Stump Dawg

Monday I decided to do a Long Hike with Hannah. We'd hiked on Sunday with Charlie and I figured I'd give his little old legs a day off.

The dog is smart.

I usually make her stop at one particular stump with Charlie [on a particular trail] and they take turns sitting on the stump and getting a treat while I take their photo.

Here are some shots of Charlie on stumps over the years. 

[I have to lift him onto the stumps, he can't jump up on them.] 

He really could care less about sitting for a picture on a Stump.

Hannah and I started down the trail and once we got through the meadow and into the forest trail, Hannah started to jump on any stump next to the trail. 

She sat and stared at me.

Funny dog, she relates stumps to treats.

Smart.

She even thought a few logs would be worthy places to get a kibble.

What a charming goofball!

Most of the trees are leafless but in the understory there were some remarkable colors that we found. It was raining lightly and these red maple leaves seemed to glow.

By the time we hit 4 miles, the sun came out.

By the time we got back to the car the clouds had moved in again. 

Hannah and I had an incredibly fun long hike. I like to do those at least once a week. 

Charlie stayed home to rest up his legs after Sunday's hike.

I do know that dogs have to be in good physical condition to do long hikes. They cannot be couch potatoes and just like us, they have to work up to distances. I'm pretty sure Hannah does at least double the distance than I do as she likes to run forward and then run back to me.

Her motor is always supercharged. In case you are wondering, I do take special care with her by monitoring her condition, her feet, her attitude and physical well being.

With only her along, it is a fast paced hike except for logs and stumps. 

With Charlie involved also, it is a very laid back slow moving hike with many stops for examining everything around us.

This is the way....

Break time from the UP

Wednesday night it rained once more, I'd had spent Wednesday catching up on house stuff. Boring stuff like mowing, moving the washer, dryer, fridge, and cleaning behind all of them. 

With all the essentials done including grocery 'getting', the dogs and I crashed early.

We woke to a wet and bleak morning. The dogs had a ton of energy and I was restless. I did some business that needed getting cleared up....

--- and we jumped into the car and headed out with rain gear.

Why not? 

It was a light drizzle with no heavy rain in the forecast. Think of the freedom of being able to comfortable walk on a rainy day. It wasn't cold and yes my hiking boots got soaked.

As did my pants up to my knees.

 

However, we had the Reserve to ourselves because no other sane person would go out walking in the light rain. [Maybe]

The wet trails were not really muddy except in some spots. The dogs loved the moist air as it accentuated the scents of the deer and other animals that had followed the same trail we did.

I let them lead the way, smell the smells. Both dogs were fantastic. Charlie stayed close as usual and Hannah raced forward and back. We may have only hiked 5+ miles, but Hannah surely put on at least 20 with her puppy exhuberance.

It was nice being back in the forest alone without others. Quiet. Nothing but the droplets coming off leaves and the sounds of footfalls.

[Don't get me wrong, last weekend's whirlwind adventure was incredible, but I'm used to quiet hiking]

We had some great fungi/mushroom finds 

I find fungi to be beautiful even in its ugly form of decay.

Their shapes are curious as they spore and then die off.

This minifigure👇👇 IS on top of an expired mushroom. I know where to find them each year but I've always been too late to find them in perfect form. I always find them in this just black nasty looking state.

Obviously fit for a Vampire Queen!

I found a wonderful variety of shelf mushrooms that were quite beautiful. Mini me and the pups decided to climb around on them. I think these could be classified as Artists Conks.

With the wet weather this fall, the fungi and mushroom are so abundant in the forests. Just call me happy. 

Friday night late we had a series of heavy downpours.

This afternoon after taking the dogs for another sloppy walk in our forest, I checked the rain gauge.

Tomorrow is another day. I haven't decided on trying to roam the neighbor's desecrated forest and save on gas to get my daily dose of forest or to use my car and take some great trails at the Reserve. I'm back to 'training' for the 20 or 30 mile hike next spring.

The weather has finally gotten out of the extreme heat and humidity, so I am ready to 'rock'.

I'm considering how to keep up my hiking without breaking the bank now that gas in our town has jumped to $4.37 per gallon.

