The Lost Valley

This valley has several names but the absentee owner likes to refer to it as the Lost Valley. In a way it is. The Valley is cannot be accessed by any road. The only way to get there is by foot or 4 wheeler. A snowmobile trail does run through the area above the valley. There is an old logging road that can be walked down.

In 2005 the cattle that grazed the woods and grasslands were shipped off and the land was basically abandoned to the wild. Over the years the owners have leased out to the land to a few people for hunting purposes. One year a fellow planted 1/2 million dollars worth of marijuana in different areas. Other folks decided that since no one oversaw the land, they'd make trails with their 4 wheelers.

The whole land encompasses two valleys with two streams that flow into what is locally called the Black Bottom. That flows into the Kickapoo River. In those times of flooding, the narrow valleys become rather dangerous.

All that aside, I've hiked the 600+ acres of woods since 1996. Someone once quipped that I must know every tree by now. I almost do.

I have permission from the estate to wander at will on their land. I'm afraid that I know their land more intimately than they do. But that is the wonder of it all.

To get to the Back Valley/Lost Valley/Forgotten Valley -- all names for it -- requires a 1 mile walk through some steep terrain.

Here is a shot looking back towards where I came from on the day I snowshoed this trek. Up until a few years ago, where I am standing was grassland. The estate decided to rent it out as cropland. I have yet to see a good crop come off this land so I can't see how the renter is making any money.

However, the deer love the left over corn. This spring it should be rotated to soy beans. Whoever rented it the last two years put field corn in. The land won't yield much if they farm like that.

In many places the briars, noxious weeds, and thick underbrush has taken over. By midsummer, the land is difficult to walk through. I enjoy winter and spring walks here. 

Here is a nearly 3 minute video of how the riding was in 2010. It is longish, but sort of interesting to see how calm Badger was and how he dealt with obstacles. We did ride to the Back Valley and explore this 3 mile trek that I now take often on foot. I can still ride this with Siera and Sundance, but I rarely do so any more. I stay closer to home now. 

The video is pretty crappy, but in 2010 I only had my little Pink Fugly camera and it did do video. The dog is Morris, my Jack Russel that never missed a ride. When he tired, he jumped on Badger's legs and we'd heft him to ride in the saddle with me.

The valley has changed so much now. But it is still interesting to walk through. I made the trip this weekend back to see the stream and the ice cave.

I probably won't go back until spring arrives because snowshoeing and crossing the stream is just too difficult. I did find evidence of beavers, coyotes, and a lot of deer.

Here is the 30 second video of this snowshoe hike.

That's it. Enjoy getting lost.

Silent Hike

I looked down at the laundry basket that needed folding. I glanced at it again as I walked by it.  I then reached out and poked it.
It didn't poke back.
It obviously did not need my immediate attention.
Morris curled up on the couch with his freshly washed blanket that I'd taken out of the dryer. It was still warm.
He looked at me and stuck his nose under the blanket.

He didn't need my attention either.
Rich laid down for his afternoon nap.

Well now, the animals were fed and watered. However there was one critter that seemed to warrant attention.
I had two hours or so before chores. Everyone was going to be napping.

I donned a coat and grabbed a bottle of water. On the way out the porch I grabbed Dixie's red rope and my walking stick that had been made by my photo pal.

Dixie wagged her whole body. I wonder if some day she may just wag herself into pieces. She walked along side of me and waited for me to open the electric gates.
We headed out. Hike time.
The sky was blue and it was probably almost 20 degrees out.

Most of the time while hiking with a dog I only see their rear ends. Same with Dixie. I get the waving tail and her backside.

I wandered down to the creek and we followed it to the snow mobile trail. I shrugged and decided to head up the trail out of the valley and across the corn field on the ridge that divided the woods.

Soon we dipped back into the forest and the steep back valley. Dixie stopped and stood like a statue. Her tail even went still. I stopped also.
I've learned to pay attention to those with better senses than I. Dixie is one of those, her nose is extremely powerful. She can spot wildlife long before I would even be able to see it.

Then on the ridge above us came 3 deer, 4 deer, 3 deer, and then 2 more. They pranced and trotted in a long line.
Dixie didn't move when I whispered "No."

We headed further down into the valley. Both of us silent. I could hear some crows in the distance somewhere and the wind sigh and rattle the oak leaves that were still clinging to branches above us.
I headed down the steep incline towards the west end of the valley. I negotiated the hill, using saplings as hand railings. Each step was carefully placed and I made sure it wouldn't slip before putting forward the next foot.

Dixie brushed past me twice. She would go ahead and then come back. Her feet padded silently.
I looked down. There it was the Lost Valley, The Back Valley, The Hidden Valley. I could hear the stream running over rocks.
I squatted and slid down a short distance.
I was there.

The wide stream.
The stream where I can sit and watch trout flit back and forth.
It didn't take me long to spot them. Dixie trotted alongside the water and I saw their ripples.
I stood still and watched them swim up stream past me.

Nice.
I clucked to Dixie, not a loud noise but the sort of little noise you make to ask your equine to step up or pay attention.
Dixie turned around and came to me. She sat and waited for me to put my hand on her head.
That long tail of hers swished the snow.

Walking through the valley requires a bit of crisscrossing the stream. The stick was helpful in stabilizing me as I picked out rocks to make my crossings.
My hiking boots are supposed to be water proof. But perhaps soaking them 2 miles from home wouldn't be a good idea.

Dixie walked on the edge of the stream until an ice shelf broke and she plunged into a deep section. It was only hock high on her, but she avoided walking so close again.

