surprised me was how scenic the walk along the county road was. I'd walked a small part of it years ago with Morris but had never done the walk from the Highway to Big Valley.

Cool gnarly tree roots. The trees that cling to the rocks amaze me.

Warner Creek

......

And back to where I parked. 

I liked hiking Big Valley Trail mostly because I was forced to hike along the road which I wouldn't have normally done.

A big win for me. 

have you ever wandered lonely through the wood?

and everything feels as it should

you're a part of life there, part of something good

if you've ever wandered lonely through the woods

~Brandi  Carlile
Have You Ever