Section 37 -- Dutch Hollow

Charlie and I decided to do a short one we'd been putting off because basically it was a trail that runs along the highway. The distance of the trail was .83 miles one way.

What surprised me was how warm it got. 

The trail head is right on the edge of Bridge 10 on Highway 131 and it heads towards Rockton. It is a nice trail that easily takes an equine rider, bicycle rider, or hiker straight into Rockton without much travel on the highway. This very first part is also the same trail one follows to get on the south end of the Hay Valley Trail.

This trail heads up between cropland and is well worn. Rockton Bar attracts riders, bicyclists, hikers, and motorcyclists and is famed for it Chicken Q's.
Rockton also has the most awesome fur store where a person can get fur hats. It's called Wild Things Furs. This is where I got my infamous Skunk Hat. 

[I may be looking for a Beaver or Muskrat hat this year that has a bill on it to shade my eyes from the sun.]

The trail continues through a spot with just a trickle of water. I wonder if this area would have been underwater if the dam had been finished?
I don't know.

Charlie and I made it to the end of Dutch Hollow Trail. Charlie was having trouble as he got really hot so close to the ground on a trail  that basically was a 6 inch deep groove of dirt and sand from years of hooves compressing the soil.

I picked him up and we continued to hike. He wanted down when we got to a shaded area and in no time at all we were back to the parking area.

I stopped and took some photos while standing on Bridge 10. It is a pretty river and looks very quiet. However, it does rage when flooded.

We spent some time down on the canoe landing in the parking area and cooled off in the Kickapoo River.

I think this was the prettiest part of the whole experience. 

Kickapoo Bluffs along the river:

Section 37. 
Done.

On Wednesday it is supposed to be a warm one so Charlie will stay home while I do a long hike. 

I'll be picking up short sections that I haven't been able to get to yet. My best estimate is that I'll be doing approximately 7 miles in order to catch those 3 sections and make it a loop.

Monday afternoon's Map:

My Partner in Crime:

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