The Southeast Trails are done!

Map of the hike highlighted

in pinkish color.

 

Canada Geese

Bill watching Geese.

Another stunning shot of a Canada Goose. :-O 👀

Charlie leads the way around the Dam Trail which is segment #5. It was a rather easy hike and the weather was beautiful.

Dam Tower

We hiked back to look at pussy willows and admired this tree which had something that looked like pine cones and also had catkins growing on the same branch! The catkins were not on this tree last Sunday.

Alder Tree

Color me tickled, I figure out one more tree to identify!

Sections 2,3, and 5 finished.

This morning we woke up to a heavy snow fall. It was beautiful. By evening chore time the snow had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly.

Dam Hike and Forest Wandering

The photo above is the very infamous Dam Tower. Bill was marveling at its construction and how out of place it looked. There is a lot of great history and some NOT so great history of how this reserve came to be.

Local historian Brad Steinmetz has written a book on it. He also updates his blog about LaFarge once in a while. I find it interesting because I know the area fairly intimately now that I've lived here for nearly 30 years. I married a local so that affords me 'local' person status.

The Dam that Never Was is pictured here in a photo around 1975 when the dam project was stopped.

There is no photo of what it looks like now. But the dam tower is where Bill was standing. We are so happy the reserve exists. And on the other hand we keep in mind the heartache of those who lost their homes and farms to eminent domain so many years ago. The dam tower stands as a reminder of this controversy that still exists today.

We looped around the ponds close to the visitor center. Bill had never hiked these trails yet. We were able to see some Sandhill Cranes.

Geese and Turtles

We really enjoyed the casual walk along the river bottom. It was warm yet because it is so dry here now, there were no bugs! Charlie had a tough time with the heat and the tall grass. He did ask for a 'lift' and I obliged. 

We took a rest at covered bridge #18 and ate apples which we both shared chunks with Charlie. He is foodie dog. He will eat whatever a human eats that includes lettuce and tomatoes!

We found blood roots and a variety of wildflowers growing in the shadier areas. 

When I got home Rich asked me if I'd go out and look for Morel mushrooms. There probably wouldn't be any, it is early and it is very dry. Dry enough to have a Red Flag Warning for Saturday.

However, who am I to turn down a chance to muck around in the forest? I put my macro lens on my camera and filled a water bottle. The best things in life are being able to wander about the creek and the land without any chore that needs doing. 

No watch...
and I left my cell phone at home. 

I really didn't want to be checking the time anyway.
Within ten feet on either side of the creek, things are bright green from the moisture in the air. Away from the creek the forest looks pretty dry and the dominant color is still brownish. 

Ferns are beginning to uncurl and seek sunlight using the moisture trapped under the heavy layers of dead leaves that cover the soil.

At least there is that.

On the ridges and fields dust devils are whirling about.

But on the rocks in the creek I found some moss preparing to spread its spores.

I found Bishop's Caps but no Morels. 

Near the top of the ridge the wild strawberries were blossoming.

In the summer pasture I found so many things going on with insects. I waited forever for this ant to pull up his/her head but it was so busy collecting pollen!

And then...

Hello Bee !
I took a lot of shots to get one I liked.

And a side view of this little creature.

I never paid much attention to insects until the last few years when I decided that it would be a fun challenge to photograph them. I have been inspired by some incredible work I've seen others do.

There it is.

Being curious again.

I liked wandering. I found nothing but neat little things.

 

A Gift

It is fairly rare for us to get a visit from my youngest son who lives near Wausau Wisconsin. I won't explain any of that here, but let's just say, it was wonderful that they could come to visit this year and the weather cooperated too!

I used to drive to their place each year to see them just before Christmas until Rich had his stroke. He wasn't comfortable being home alone even though I had chore volunteers and neighbors who would check on him.

I chose to take the 'kids' and parents on a hike to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve where the trail I'd chosen had enough of a variety to interest a 4 and 5 year old and a safe trail that would allow them to run off energy. Lily who had just turned 14 came along also. The Grands chose to ride in Grandma's Subaru.

I think the deciding factor was Charlie.
Elena or Nonnie as her brother calls her offered to hold Charlie so he wouldn't get car sick.

How perfect is that? Charlie gets to sit on Elena's lap in her carseat and...navigate!

Sterling fell asleep on the ride to KVR.

Once out though, the fun began. I don't think it was so much the adventure outdoors that attracted everyone, as it was ... who would be in charge of Charlie's Leash...

Not a fantastic photo, but here is Sterling aka 'Buddy' totally delighted to have Charlie's leash.
Now at the Reserve, you don't have to have your dog leashed when the birds are not nesting, however, everyone wanted a bit of Charlie.
And Charlie didn't mind at all.

Lily. What can I say about her? Just that she is heartfelt and true. I managed to get a quick shot of her. She watched over her little siblings.

