4th Annual Ice Hike~ Parfrey's Glen

Well, it was that time of year again. The Annual Ice Hike.

It started a few years ago when my friends took me to Parfrey's Glen just outside of Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo.

Last year I drove in a rain/snow/sleet event to get to our annual "Ice Hike". This year? Well, I followed the events of a snow event that dropped about 4 or 5 inches of snow on my travel route. It made the drive a bit more interesting, but it wasn't too bad.

We went to Parfrey's Glen as our first stop in hopes of seeing Skillet Creek running over the rocks or some magnificent ice formations.

Well that wasn't to exactly 'be'.

As I slugged through the roughened snow trail, I thought how nice it would have been to have my snow shoes on.

This area never really is disappointing and it is always in a state of change with the weather. In places the creek was solid with snow covering the ice. I could hear the water running underneath us.

We probably shouldn't have come to the Glen so late in the day. But there we were, making our way upstream to the water falls.

However I thought it would be a good idea...

well, that didn't really pan out. 

I should have known how quickly it gets dark in these areas. After all, when I am at home I know it gets dark quickly in the deep valleys.

Things get quite tricky after you leave the "maintained" trail. 

It became obvious to me that my snow shoes although very handy for part of the trail would have been a real pain in the rocky boulders.

We reached the water falls at the end of the trail and did some exploring. It was obvious that the day light was fading fast.

The light in the gorge was fading but above us it was still sunny and bright.

We didn't want to have to scramble over the icy and snowy boulders in the dark so we headed back.

But not until we had some fun of course...

The danger of having another photographer around is that they will 

get that shot of you...that you don't want shown to the world.

Aren't those gloves just precious? 

And then, with the light fading, we headed back to the Subaru.

Oh yes. Waterproof boots are a great idea on this hike.

Saturday was going to be a busy day. We were going to see how many of the State Natural Areas we could explore.
We had one place in particular that we wanted to check out.

Take a Hike at Parfrey's Glen State Natural Area!

Parfrey's Glen.
This was the Cedar Glen before the beautiful rocky gorge of Parfrey's Glen.

The hike isn't very difficult. If you want to have the place to yourself you need to get there early. By 10 AM there is a crowd and you can't hike anywhere without running into another group.
I was there about an hour after sunrise and had the place to myself. I went to the spot where the stream came through the Cedars and just hung around looking for interesting spots to take a photo.
I was not disappointed.

My friends showed up not too long after and we hiked up through the gorge.

I was lucky to be able to get some fairly nice shots and avoided the folks hiking there.

I've only been to Parfrey's Glen once before and that was in the winter. It still is very impressive.
But the colors in October are incredible.
The trees above are various shades of autumn colors which contrast with the green pines and the vibrant green mosses that cover almost everything in the Glen.

I think everyone goes to the end of the gorge to see the famed waterfall.

It is pretty and worth seeing.

There are so many other things to see. I could spend much more than 3 or more hours exploring photographic opportunities.

The gorge walls themselves deserve a whole day of studying!

But alas, I stuck to the stream this time and didn't get any great shots of the imposing rock walls.

However this shot with my cell phone ought to give you an idea of how imposing this place actually is.

If you go.
Be prepared to get your feet wet.
Don't hike in sandals or high heels. If you do, don't go past the maintained trail sign.
Respect the trails, don't wander off trail. The area has some very precious plants and there is no need to trample them.

Take your garbage out with you. Don't leave stuff behind.

Most of all, enjoy the natural beauty and take a moment to learn why Parfrey's Glen is so unique.