A bike ride there would take me 2 hrs. 10 hrs for walking 27 miles. 

I'll see what my budgets afford me as gas continues to jump and winter heating costs are coming.

One of my gal friends has offered to go hiking with me at the Reserve and share gas costs. I'm very open to that as I really enjoy hiking with her.

Sunday morning coming down....

I checked the weather when I got up and stepped outside in the predawn. It was cool, but humid. A low fog drifted across the south pasture where Siera and Sundance were snoozing in the sandy area.

I checked my to do list for Sunday and decided to take my canine hiking as soon as chores and breakfast was done. 

We'd beat the midday heat and have the trails to ourselves if we went early.

It was August 30th. A year exactly to the date when Nurse Tim told me that Rich was going on the Actively Dying List.

We headed out and when we got to the trail head at the Visitor's Center, we were the only vehicle. I parked, attached the lines to the dogs [they don't need to be leashed but I keep lines on them in case I need to grab them].

We were going Fungi Hunting.

The recent rain and humidity was prime for mushrooms to start popping along the bluffs of the river.

Even though we'd had a dry week, the nights and mornings had been wet with heavy dew and fog.

A perfect climate for mushroom hunting.

We were not disappointed. We found huge mushrooms! 

We found such an amazing variety of mushrooms that I was just blown away.

I also found a flowering plant that I'd never seen before:

Great Plains Ladies' Tresses aka the scientific name: 

Spiranthes magnicamporum

I included a link because I felt they were so special and I've never run across them before. It is  MN wildflower link. I'm going to add it to my 'discovered' wildflowers!

I headed down the Wintergreen Trail because in years' past, I've found a single Indigo Ink Cap mushroom. Back then, someone had kicked it over instead of walking around it. 

Each August-September I retrace my steps to look for this beautiful mushroom.

This year I hit the motherlode.

I found at least a dozen or more of them. Below is a photo of Charlie standing in a spot where I counted 6 of them!

Ever see a 70 yr old lady doing the happy dance on a bluff in the forest? Yep, I was doing a jig and trying to avoid stepping on the pretty blue fungi.

So, just to let you know why my dogs wear beeper collars. I get so engrossed in looking at the little things that I ignore the puppers. They stay close, but I can push a button and call them in close.

Dogs here can be off leash. But I don't want to lose them in the 8,900 acres of forest that surrounds the Reserve.

I did some Toy Photography [of course!]

We'd gone so early that no one else would be around on this particular trail.

First shot with Hannah in the background.

Patience. Hannah moved on ...

...and then we hit the area where a little bit of water flows from the ice caves in the winter and some little dog had a total brain explosion of happiness with muddy zoomies... 6 seconds of unbridled puppy joy.

This is the ice caves in the winter. I can't wait to take Hannah here this winter!

I have so many items that we found. A two mile walk took us over 2 hours because I stopped and sat on the ground to explore and look at the mushrooms, fungi, and slime molds that presented themselves along the trail.

I'm that weird person who gets excited by the unusual slime mold, plants, or mushrooms. I stop, I look, and I explore.

My cohorts and I spent time sitting quietly at the end of the Wintergreen Trail. They had treats, I had a protein bar. 

Eventually we headed back. We could hear the traffic increase on Highway 131. The motorcycles were headed to LaFarge for the Chicken Q dinners at Rockton Bar.

It was time to evacuate the area and return home.

More fungi will come in the next posts. But I might be out exploring in the mornings this week. It is supposed to be unseasonably hot and humid. Perfect for fungi/mushroom hunting.

The dogs were silent on the way home and took long afternoon naps. I think they are ready for bed too.

It was a good Sunday morning. 

So far

So far, there will be 5 other brave women joining me on my Birthday Hike to celebrate 7 decades on this crazy place we call Earth.

This is a huge surprise for me. I know all of the gals from the gym at one time or another. Two of the ladies are going to do the MammothMarch at the end of June which is a sponsored and paid event in South Central Wisconsin. The hike is 20 miles to be completed in at least 8 hours. Not a race, just a day of hiking with others. MammothMarches are held in most of all the lower 48 states that I know of.

