Do you wannah?

Do you want to go for a hike?

The reaction.

Immediate.

YES!

It is nice to know that sometimes I can just pick up and go. The scrappers have been absent. I think they just want a few more things and hopefully I am done with trying to guess their schedules.

I'd spent the weekend with Siera and making a campfire ring out in the woods, along with a place to put a tent. I hauled dirt for my washtub flower 'pots' and seeded other small areas.

The yard needed mowing sort of. But since I had the rider back it could wait until I was ready to do it.

I checked the times for travel to Wildcat Mountain with the big detour and was surprised that the detour would add lots of miles and time. I compared it to Wyalusing and found that the time would be equal even if it was 10 more miles of travel one way.

I have not yet hiked at Wyalusing in the spring pre-skeeter season, so I jumped at my chance.

I started down the Immigration Trail which led to the backwaters of the Wisconsin River and saw the sign that said the trail by the river was temporarily closed due to the flood. However the river had receded and I saw a bird photographer further down the trail looking around.

I ended up turning at the sign that said 'Bluff Trail'. The Bluff Trail that comes off the Immigration Trail is steep and difficult with rocks that are like stairs but also about knee high. With two rambunctious dogs on leashes, it was a bit tricky.

There are no pictures of the treacherous spots. I concentrated on footing.

We made the steep climb out of the valley. Miss Garmin said it was about 900 feet of climbing over a mile. But the view from the Bluff Trail was really quite beautiful.

We could see the river below and catch glimpses of Turkey Vultures, Eagles, and Red Tail Hawks.

I found lots of cool looking rocks and bluffs. 

We were actually below a bluff on this trail.

There was a little footbridge over a rock slide that I stopped at to give the dogs a drink of water and a break for me.

They are looking up towards the bluff top where we could hear birds and someone mowing in the campground up on top of the bluff.

There are hazards to having a dog or two along. Sometimes when you find something really cool, you squat down to take a shot of a wild flower...and....

But, I persisted.

Here is a flower that I have never seen in the wild before. A shooting star!

Imagine my surprise to find that this section of the trail was literally lined with them below the cold bluff rocks. I'm not saying a few here and there, but thousands of them.

We finally got to the steps I'd heard about tales about. Steep steps made out of wood up the side of the bluff.

...and doggy entanglement....

The steps were built by the CCC eons ago and still hold up. I doubt most people could walk up this slope without the stairs in place. In the winter, this trail is closed off due to it being steep and the one side having a drop off.

At the top of these stairs was a whole in the rocks that we could fit through. The trail goes beyond the rocks but the stairs built to descend were too steep for us to negotiate safely with leashes and happy bouncy dogs.

The dogs would have been happy to attempt them and I would have, but I'd have had to let the dogs loose to do it. 

I decided ... not this day.

We opted instead for climbing to the top of the bluff and finding one of the lookouts.

I did promise myself to come back without dogs, or maybe bring just one for the ease of investigating more cool plants and an easier hike ... this experience was like herding cats on a steep trail. Eventually we will get this down to a science and the dogs will be on a split lead requiring only one hand. 

But with every adventure, Hannah learns more and so do I.

Until next time...

I thought about the double dog thing and recall having a leash when I trained hound dogs that let me have two dogs clipped to the leash.

I looked that item up and ordered one, guaranteed not to tangle.

Well, there you go!

Maybe there will  be less entanglement and more fun next time!

We finished strong with 4 tough miles under our belt [leashes].  I think the most satisfying feeling was that I wasn't tired at all. 

Just go for it...

Sometimes I go for the hard and swift hikes.

Thursday I took Hannah and left Charlie at home. I wanted to do a 'hard and swift' hike. I had the route all planned out.

I was using my running vest instead of a backpack.

They sort of look like this:

It is so light! It is nice to carry water and a few useful items in the pocket in back.

My average with Hannah was pretty fast. The fastest pace I set was 12 minutes for a mile. Hannah and I had a blast.

Whoo hoo!

With all of that aside, we saw some amazing sights. Imagine a valley floor covered in Dutchman's Breeches!

We found patches of Blood Root deep in the forest.

Alongside the trail we found hundreds of Trout Lilies.

We took quite a few short breaks. Hannah is a pup so I want to be careful with her.

I have this old coffee cup snapped to my belt loop so Hannah can drink out of it and eat kibbles so she can replenish her energy while I snack on a Protein Bar.

It works really quite well.

The West Ridge Trail 
was lined with 
Spring Beauties.

The Old Man Ice Cave looked rather sleepy when we went past.

These were morning views from Bridge 15. I really have to keep an eye on Hannah, she is a daredevil and I wouldn't put it past her to jump off the bridge. I don't think she would but I've seen her do some crazy stuff and ... she likes water.

Starting our journey before 8 o'clock was really quite nice. We had the place to ourselves. Now that we have earlier sunrises and longer days, I'll be adjusting our hike times to very early or very late.

👇

The Kickapoo River has been quite full for this month. 

