Another spot I've followed ....

...through the years.

I went hiking on PeeWee's. The large tract of land next 'door' on Saturday. I wanted to check out one of the first ice formations I discovered.

The hike to there is done through two valleys and a ridge and across a large field that used to be pasture for cattle. It is now cropland that is rented out.

The hike to this spot is 1.5 miles. To get an idea of how remote this spot is...

well there are no houses or roads anywhere nearby or within sight. 

The guys that inherited this land call the area below this dry run... The Lost Valley. 
The valley is very remote. It is steep and narrow. More on that in another post.

This is another favorite spot of mine. It starts at the top of the ridge and drops about 150 or so feet down into the Lost Valley.

I've followed this spot over the years ever since I've discovered it. 

Some years this part of the dry run gets an ice sheet over the opening of the rock shelter. Racoons, love to use the 'cave' as shelter in the winter.

This black and white shot is from 2019 when I was brave enough to take a rope and climb down into the gully.

Close up to the jaws of ice...

2011 another time I climbed down into the gully. I couldn't climb out of the dry run so I had to scramble over boulders and ice to follow the dry run to where it emptied into the stream below.

[The reason I now take a rope if I am going over the side.]

And when spring arrives...the ice loses its beauty.

I shot this shot last year leaning against the same tree as I did for the second photo.

This next shot was taken in November of 2001.

I climbed up the dry run from the creek in the valley wondering where it went. I had a Pentax K1000 with a broken light meter but I was able to guess at the exposure.

This shot may have been the very beginning of my love for Ice Caves, Falls, and Ice Formations.

If we get moisture in the form of snow and rain, this may develop into a more spectacular ice formation by late February or early March. 

The hike took me to the west side of this ridge and a newer ice falls. During the huge and devastating flash floods of 2016 and 2018, the small dry run turned into a huge ravine.

To my utter amazement and delight, this too had ice formations. I'll have to check out a safe way to get down into the area, but color me happy to find more ice.

The edges of this dry run in the spring have the most amazing spring flowers. I also visit this area in the spring to see all the Hepatica, Trillium, Skunk Cabbage, Spring Beauties, and more.

It was a long and satisfying hike. The ice falls/caves are doing well but need more moisture!

Cold and Ice. I like ice.

I waited for a 'warmer' day to go hiking and check out the Ice Falls and the Rock Shelter on Wintergreen Trail. I thought I dressed properly. 

Thought being the word of the day.

The worst part was my mitten - gloves. I chose the very wrong ones. I thought the polar fleece ones would be plenty warm. They are thin and work in most of the weather but apparently not in temperatures in the low teens with a slight breeze. I should have worn my little cheap thin gloves and my hand made mittens with the double palm.

Lesson learned. I balled up my hands inside the mitten gloves and stuck them inside my jacket pockets in an effort to warm them up.

Charlie and I went on regardless of the cold fingers. I was smart enough to add a scarf to the contents of my backpack so I could use that to protect my face from the breeze off the river. I generally pack a spare pair of gloves or mittens too. Ach. Lesson learned.

We made it without any trouble to the place where there is a Rock Shelter that turns into an Ice Cave by February. I wanted to see how the warm weather, fog, and rain, affected the building of the ice. Was it all gone? Was it there?

It was there and it surprised me. The Rock Shelter itself is huge. The ice was long and but I couldn't get a good shot of it.

Here is a shot from 2019 that a friend took of me hugging the ice.

The cooler parts are not the rock shelter itself, but the area that it drains down into. 

There are actually 2 areas of Ice Falls in this one spot. Water drains constantly from across the ridge and flows over this area and out to the river.

Here is a wide view from the bottom. 

This view is stunning. I don't think many people get to see this because the climb down is pretty intense. The Shelter I was pictured in .. is in the top right of this photo. So it is quite a distance that the water flows.

To the left is an ice falls. To me, it is one of the prettiest ice formations I've ever seen.

I always climb down to view it in the winter. I just can't help myself.

Along the trail there are a few other interesting places to see ice. This one is a bit treacherous if you are not paying attention and try to walk over it when snow covers it.

We made it to the end of the long bluff and got a shot of the river below us. In many places it was frozen over. However the river is dangerous when iced over because the water is flowing underneath it.

