Hoot Owl Trail at KVR

I had a few hours in the afternoon to myself so Charlie and I headed out to the 'dreaded' Hoot Owl Trail at KVR.

I say dreaded as I don't really mean it. The only part I was anxious about was the stream crossing which was just over knee deep. 

I'd done it last year with Bill and walked right through it with my boots on.

Anyway, I had decided to take my boots and socks off this time and do it. I had avoided this trail because of the water crossing all summer.

I figured Fall was on its way in, so I better get it done before the cold weather settled in.

Here is Charlie exploring a beautiful view from a bluff. I couldn't pass this up and not spend a few moments gazing down at Warner Creek and Big Valley Road.

 As we started the trail, we met a large group of riders. The lead lady pointed to Big Valley Trail and said they should take that back to their trailers.

I asked where they were parked. Where they were the ones on Cut Off Road by the Million Dollar Bridge? Yes, they were. 

I noted that Big Valley Trail was really nice but they'd end up North of Rockton on Hwy 131 and they'd have to route to the 9-10 Trail, then to Dutch Hollow and then ride through Rockton on the road and ride back over the bridge.

The lady picked up her cell phone and tapped it while trying to hold her horse still. She stared at it and said she was trying to pick up the map on her phone.

[Ahhhh. Cell Phones are the bane of those at KVR. So many areas of the Reserve have no good cell service.]

I asked if she had a paper map. She did not.

I said if they went up Big Valley then they'd add about 4 miles to their ride and have to ride the horses over that huge bridge.

Anyway, I pointed them back to where they could hook up with Hoot Owl/Cut Off that would take them back to their rigs. It would back track for them, but they wouldn't have to deal with 131 traffic.

They all seemed relieved and of course they had to ask if Charlie was a mini Rottweiler. He isn't.

Charlie and I bid them a good day and off we went.

Charlie was the pace setter. The temperature was in the 50's and the trail was clear.

He was on a Mission: 

The first section of the trail winds along under the canopy of the forest and partially alongside and above Warner Creek. You may feel lost in the woods, but if one listens carefully, they can hear the light traffic on County P not far away.

The trail drops down into a valley on the second section. 

And the Fall colors are showing on the Sumac and starting on some of the trees.

Just before the dreaded stream crossing, there is an old sign that says .... Points down....

There used to be a farm somewhere near or around this sign. It is in the low land so I assume the farm was flooded often in heavy rains, or the land was acquired by the Government during the Dam Project.

We got to the stream crossing. Of course I thought I was being so wise to take off my boots and drap them over my neck, pick up Charlie and ... I forged ahead.

In the middle of the creek I'd wished I'd left my boots on. The rocks were slippery and some were sharp. The water was frigid. If anyone would have watched, they would have laughed at us. 

Me...tippy toeing through the frigid water, holding a 13 pound dog across my chest and telling the little dog that I promised not to drop him. He was clinging to me like velcro. He doesn't like water that is deeper than he is tall.

We made it and I walked out to County P barefoot as Charlie charged ahead. 

In the end, I think it was a good decision to take off the boots. We had another mile and a half to go on the last section of the Hoot Owl Trail. We covered that quickly and ran into another group of ladies with beautiful horses.

Using Trail Etiquette, I picked up Charlie and talked with them as they approached and didn't jump around or make any strange movements.
I have yet to have a rude encounter with other hikers, hunters, bicyclists, or riders on the Reserve. [Other than that lady whose dog bit Charlie this spring]

We got to the end of the trail without any issues at all. Charlie trotted the whole way except for the stream crossing. We hiked nearly 4 miles and enjoyed each step of the way.

The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

My one regret is not having a truck and trailer so I could ride these trails again. However, I think by walking/hiking them, I get to see so much more.

And...

Now I am totally finished with the Eastern section of trails, as well as all of the far south east trails and all of the North west section trails. 

I was going to hike with my nephew and his wife on Saturday to complete one 2 mile section, however this is the weekend of the Dam Challenge. The trails I wanted to go on will be used for a 3.5 mile run.

The Dam Challenge has a 7 mile canoe trip, a 14 mile bicycle ride, and a 3.5 mile run.

I may take my nephew and his wife back to my favorite stomping grounds near the ice caves which will be far away from all the hoopla.

Sections 46, 47, & 48 Completed.

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

A Trip Back to Wildcat Mountain State Park ~ The Ice Cave

Here is a shot of the Ice Cave on Labor Day.  It was quite beautiful and interesting.  But if one doesn't understand the 'ice cave' concept they won't get much out of visiting this area in the summer.

According to some folks, the ice can remain in this rock formation until nearly July depending on the weather of course.

Here is how it looked yesterday.  Keep in mind that the ice was melting because of our above freezing days and late sunshine that shone right into the formation during the late afternoons.

This is looking head on. You can see the pile of ice that has broken off the ice 'falls'.  Chunks were threatening to fall off while I was there.  It is not prudent to get a shot from directly below looking up when this is going on!

I preferred the side view which was much more dramatic.
This will probably be one of my favorite photos for quite a while.

Here is a fun comparison shot:

Billings Creek is right around the corner from the Ice Cave and I thought I'd revisit it also.

Here is another Labor Day shot with Ariel wading under the magnificent rock formations.

And of course I couldn't get out and wade yesterday, but the creek did not disappoint.

The ice formations in the middle of the creek were exotic yet because of the warm sunshine and temperatures they were hard to find.

I then followed our Labor Day route and visited one of the canoe launches on the Kickapoo River, but it was getting late and the parking lot was ice.  I got back in the Subaru and took the Cut Off road.

I did manage to get a shot of a Warner Creek which feeds into the Kickapoo River.

And the view towards the bluff.