I don't want to pay a big chunk money right now for a trip, the hotel room, the entrance fee for a t-shirt and a badge or goodies they are giving out. I figured to do this on my own and celebrate privately. I'm not a huge fan of fanfare or crowds. 

I feel quite blessed in life to have 5 women to join me on this crazy hike. The two that are doing the MammothMarch next month in Wisconsin. They are experienced hikers for the 4 to 5 mile range so this is a test for them.

One gal has never really hiked before so I'll be making sure she is okay. 
[I showed the newby a hydration pack, she was going to use one of those string back packs and put her water in it. The strings would eat up her shoulders so I sent her to the store to grab a hydration pack.]

Another one who is a new person to hiking asked what she thought was a dumb question. What happens if I have to go pee or ????

Bring TP and a baggy to collect your TP. Leave no trace. Not a dumb question.

Good shoes that are ready for the trail. There are plenty of rocks, roots, and things to trip on for half of the hike. 
A light backpack for water.
Good socks.
Water. Water. Water.
Some energy bars.

Water.
First aid kit.
Water.
Bug spray [though it shouldn't be too bad]

While at the gym, the coach came up and said that she and another CF member were 'going to try to come' too. But they didn't want to do the whole thing and 

how long will it take? 
What time will you be done?
[Me thinking...how the heck does one
judge time on an event like this?]

'Welllllllll,' I said, 'I guess I can tell you more when we complete the hike.'

'This is not a speed hike, I know that one of the folks that is coming along has never hiked. I will hike with her abilities in mind. Her pace will be our pace. I do not leave others behind especially if they have never hiked these trails which can be confusing. 

If you or others don't feel we are going 'fast enough' then by all means make sure you have a map and go ahead.'

Well how fast would you hike it?

Me...thinking for a moment. 
'When I hiked 11.5 miles just over a year ago for speed and endurance, I hiked it in 3 hours and 24 minutes. I was pushing it all the way.'

Coach seemed to think on that.
'I averaged 18 minutes a mile with best paces at 13 minutes a mile,' I replied. Half of the terrain on this hike will be very demanding and the last 4.5 miles will be on a paved trail.'

Coach then launched into her reason for wanting to cut it short or for not going. It entailed a long explanation about grandkids and parties and whatnot.

I shrugged. 'Look at the route, bring two vehicles one for the start and park one near a trail that you want to end at. Oh. And make sure you have a physical map. Those trail changes can be tricky.'

When I hike for speed, I go solo. I don't want to watch out for someone else. It is just me, the trail, and a clock. I love competing against myself. This may be one of the reasons I loved Cross-Country in College so much.

No one really believes me when I tell them the map and a compass would really make their hike easier.

I have spent 10 years hiking with others who have various skills and most of them were new to my kind of hiking.
I enjoy it, I relish it.
I love it.

I'm excited about this 'group' hike. Hopefully we will get along without any mishaps. In the fall, I will re-hike this same route just to see how fast I can do it solo.

The Gremlin

Her Daddy calls her 'Martian'.

This is my youngest son, his name is Jeremie.  I call him Jer and this weekend I called him Daddy so Mari --- Amari, could figure out who I was talking to. He isn't her real Daddy, but he has been caring for her since she was born. 

She is the daughter of his fiancé. 

They don't really celebrate Valentine's Day. Jer suggested giving Mom a weekend off. He came Saturday night and we watched a movie he picked out.

Sunday, he asked what I wanted to do and I asked if he'd like to go 'hiking'. He does like hiking and we got the Reserve by 8am.

The day was going to be record breaking warm, so we got there before the temperatures rose and made the trails into slimy messes.

Mari usually wakes up very early. Like really early. 4:30 am early. I sent Jer back to bed. Afterall I'm a pretty good Grandma and I adore kids.

Mari and Charlie hit it off. He is such a kind hearted dog. Jer, who prefers cats also fell for Charlie. He quipped that he could so love to take Charlie home with him. 

Um. No. 

Here Jer is showing Mari a Pileated Woodpecker hole in a tree. Five year olds are curious about everything.

