Finally.

Monday night was particularly stressful with my duties as a Caregiver. My 'patient' woke up at 1AM and I was able to get him back to bed around 3:30. I never got back to sleep. Around 4 I gave up trying to sleep and made a decision.

For my mental attitude [which would be rotten and evil without a good night's sleep], I ditched the plan of running errands. When Respite turned up, I left with my backpack and bug spray. I was going to take some serious quiet time.

Last year I hike 1,000 + miles at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve and other County Parks nearby. Imagine the change I've adjusted to. I haven't gone on a real hike since May 15th. Imagine my withdrawals from Hiking. It was as bad as I would imagine a withdrawal from a drug!

Our area has received a lot of rain. Monday, some areas received over 2 inches or more and the Kickapoo River was rising. Not much of a flood, but the river had seeped into quite a few hay fields and pastures.

I decided to take my feet to the Wintergreen Trail. It is interesting enough and short enough so I can casually hike and look around.

I always make a stop at the 'lookout' and peer down at the river below. It is easy access and only a few minutes from the Visitor Center. 

On nice weekends, this is a busy trail. I choose not to go during those times for obvious reasons.

The trails were reported as muddy and buggy, so I didn't think I'd find anyone else along the way. I was right. I had the place to myself.
And one mosquito found me in a very wet area where the trail goes through weeds and flowers that where waist high.

The shot below is near the end of the trail which stops on the top of a bluff. There is no magical view of the river, but you can watch it and listen to it between the Pines and Hemlocks.

This may be one of my favorite places to stop and just sit for a while. 

I hiked the whole trail to the dead end quickly so I could see if I could find cool and interesting fungi. Then, I took my time returning to the car, walking slowly to peer at every mushroom, interesting tree, and view of the river.

This is another shot I take every single time I hike this trail. I look for this tree that seems to point the way. 

Of course, I did take the Minime and Charlie along as well as a couple other characters. 

Here we found tiny seedlings of pines growing on an obscure part of the bluff. This is off trail so hopefully no careless hiker will trample them.

[Don't look too closely at the minifigs face...how in the heck did a real Charlie hair get stuck on the minifig's face?]

The spot we found the seedlings is right next to the rocks that are evident in the photo.

I'm going to save the cool fungi and other photos not from my cellphone on another post. This morning I am running out of time between chores and our 'date' with Steve for an adventure. 

With all the rain we've had and areas of muddy water, the fishing won't be great so we may just do a drive and a lunch day. 

Rich looks forward to these weekly outings more than anything else right now. 

For myself

I gave myself the gift of a hike on Friday when Shay came for her 4 hours of Respite. I could have chosen to go work out, get groceries, shop, run errands, and do all of those proper things.

But I decided to use my time doing my favorite sport. 

Hiking.

I chose this loop trail at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve because I've done it a few times and I know I can finish it and get back home in the time I've been allotted.

It was also a great way to try out the 'hydration' vest I'd gotten on sale last year. These are normally very very pricey but I nailed one at REI for only about $25. The vest fits like a vest and carries water bottles and essentials in several pockets.

Last year on my last distance hike, I wore a back pack with my supplies and towards the end of the 11+ miles, my shoulders and lower back ached like crazy. My son suggested one of these and I am so pleased to have it.

Anyway, here is a selfie of me wearing the pack while on the trail.

 [I used a little bendy tripod that wrapped around a sapling to take this shot.]

Everything I needed fit in the vest. Soft water bottles, snacks, wallet, phone, first aid kit, bug spray, emergency rain poncho, and my mini Joby tripod. Clipped to the vest was my emergency Bivvey Bag and my PLB [Personal Locator Beacon].

I didn't look exactly fashionable, but who cares? 

I was hiking on the Reserve enjoying the morning air and the sounds of birds.

I went up and down hills and walked above the river and then into the valley and along the river. My feet got wet from the rain and dew but I was never uncomfortable ... and the insects were not bad except in one area.

Most of the walk was done with periods of light rain. Perhaps that is why I had the place to myself. I don't mind the rain.

This old oak pictured below has always attracted my attention while hiking through. I think I finally got a decent portrait of this tree. I call it my Megan tree. My daughter in law likes neat trees and I think of her each time I pass by this one.

In my imagination, the tree is reaching out and letting me know that it approves of my activity. Hike and leave no trace.

The sun actually peeked out of the clouds as I was nearing the end of the hike.

I found fungi but not as much as I thought I might. Still, the bright colors caught my eye.

And this Jelly Fungi caught someone else's eye!

I was relaxed and chilled out by the time I got home. I had a good dose of 'forest bathing'. Well, a good dose of Me Time. I wasn't even tired or worn out.

I was happy. The vest worked out so well, by back and shoulders never even got angry with me. My feet trucked along as I enjoyed the surround sound of birds.