The backwaters have filled in and come right up to the paved trail. This area is teaming with life and will soon be producing hoards of 'skeeters and other bitey flying insects. Although, I am happy to see these areas full of water again.

Here is a link to a video. Every time we pass this spot on Little Canada Trail, she has the super zoomies. The Video is 19 seconds long and just of Hannah running up to the tree roots and then zooming around. Her pure Terrier/puppy joy creates warmth in my heart.

I'm putting it here so when I am blue, I can go back and watch it over and over again.

Our total distance for this hike [we did rest and I was very careful with Hannah]...was 8.47 miles. We got home before noon and spent the rest of the day working on flower beds.

A funny note about dogs. This was Hannah's second time on this trail. When we got a junction on Old 131 trail, she chose left which headed back to the parking area a mile away. 

I imagine she either 'knew' which way was back or she was able to smell our backtrack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below--->

This is to remind me what I used on this speed hike.

Total time for 5.65 miles: 1 hour:53 minutes. Rated as Moderately Difficult.

Trails taken: Old 131, Little Canada, Ice Cave Trail, start at Parking area on County P
Gear: Running Vest with water, First Aid kit, Food

Foot Gear: Merrill Trail Running Shoes

Temperature: 73 F, Humid, North breeze

Additional easy/slow hike to the pond near the Mule Trail and back to County P Parking
Distance: 2.70 miles
Trail: Old 131, flat, paved
Time: 1 hour:02 minutes.

Rest and recovery walk/hike.

At the end of May, I am doing a Birthday Hike to celebrate my 7th decade here on Earth. The goal is to hike at least 15 miles to mark it. 

The Socialization of Hannah

It was time to take my car in for its complimentary oil change, tire rotation, and safety inspection at the Subaru Dealership.

Charlie has been my companion on these trips for 8 years. I decided to take just Hannah on this excursion to see how she'd handle meeting people in a strange place. 

One of the things I've discovered with her is that she is a quiet dog in the car. Charlie moans and groans almost all of the time while travelling. It is annoying, but I'm fairly used to it now.

Hannah rarely makes a peep. For now, she rides in her crate behind my seat. When I got to the Dealership, I opened up the door and helped her out when one of the 'Associates' came out to get my key. 

I walked into the Service area with Hannah and all the Service people turned to her immediately. 

"Awwwww"
"Awwww, a puppy!"
"Oh my gosh, so cute!"

And then...
"Oh wait! Where is Charlie? Is he okay?"

Hannah was so overcome by all the attention, she of course piddled right there and wagged her whole body.

I had to assure the Service Department that Charlie was indeed okay and that I felt Hannah needed to come on her own this time.

I took her to the mini dog park attached to the Dealership where she stretched her legs and smelled all the interesting signs that other dogs had left behind.

When we walked through the showroom the Sales Staff all inquired about Charlie and mooned over Hannah. 

To her credit, Hannah wagged and behaved with no more puppy accidents. People waiting for their Subies to be finished asked what 'breed' she was and I happily replied:

All American Dog aka Mutt

Hannah wiggled.

I sat down and she asked for 'lap'. 

She promptly fell sound asleep.

Other than her puppy behavior, Hannah is proving to be a super chill little dog. Life going on around her doesn't seem to concern her one bit.

It is so fun to be learning about her personality. 

The best thing about the visit?

The smiles that a nice wiggly puppy brought to everyone's faces.

3 weeks with Hannah....and flowers

I found this brave crocus pushing up through the grass just before the blizzard hit. I figured it would be crushed by the ice and snow. We had 6 to 10 inches depending on where the winds blew.

Three days after the blizzard I found one crocus blossoming and more pushing up through the yard.

By Saturday we had a record breaking 83 degrees and the crocuses decided to celebrate the warm day.

But having a pup and an older dog do require nearly 24 hour supervision.

I've been taking the 'kids' for walks and looking for interesting small things before spring bursts forth with all the amazing wildflowers.

I've been searching out Lichen and Mosses as they are so colorful right now.

The mosses are sending out new sporophytes right now. I think of it as flowering.

I took my charges with me for a morning hike to look for pretty things. It was also a good opportunity to start showing Hannah what to do when I stop and take pictures.

She did pretty well. Of course the hazards of having dogs along while doing macro photography can have its consequences. 

Just as I snapped this, Charlie went through behind the Lego Rabbit and Hannah followed. 

Patience pays off and I finally got the shot I wanted.

When we got back I got a nice surprise.

Things went from this....

to this with no hassle. Warm sunshine is such an equalizer!

By evening after a lot of yard work and a few walks to find more cool mosses....

the unthinkable happened. 

Hannah crept up next to Charlie and slowly eased next to him [on HIS sacred couch!]. 

Curiously both dogs had to be touching me in some way too. 

Hannah can still be a sharp toothed Terror but she has figured out who is boss and how far she can push him before he gives her a warning.

This was just too sweet. What a great way to end my day.