Duck Egg

 Wait ~ Whut??

What is a Duck Egg?
Silly, it is an Equestrian and Hiking County Park in Vernon County!

Photo from Vernon County Website

There is a lower Duck Egg and and Upper Duck Egg. It is a 707 acre piece of property with a flood control dam for the Springville Branch of the Bad Axe River. More reading about it at our Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Site ~ here: Duck Egg.

Our county has a few parks like this which makes our area pretty unique. We love our streams and rivers [trout fisherman like them too]. The streams and rivers over many years have caused floods and dams were built to lessen the risk.

Our parks are free and have trails that are beautiful to enjoy. Generally I visit Duck Egg in the spring and the fall. In the spring, the lower Duck Egg trail presents with so many of the first spring flowers. They are right alongside the trail and are easy to find.

I have ridden all the equestrian trails back in the day and would like to explore hiking them in the future. Here are some shots from a previous post in 2020 where I recap our history of riding and exploring Duck Egg.

The equine trails are kept up by riding clubs which I find amazing. The lower trail must have once been a road as it is wide and mostly flat with some places where it is muddy. 

Recently a group of volunteers added hand rails to the foot bridges over the Bad Axe. I think it was a nice touch even though the lack of hand rails never bothered me.

The equine trail through a the river on the side of the bridge. The crossings are solid with no surprises.

Charlie and I just went for a walk from the parking area to the pond and back. I wanted to see what was blooming after our crazy weather last week.

We were not disappointed.

Blood Root

Dutchman's Breeches

Hepatica

Anemones

I am always so surprised and pleased to see this one spot of wood anemones that literally blankets the forest floor. It is simply stunning.

I'll have to make a trip back this weekend if the weather is good as the area with Virginia Bluebells had plants just emerging.

Charlie and I crossed the second footbridge and walked to the pond. 

We went out to the Bad Axe and climbed out to the large rock that resides in the middle of the fast flowing water. 

A few years ago, a friend of mine brought their young dog who jumped off the bridge into the fast flowing stream. The dog was swept away in the current but made it safely to the bank about 50 feet downstream after both the dog and owner panicked.

Charlie won't jump into the stream. He is old enough now to know better and he has an aversion to deep water anyway.

We scouted out a deer trail and went up along the river to a spot I hadn't explored before.

One of the signs along Lower Duck Egg. It always makes me laugh and tilt my head. I think they are working on replacing it. It used to have a map showing where the Loggers Trail met up with the Duck Egg Trail. 

Charlie and I followed the path worn down by trout fisher-persons along the Springville/Bad Axe branch back to the parking area after we crossed the bridge.

I've got so many good memories of hiking this very trail with Mr. Morris over the years hunting spring flowers and fall colors. I can't help but think of that each time I go. This park is also the place that hubby and I rode frequently on our mules during the last years we rode together.

I don't know why it is called Duck Egg. I've done a search on it and never got an answer. The park is reviewed over and over by fly fishermen and trout fisherpersons as a wonderful place to go.

Me? I just like it for a nice easy walk on the lower portion. If I want a strenuous hike I do the 4 mile loop that gives you and ascent of 709 feet from the dam to the top of the ridge. Duck Egg valley is steep!

Duck Egg and I have been friends for many years...

Morris on the foot bridge in 2014:

Karma is....

Well I will let you decide.

I went for a hike at Sidie Hollow Park which is a County Park just outside Viroqua. The camping area was full and I saw families and tents and people doing all sorts of activities.
The sign at the entrance to the trail says: Dogs must be leashed. Please clean up after your dog.

I hooked Charlie up on a leash, checked our water supply and headed out. We ran into a cyclist who was cleaning up some brush on the trail. Charlie admired his bike as we talked.
He headed off.

We met a couple that had a whippet that went to shaking when he saw Charlie. His owners said he was terrified of little dogs. I picked Charlie up so he wouldn't frighten the whippet and we walked on.

Charlie was enjoying himself and walking on leash like a great little guy. No pulling, just a lot of dog sniffing.

