Hiking with Aurora

I was pretty excited to be able to hike with Aurora again. This time I'd get to meet THE Tank!

This was a view of fog along the river bottom on my drive to KVR. This spot is considered a small backwater for the Kickapoo River. The highway twists and turns along this river with multiple bridges to cross. 

During floods most locals know which back roads to use to get around the low lying areas that have water across the highway.

I brought my crappy little IR camera with me just for fun along with my pocket camera. 

We hiked out of Willow Camp and headed down towards Old 131. I hadn't taken this particular route since last winter with Bill. It is a great hike to stay out of the winter winds.

Tank [in infrared]! 

One of the most entertaining labs I've ever encountered! 

And yes, he adores sticks. To see him in person was so much fun.

Tank was Mr. Playful and seemed to carry a smile on his dog face no matter what the situation he is in. I hate to admit it, but he made me miss my days with my big dogs. I just wanted to get down and hug the heck out of him.

The best part was having two vehicles so we could park in one spot and hike to another spot without having to do loops. Here is a screen shot from an app on my 'stupid' phone called map my walk. It works pretty decently and for a free app, it isn't too bad.

This is one of my favorite spots to stop and just take in. 

This spot I call. The Ponds.

There are actually two sets of ponds. This is on the west side of the trail.

First shot is in Infrared, 

second done with my pocket camera.

I tried so hard to get a good shot of the neat old oak on the edge of the pond, but it didn't really turn out very well. 

Here is the Quiet Kickapoo. It is a very deceiving river. It is mostly very shallow and slow. Except where it isn't. Two years ago two women had to be 'water' rescued not far from here when they got tangled up in a log jam.

The Kickapoo will trick you. With a few inches of rain it can become a raging river that covers roads. The Reserve was supposed to be a site where they would build a dam to stop the river from flooding those places south.

It never went through and we now have all these beautiful acres of land to explore. 50+ miles of trails to hike. I have two trails left to do before I've walked all of them. 

Most all of KVR's trails are well maintained, not something that was done when I rode mules on it in the 1990's. Back then the land was a free for all with local kids and their 4 wheel Monster Trucks and winches. Parties were held down near old Campsite G with a rope off the bluff to swing out and drop into the river.

I recall the Rainbow People overtaking the place one year and riding through a camp of drunk, high, and naked people ... some of them covered in Kickapoo Mud.

KVR has an interesting history. 

Now it is quite tame and well kept. 

We saw some pheasant hunters. I had to chuckle. The one dog we saw was hugely fat and obviously still hunting with his master. Both master and dog were aged, but still out there. 

I have no clue as how pheasant hunting even works. I had a coach at CrossFit who hunted with his lab/pheasant dog and he posted photos, but other than that? No clue.

KVR shares the land with hunters. In fact every county park allows hunting on its lands. It is a huge attraction for tourism and locals which is good for our local towns and B&B's.

Me? I used to hunt raccoon with hounds at night. I always thought that hunting the trickster at night was more fun. Those days are over of course. But I still pause if I hear a hound baying in October.

Whoops...that was way off track.

Our hike ended with about 4 miles of walking and looking around. We stopped at this last pond which is another one of my favorites because of the reflections it has to offer.

When it isn't wet [rarely], there is a trail that goes right around the edge of this pond. I was able to grab a few shots of Canada Geese nesting on one of those clumps of grass this spring.

Here is the same pond in the middle of summer but at sunrise with a lot of fog!

I guess I never will tire of visiting this place. 

It changes its looks with the weather and seasons.

January 1st I get to map out my plan of getting all of the trails hiked and turn in my paperwork for the Trail Challenge.

I have only two trails left to explore that I haven't done before. So I think I'll be well prepared for the challenge.

It is always more fun when I can share it with someone else. 

I hope we can do this together again. 

Return to Duck Egg

First, a morning walk with Charlie to enjoy the morning sunrise and colors.

Below the view at the mailbox on the ridge.

After our walk and breakfast for Rich, I proceeded to wash the siding on the north side of the house and discovered that a broom dipped in Murphy's Oil soap totally cleaned off the moldy green colors with almost no effort.

Next came the gutters once again and then a scrub of the back step which has lichen and green ick growing on it from being in the shade all year.

Then, I left Charlie to watch over Rich during his nap time.

Now this is funny! 
Rich takes a nap right after lunch. I may lay down to read for a bit and during that hour of quiet time Charlie is allowed on the bed and snuggles in and lays as still as can be.

When I left for Duck Egg, Charlie whined and cried when Rich laid down. He said he lifted Charlie up on the bed and gave him a blanket. Charlie slid under the blanket and never moved again until Rich got up from his nap.
OH, I think Charlie has HIS number! 

Our temperatures were supposed to hit 80 degrees and I figured it would be a bit too hot for Charlie to enjoy the hard hike I had planned.

Duck Egg Trail drops into a very steep valley.

The colors were incredible even with a hazy and overcast sky. I got to the valley and came around to the back of the dam.

I don't recall which year it was that where I am walking was under water. The water was to the top of the dam in front of me. It may not look like much from this vantage point, but it is.

The other side of the dam. 
I stopped at the picnic table under the oak tree not far from the horse tie rail. I ate a snack and an apple before moving on.

I headed across the foot bridge. Horses have a path alongside the bridge. The water runs rather fast and after a hard rain it does run hard enough to sweep a dog away.

I headed along the valley and over the foot bridges before taking on the trail that went back up to the ridge. It was hot in the valley and I was happy that I hadn't brought Charlie. 

I'd passed a couple heading the other way and we talked for a moment. They were headed to the old oak and picnic table for a picnic. The gent thought I was taking the steepest and hardest trail. 

I smiled and said that I had intended to do that.

The trail was steep and had a few switchbacks. I tromped on up it to the Lookout. I think all the leg work and workouts I have been doing helped tremendously. It didn't feel so hard.

See that hand? It is pointing to the Oak Tree at the bottom of the dam. The horse tie rail is next to the tree.

Isn't that quite the view?

In this photo, the green is the west end of the dam.

Here is a shot of the valley flooded so you can get an idea why the dam was put into place.

Impressive isn't it?

August 20, 2007. 

The rest of my hike was quiet but enjoyable. I walked along the ridge top prairie and back to the parking area.

MapMyHike said I'd hiked 2.47 miles and changed altitude of 429 feet. I don't know if that was 200 ft up and down? I think it was. All I know is that it was fun and I can't wait to do it again in cooler weather with Charlie.

Duck Egg. What an odd name, but cool place.