I used my Merlin Bird app to figure out what I was hearing deep in the forest. Ever hear of an Ovenbird???

Apparently there was a Veery an Eastern Wood - Peewee, and an Eastern Towhee within earshot. I heard them and saw only a flicker of movement. I had just been enjoying all of the birdsong and forest noises.

I had a very relaxing morning.

Me Time had worked out exceptionally well.

 

Just stuffss

 They started on the woods to the east of me....

I know the absentee landowners needed $$$ for their taxes. They've leased out the land in sections for hunting and farming. Apparently it doesn't pay enough.

Sigh.

This was one of my walking trails... 
I guess I won't freak out because it IS not my land.
They need the money.
The understory will grow back in.

But damn, it looks ugly.

These are the tops of the magnificent oak trees they cut down. The tops are left where they land and the oak logs are taken.

I know all of this, it has been years since I've seen another section of this land logged. 

The stump of one of my favorite oaks. The sunlight pours into the forest now with these grand old oaks cut down.

However, my creative thinking says this would be a perfect dystopian backdrop for some of my toys.

Right? What better place to show off the damage to the earth.

This logging is not for forest health. It is for cash and quick money.

My neighbor who is a 'forester' goes around our county and helps people manage their forests for a healthy forest.

His biggest concern was the logging company taking oak trees in the spring.

Oak wilt is a huge concern and spreads with this activity in the warmer weather. He wished they'd done this work in the winter.

I calmly explained to him that the owners are not stewards of the land. They only want money for leasing and money for profit [I think]. Someone pointed out that a lot of land owners log off their forest before selling the land.

Uffdah. 

The dynamic of the forest will be changed. It is not my land but I know it so well from walking it for 29 years. Last summer......

How it will change remains to be seen. 

Things change and we have to adapt.