Towards the east end of the valley Dixie found two partially eaten deer carcasses.They were buried deep in the snow and ice, too deep to tell if they were killed by coyotes or leftovers from hunting season.

I kept going until I found a good spot to cross again and head back up the steep hill.
Dixie wasn't convinced I'd picked a good place and I had to pat my leg.

Again, I just reached down and touched her on the head. She looked up at me and then scrambled up the hillside following some of the many tracks that were all over.

As we neared the field again on the ridge top, I realized that I really hadn't spoken a word since we began our hike. Normally I keep up a rambling dialogue with Dixie so that she will pay attention to me.
Obviously we'd gotten to the point in our partnership that we just were good with each other's company.

We trucked across the ridge top and followed the snowmobile trail until we could duck back into our woods and down to Awesome Creek.

I wanted to take a photo of the creek with the pretty reflections in it.
Dixie photo-bombed it.
And I think it turned out much better that way.

Dixie led the way. Just as Morris always does.
She waited for me at the electric gate.

And then our hike ended.

Into the Lost Valley

After exploring the Ice Cave we headed down into the valley that the 'dry' run empties out into.

The owners of this land call it the Lost Valley. We call it the Back Valley as it as furthest back.
I like to think of it as my 'Secret Valley'. There was a time when the cattle lived on this land.
At that time there were cattle trails that made riding through the back valley fairly easy.
Hiking was always an issue.
The creek used to twist back and forth like a snake gone crazy. Some of the crossings were wide and some were very deep. It was a great place to take a young mule to get them used to water.

Several major floods have changed that. The last ravage was in September 2015. The creek is fairly straight now and in places very wide.
I still love making it a destination. It is a hard hike but worth every step.

Here is one of the places that Creek Leaping becomes a real skill to have.

When we got to the 'Lost Valley' we all sort of separated and explored on our own. Daryl went his way with his camera and tripod.
The girls investigated tracks they found with Amanda.

I tried to take some Ice Finger shots.
I have no idea why I started calling them Ice Fingers. But that is what they look like!

The hike back towards home was not as exciting as the hike out.
We climbed out of the valley in what seemed like a never ending upward haul.

We followed the snowmobile in a westerly direction to get to the back of my property. Then straight down into another steep valley.

I think Evie looked at our 'ridge' road that so easy this morning, looked as if it went on forever...and groaned.

I think we were all tired.
There was a faint burning sensation in my legs. We had all pressed on pretty hard through the snow which had made the walking a bit harder.

The only ones who seemed not to be bothered was Morris and Scout. They trotted ahead towards home.

As we dropped back down towards the house we met Rich who was standing next to the back of his truck.
He'd done the evening chores and welcomed us home with, "Gee! I was getting afraid that you guys weren't coming back?"

Wet and tired the crew went into the house and discarded their wet clothes. Daryl had to put the finishing touches on the pot roast he'd been cooking all day.

The girls announced that they probably wouldn't be up for the scheduled night hike.

We got ready for supper.
And prepared for our next outing.

Morris on Adventures

Well I knew she was going to take me. She put on my little blue collar with the jingly tag on it.
She says it helps her keep track of me because it makes a soft jingle noise.

I prefer going nekked without a collar. But She is the boss when it comes to hiking and I will wear a collar if it pleases her highness. 

I guess she felt that it would be fun to climb down the side of a steep hill on an itty bitty skinny deer trail.
Well, I took to higher ground to survey things.

Then I jumped down and decided to guide her to the bottom where we went into what we call The Back Valley.  It is hard to get to, but always worth the visit.
So many things to smell and mark!

She was more impressed at what the wall of water did to the creek.

It made the creek brand new again. There were big expanses of water here and there, little water falls, and even a lot of sandy beaches.

However the sand revealed that many coyotes had been travelling through recently. I'm happy that She keeps an excellent eye on me.
If I smell coyotes, I hurry up and get near Her.

She got busy with Her camera and I got busy checking things out.  The water was cold and very deep in some spots. She kept calling to me any time She thought I was a bit too far from her.
Sigh. Doesn't she know I am smarter than She is? I'm just scouting around for her own safety.

We found a place where the waters flowed slowly and covered a large portion of the valley.

She found a rock pile in the middle of the waters and set up her camera. She did a lot of muttering to herself. I know She was pretty excited over the view.
To me it was just...cold water, but it felt nice after that very hot hike through all those nasty weeds.

She even got all excited about some little water running over some rocks.

Tsk, tsk.
I was busy checking the creek.

We soon headed back. She had some farm work to do. I could tell she was sad about that. If She'd had her own way I think we'd have spent hours exploring.

She told me, "Morris...blah blah blah...we'll be back." At least I think that is what she meant.

Had She said Cookie, well that I would have that gotten right away.

We headed back up the ridge and She shouldered her backpack. We headed straight for home with a slight detour through a corn field. It was meant to be a short cut, but only was sort of a short cut.
It was really hot in there.

And then when we got to the first valley I turned and headed up the other creek. 
I've been doing these hikes for years now and it is a good thing I am there to direct Her.

She stopped in the creek with a big "Hello! Look what I found!"

A stupid boot sole. She laughed and seemed quite pleased.

Apparently this boot sole has been appearing in different parts of the creek this year. Since She first found it a few years ago, it has traveled half a mile.

Nice.
But not important to me at all. It had no good smells and it was not a cookie.

I was tired when we got home and full of dirt and mud. I had to suffer a quick rinse off in the tub before I was able to curl up on Her sweatshirt and a blanket on the couch.

Oh, you think I shouldn't sleep on the couch? I like it. It is one of my favorite places to relax. I can keep an ear out for most things happening around here.