We came around a bend and there was a huge German Shepard type dog slinking with its head down, ears back. One of the women on the trail behind the dog said, "Hey, I've got a dog!"

And I replied, scooping up Charlie once again, "And I SEE you have no leash on your dog!"

She gave me the finger.

As we followed the trail through the big rig camp ground two little ratty looking terrier type dogs ran at us snarling and barking. Charlie once more was in my arms.

The lady walked out with a little stick and started talking baby talk to them. "Now you girls BeeBee and Toots go home!" I waited patiently and said nothing while she wrangled up her tiny nasty beasts.

A group of teen aged boys walked by later and stopped to pet Charlie. The walk was pleasant but I couldn't dawdle in the wooded area as mosquitoes would come buzzing.
The trail is a circle around the lake so chances were I'd meet the Shepard and women again.

I walked towards the lake shore to look at some really beautiful flowers. But stopped short. Mixed in with the tall flowers was some low lying poison ivy which looked very healthy.
I admired the flowers and walked on.

Here came the big Shepard low to the ground and ears flat. I saw the lady glance at me and then turn away. The dog circled us without a wag in its tail nor did it make a sound.
I walked slowly with Charlie in my arms again.

"Call your dog," I said, "or I call the Sheriff." I got a double finger this time and she called the dog off me.

She walked past with her friend and then exclaimed, "Look at those flowers!"
To my utter delight, her dog bounded through the poison ivy breaking up the oils as she walked in her flip flops to pick wildflowers.

I stroked Charlie on the head before setting him back down to finish our walk.

"Charlie," I said, "my next dog will be named Karma."

And I smiled.

I like Jersey Valley

Jersey Valley is one of our local county parks. It had an earthen dam that failed during the extremely heavy rains last August.

The park had a nice little lake stocked with fish and a wonderful hiking trail that went around it with new trails being developed.

This is a view a few years ago that I took on an early morning walk with Morris. I am standing on the dam looking across the lake as the sun comes up on my right.

I don't really have good before and after photos as I just went out this week to check it out. The steep entrance road to this park gets closed often in the winter.

Morris and I went there after his first brush with death and the diagnosis of Kidney Failure. I wanted to take him to his favorite hiking area.

I went out there on Wednesday afternoon with Charlie after bringing Rich home from our 'adventure' to Vernon Memorial Hospital.

I took this photo to show Rich the change in the little man made lake since the spill way had been breached last August.

I am standing where there was a fishing dock at one time. I looked around and decided to go see where the flood waters broke through the dam.

Here is a photo from the breach point looking up at the park Pavilion and playground area.

I turned around and took a shot of a gent and his grandson walking through what used to be the spillway and following the stream as it now flows through here.

The 'new' look is pretty interesting. Charlie and I headed down the stream to explore the rock debris field.

We found this little falls falling into a deep rock pond.

Just above this water falls is where I took the photo of Mr. Morris on our last hike there together.

I followed the debris field and was able to walk along the West Fork of the Kickapoo River.  This stream empties into the watershed that flooded Readstown. Hard to believe, but if one looks at a map and follows the downward flow of water it is pretty obvious.

The dam was put in place for flood control.
The big question now is will the dam be replaced?

From visiting there a lot of the people are finding the re-modeled Jersey Valley quite interesting. The rock field is fascinating with its mix of rocks.

I found the fishing dock wedged up against trees. Amazingly, it actually held together fairly well.

This wasn't the first time it had gotten loose from its moorings, but it was certainly the first and only time it had left the man made lake.

I met some folks who were sorely disappointed in the lack of repair which I found interesting. The repair will be expensive and with more harsh rains? Would it even hold?
I liked the lake too. I like the hiking trails around it.

Some folks think the county ought to just redo the trails and leave well enough alone. Though I must admit I am conflicted. So many people enjoyed the nice little beach and most days in the warm season there would be canoeing, kayaking, and fishing occurring on any given day.

In a couple of years the rock debris field will be overgrown as Mother Nature remodels yet again.

But for now, I'm going to keep going back to one of my favorite places in Vernon County.