Lil' Bear looks at the stump and at the forest....

~~~~~ 

I had meant to show off some birds we've seen in the past few days. But this was on my mind.

I wonder how it will affect the two families of the Pileated Woodpeckers in this forest. This was one of them visiting just the other day. Chipping at the deer skull on the tree for some calcium perhaps?

Ruff Stuff

The photo above is part of where I hike through our valley. Over the last winter and summer, these trees have fallen across the creek bed. Yesterday was warm so I grabbed my little chainsaw and hiked down to the bottom to carve a way through that mess.

If you are a contortionist, you can make it through rather easily but it requires squats, high steps, and a lot of twisting. I thought I'd make it easier on myself with a bit of trimming. The after shot never got taken, however I can walk through without playing Twister right now.

My little saw can take on a lot. But the large trunk of this old oak was still too solid for me to cut through. I cleaned the area up so now I don't have to go around this obstacle any more. The tree toppled in 2018. A 'friend' offered to clean it up. He did a fairly poor job at it. But I beggars can't be choosy. 

So for the past 6 years, I've rerouted. However, now I can just step over the log on the left side of the trail.  It is only about 18" tall.

Now I can go straight down the old trail that was put in years ago instead of detouring. It was originally put in with a bull dozer in 2007 and then again cleaned up in 2016. I don't know if I'll pay to have it done again as I am the only one that uses the trail. I imagine I'll let the next owners take that expense when I sell the place.

At one time my husband used it so he could drive the 4 wheeler down through our land and also use the skid steer to pick up a deer he got in the valley. I use the 4 wheeler, but don't need to drive down into the bottom. I prefer to walk.

I was having so much fun at trimming, that I stopped in the summer meadow on the ridge and knocked off some overhanging limbs on these box elders.

When good spring weather comes back, I'll grab some chains and ropes and drag those large branches into a burn pile with the 4 wheeler.

While I was clearing another bunch of snags by my favorite cottonwood tree, I had to stop and admire the deep reflections from the trees above me. The ice is hard and there was about a quarter of an inch of fresh water on the surface.

This too is part of my daily walk. I just felt like clearing a path along the steep bank that would make it a bit easier to hike through.

Mother Nature will have to break down the big logs. Flash floods will move them to another area. The creek in this narrow valley often gets changes. That is one of the reasons I find it so fascinating.

Below...The Old Man Cottonwood and my shadow.

Today or Saturday I hope to take a hike on groomed trails at KVR to give myself a break from the rough stuff. 

We are so dry, we could really use some nice snow or even rain.

Wintergreen Trail in November

Sunday morning came and the rains had stopped. I looked at the weather and it appeared that it would be decent for most of the day.

I put some things together in my little backpack which included mini snacks for Charlie and my camera. We took off at 8am. I like to hike the Wintergreen Trail early in the day if I go on a weekend. It is a short trail that is beautiful and has many views of the Kickapoo River. The trail head is right off the parking lot to the Visitor's Center so it gets a lot of midday traffic.

I always take my time while walking this trail. I am very familiar with it. I hike it in the winter and fall because I can view the river more clearly.

I always stop at what is called the 'Look Out'. It is a bluff with a view. 

To get out on the edge takes a bit of maneuvering. It isn't the sort of thing you hop over and down onto the small ledge. Most people don't do it.
I carefully climb down to the spot where I can sit and just gaze south.

I never tire of the view in any season. Below is a shot with my feet in the frame along with the edge of the bluff.

Here is the bluff taken from across the river on a x-country ski trail. I think I took this in 2018. I was on the lower ledge where you can see snow in the photo. The river's edge below the bluff was frozen.

Charlie knows the trail by heart now. He has done it so many times. He knows that he has to sit and wait while I monkey around or pause to look at something. He also knows that I will take advantage of exploring. 

I went below the bluff on the north side. I couldn't get down next to the bluff and the river as it was too muddy and sandy. I had to stand on a little hilly formation to get this side.

I found it interesting with all the different kinds of lichen and ferns growing on it. Obviously there are geological layers showing also. I can't ID them, so I will just admire their beauty.

I can't help but photograph this odd tree formation every time we come through this part of the trail. I am afraid that one year, the tree will fall and I won't get to see it...

This August:

Over the years, I've gotten to know the best spots to look for spring flowers, the best spots to observe the river, and where unexpected rock shelters are. I look forward to seeing them in the winter as the water drips over the rock and forms an 'ice sheet' that can convert the shelter into an ice cave.

Once we hit the Wintergreen rock bluff, the path goes straight along the 'hogback'. The trail is lined on each side with pines and Hemlocks. It never ceases to stun me.

I always stop and the end of the trail and take time to sit on a log and just listen to the river and the sounds of the wind through the trees. It sighs just like I do.

Though, this Sunday we didn't get much quiet. In areas around the Reserve, it sounded like a firing range with all the different farms and at least two shooting ranges I know of that where sighting in their guns for next week's deer season.

Charlie turned himself inside out with anxiety. I had to carry him for a while as he literally shook and vibrated.

We still managed to have a great hike. We traveled only 2 1/2 miles total but took at least 2 hours to do it. There still is so much to see and observe even in November.

Yep. Not sure why there were pencils stuck in a log!

I could have spent most of the day just exploring....

And so now the new week is ongoing...

Rain rain rain...and flurries tomorrow? 
Looks like a good few days to do laundry, cleaning, dusting, washing, and a bit of crafty stuff!

Duck Egg walk... & Charlie

 Sunday was very windy and a bit chilly in the morning for those used to 80 degree weather. It was in the 60's when Charlie and I went to Duck Egg. Really, I don't know why it is named that, but it is a county park with a huge dam that was built ages ago to deter flooding from the Springville Branch of the Bad Axe River.

In the 1950's this Bad Axe branch wiped out most of a small town called Newton in a flood with a mere 4" rainfall that came down hard.

I chose to walk through lower Duck Egg because it is easy to get out of the wind while in the steep valley. I decided to go early in the day to check out the leaves and the light. That first shot is from the trail looking up at the west ridge above the valley taken with my cellphone. The colors look pretty flat but the light wasn't that great.

It didn't matter, the air was crisp and Charlie was having a ball. 

He does love cool morning walks.

Thank goodness he went up on the foot bridge where I could stand on the ground and get a ground level shot of him. He has 3 inch front legs. Seriously, how can he hike like he does?

The vet said to keep him active and let him be a dog and not a couch potato. Charlie seriously loves his cuddly blanket and snoozing on the couch.

He also loves snoozing on a chair we have for him. In the morning when hubby and I are having coffee together, Charlie jumps up here and curls up. 

The walk was quite nice. Not as nice as the spring walks I take there to find bluebells and so many other wild flowers, but still very quiet and pleasing. The winds whistled above us on the trail.

We eventually made it to the pond and I was surprised to see whitecaps on it. The wind was gusting so hard there were waves on the valley pond.

On our way back to the car, we encountered a young man carrying a bucket, a fishing pole, and to my utter surprise, what looked like an AR-15. 

"Holy Crap," I said to him, "are the fish so huge out there that you have to shoot the suckers???"

He laughed and said, "No. I'm going to catch some fish and hunt squirrels on my way back." He smiled and nodded at us and continued on. They make AR-15 style rifles that are .22 caliber. But I've squirrel hunted a lot and you don't need an automatic to shoot them if you are going to eat them.

I carried a single action bolt kid sized .22 when I squirrel hunted. Generally you only get one shot to get the job done.

I shrugged and kept my thoughts to myself.

I was out to enjoy the scenery and the fresh air and that is what we did.