Mari has boundless energy and curiosity.  Jer and Emily, are taking her to one of the University Clinics to be tested for her neurodiversity issues this month.

I'd hiked this trail on Friday and knew it would be a perfect place to go on Sunday.

We found ice flows and explored bluffs together. We went to this ice flow or ice falls. Mari climbed up above and pretended to hide behind the tree. I was so happy that she stayed there while I got a photo of her and the flow.

Then Daddy convinced her to do this. 20 second slo mo of her first Ice Slide.

Just having fun....

The Kickapoo River was mostly frozen solid and of course my 'kid' wanted to see how far out he could go. I yelled at him. It is what mom's do even when their kids are no longer kids. And of course he didn't listen to me. However he did not fall through.

Jer and I sat on the porch later and watched Mari explore the yard and run back and forth. Fresh air, dirt, running, and hollering are all kid activities. 

So Mari didn't want to take a bath Sunday night. She was absolutely not having it. All she wanted to do was cry, moan, and say that she wanted to go home. Kids get that way when they are tired.

I asked her if she wanted to take a bath with Charlie. 

That changed her mind. 

So after she got in the bath, I picked up Charlie and put in in the water. Charlie played statue while Mari took a washcloth to him and rubbed his back and head. Charlie gave me 'the look'. I let him be in there for a few minutes and then took him out.

That was the trick. One happy bather, one unhappy dog. One clean 5 yr old.

For all the lead up and advertising for Valentine's Day finally had gotten to me. Even at the gym, it was the subject of the day in conversation. As the only 'widow' there I just was quiet.

Jer and the little Gremlin were exactly what I needed to distract me and make me laugh. 

I disconnected from the digital-interweb-internet- world for a couple of days. It was a good break.

 

Body shops and caves

 

So I finally got a carwash and took my car in to see if they could buff out the scratches on the right rear side where that lady hit me two weeks ago. The damage was more than I thought it was, however, it is cosmetic. That said, I'm pretty particular about my 10 week old car.

Talk about sticker shock. Think of your modern cars as Lego cars. If a part gets damaged, they have to take the bumper covers off and repaint it. They can't buff those parts out, they are not metal. 

Okay. That was enough bad news for Monday morning. So instead of doing my paperwork, I took a drive while the body shop worked up an estimate.

I ended up at Wildcat Mountain State Park to visit the very large Ice Cave. It is a short walk and is very popular on the winter weekends so I figured Monday was a good day to go.

It was amazing as usual. Below is a tree root that got ripped off one of the rock bluffs with the last big rain and washed into the picnic area. I didn't have anyone to stand in front of it for size.

Evidence of family fun in the picnic area:

The trail was straight forward and very level. I'd say it is only a quarter mile long to the rock shelter, but once there your jaw drops.

The scale doesn't look that imposing. So I set up my bendy tripod and did a selfie. 

I'm still not next to the rock wall which drops about 6 feet down behind me. But I did walk around the ice curtain and take shots. The piles are where the ice melts and drops and then forms again.

Below.
10 years ago with my stepdaughter in blue and grand daughter in the middle. Me in the skunk hat. By March, the ice curtain is massive if there is a good winter of thaw and freeze.

This is why I find winter so amazing and exciting here where I live and why I learned to dress for the weather and enjoy winter hiking more than summer hiking.

The water comes off the rocks and eventually runs along the rock wall and into a small creek which empties into Billings Creek.

The colors were beautiful.

To get around all of the ice, cleats are recommended.

I left there and took another drive to see Warner Creek. I walked around the rock bluffs and explored some of the rock formations that are so unique.

Charlie wasn't really with me, but I had his Mini in my pocket so I could take a shot at the unusual rock structure.

I am never short of amazed at these rocks. The details almost look hand carved and are so tiny that if you don't look close you'd miss it.

When I got home from my drive and exploring, I felt calm and collected. I was able to sort paperwork and text the lady that hit me.

To my utter surprise, when I sent her the estimate she replied that she would contact the body shop and pay for it.

This indeed has been a very auspicious beginning to 2026.