My youngest son here is holding Elena and they are looking down the bluff towards the Kickapoo River.

Onward we went...

Down the 'magic' stairs into the wondrous Kickapoo River Valley...ok. My words, but why not? It is a pretty magical place.

We walked along the trails and through the covered bridge. Everyone found sticks to poke at ice. Here is the moment when I think I realize that indeed...Elena could be a Wood Princess with her Stick Scepter! That look!

Lily captures Sam and I in fur hats. Yes I am the Stinker. I loaned my fox hat to Sam so she wouldn't get cold.

I'd handed Lily one of my pocket cameras and told her to fire away. Now I know what she was doing when she was hanging back!

The trails were very icy and instead of instilling fear in the kids, the ice seemed to be just a challenge and something fun despite warnings from the parents.

We got up towards the old dam site...there is a long and very bitter history that surrounds this area, but this isn't the time to go into that. The result is that there is now a great hiking trail that is a snow shoe/cross country ski trail in the winter and bicycle, horse, hiking trail in the summer.
Let's leave it at that.

The kids had a great idea once they got on top of the dam.

The real fun was finding ice puddles and smashing them with sticks.

The fresh air and hiking wore everyone out. And the drive back home was nearly silent.

That evening Sterling and Elena entertained Rich with their antics and toys. All that laughter wore Rich out.

But it was worth it.

It was one of the best gifts we could have had. A nice short visit. Laughter, yelling, shouting, quiet moments, and kids.

And ...
Charlie was sad to see them leave.

Thank you for the gift Jeremie and Sam.

KVR Trail Challenge ~ Dam Trail ~ Wintergreen Trail

Here is a fuzzy looking map of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve and its surrounding trails.
More about KVR here: Kickapoo Valley Reserve

There are links to the Reserve site and activities that go on there. There is a long and storied history about how the Reserve came to be including the Dam Project as the locals call it or the Flood Project that was going to make a huge lake and keep the towns along the Kickapoo from flooding.

I'm not going to write about that. It is a bitter story, but a very interesting one.

The Reserve or KVR as we now call it is located in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin.
They have something called the Trail Challenge. If you complete all the items on the list in one year and turn in the paperwork, you win a free pass to the KVR for the next year.
I'm not interested so much in the 'free' pass, but in the challenge itself.

I need a self challenge. Something to have as a goal. This looked like a good one.

So Friday I took the first steps.

Doing the challenge takes some pre-planning especially if you are by yourself. I can see that in order to do some of the trails it would be handy to be 'dropped' off at one area and picked up at the other end.
My first hike was on known trails that looped back to the Visitor Center.

For this 'project' I have acquired a little pal.

He is a finger puppet and I have a fondness for skunks anyway. He is small enough to fit easily in my pocket.

Why not?

I followed the Dam Trail to the Dam Tower.

Down the stairs...

Along the Old 131 Trail which is a groomed cross country ski trail in the winter. Hikers and snowshoers need to keep off the groomed trail.

Trail that leads alongside the dam to the Tower.

The Tower.

I wanted the photo of the tower to mimic the old files photos from the 1970's when the project was underway.

View of the river. See that rock bluff? That was part of the next segment I was going to do, it is straight across the Kickapoo River.

I can never get enough views of the rock formations along this river.

After finishing off the Dam Trail, I headed back past the Visitor Center and launched into the Wintergreen Bluff Trail.

I've done this trail twice before. So I was pretty sure I had allotted enough time to get it done.

Remember that bluff from the Dam Trail?
Here is a slightly poor panoramic shot of the view from atop that bluff.

This is an amazing trail in any season.

The photos below are towards the end of this trail which really does just end at a bluff.

There are a few spots on this trail that require paying close attention to footing.
The rock stairs can get slippery when wet, snowy, or icy.

You can circumvent these stairs and take a high path near the highway.

I generally chose to take the more difficult path, of course. But it can lead to more adventures.
Such as the ice flow over the trail.

It was easy to get around and the colors in the ice were amazing.

If I'd had no place to be, I could have spent hours along this trail. As it was, I'd told my husband I'd be home somewhere around 2 pm.

What can I say? Doing the Trail Challenge will be a challenge! My oldest son would wonder if I could actually hike and not stop all of the time to take photos.
I don't know. We will see.

I did use a cell phone app called Map My Hike.
It helped me move along by telling me how long each mile I did took and what my pace was.

The chart on the bottom explains your pace ~ blue line. And the red line is a chart of the elevation changes made during the hike.
I won't lie.
Hiking the Kickapoo Reserve is going to be tough. The only real flat trail is the Old 131 Trail which is the old 131 highway. Everything else will be very demanding.
Just up my alley!

My Stinky Skunk friend and I made it. I smiled all of the way home and then got out the map and plotted my next trail adventure.
Only 47+ miles to go!