We made the trip safely despite getting a bit chilled along the way. I did end up using the scarf to keep my chin and face warm while walking back into the slight breeze. It was nice to get in the car and turn on the seat heater.

I'll be back to all the places I can get to as many times as possible throughout this winter.

Hi Ho Winter! I love you!

 Finally!

After so many days of being stuck indoors. I grabbed Charlie and we went on an adventure of sorts.

We went wilding. Not a savage thing, an untamed sort of hike. Through the brush, brambles, burrs, prickly ash, and multiflora rose. Charlie is 7 inches tall so he has it easy, he can walk under most of the brush. I have to bust through it.

Years ago, Mike was the owner of the land. His cattle kept the forest clean and made nice trails. Since his death in 2005, his brothers have abandoned the land except for the deer hunting season. They lease out the farm land and lease out sections of the forest for a few trophy hunters to bow hunt deer and hunt turkeys.

The land has regrown in many places to invasive underbrush. I still get around on deer trails and always wear heavy coveralls to get through some of the rough stuff. 

Its getting harder to get to the special places I do like. Oddly enough, I don't even think Mike's brothers know of these cool spots. I like my secrets. I've walked and ridden this land for 30 years. I know the trees, the creek's secrets, and cool rock formations.

Charlie and I did get to our favorite spot in the creek though.

I had quite the surprise. I was following coyote tracks along the creek bottom and found this.... ----->

I swear that it looks like a coyote slipped and 'biffed' it. Doesn't it look like the back legs spread eagle as its chest hit the ice and it scrambled back to its feet?

It is very possible that this did not happen at all. But I'd like to imagine that it did.

Charlie sniffed the tracks and then walked to the edge of the ice. He knows better than to go off the edge. The water in that spot is over his head.

Another surprise met us at this spot in the creek.

An Ice Fall.

Closer..

The color in the ice is from the reddish sandstone in this area and the dirt. The moisture seeps out over the rock wall [which is warmer from being underground]. It hits the frigid air and makes these beautiful ice formations.

Another shot of a different section.

I can't help it, but this absolutely fascinates me. I run my hand over the ice ripples and marvel at nature's art.

I mean who doesn't love this? I love this. I can't wait for cold weather to see this phenomenon.

The creek is the main lifeblood of this forest and it is evident by all the animal tracks that can be found there.

In this section we found a nice set of coyote tracks.

If anyone is worried about Charlie. Don't fear! He sticks to me like glue when he smells these guys.  

If all goes according to plan, I plan to look for some more ice falls in another place soon. If the temps stay below freezing ice falls will develop. I sure hope they will!

Oh winter, how I love you!

The Nicest Little Girl

has become the nicest young lady. 

Her family was my 'upstairs' neighbor for about six years. I was pretty fortunate to get along with her mom and I enjoyed helping her out with her children once in a while if she needed it. 

They eventually sold the house and moved away and I've remained friends with mom and the kids.

Ambrosia is 18 now and is looking at journalism as a possible career and something to pursue in college. Currently she does assignments for a small local paper. Sometimes it is doing fact gathering and research and at other times she has to go to an event and take pictures along with her write up.

I gave her my old Nikon DSLR. She has been using it on auto and has really treated the camera well. She said it has come in very handy on assignments but she wanted to learn more because she was certain that she would be sent to cover sports events soon and wanted to have some guidance.

Our fun adventure today was to go find some ice formations and just walk and chat like we did when she was little. The conversation turned towards journalism, colleges, and careers.

We went to the look out first and I helped her do a run through on the Nikon. She took some photos from the look out and commented that her battery was really low. 

I had her remove the battery and stick it in her pants pocket next to her warm skin. She'd forgotten to bring her spare battery.

Outlook:

Every time I take this trail, I photograph this exact scene. It is amazing to go back through the past years and see how this view changes. The river was frozen over which is unusual this time of the year. Going out on the frozen river is not advised at all.

So Ambrosia learned a lesson in how to keep her battery warm in the cold weather.

We made it to the first ice falls and made our slippery way down the steep hillside.

When she could see the ice formation, I heard "Oh my. That is..."

I smiled. Yep. That. Is.

So we did a little photo lesson. We both had zoom lenses which would go from about 14mm to 200mm. We first shot the little ice formation at 14mm.

Then the 200mm zoom.

Ambrosia's comment was. "Look at the details!"

We moved further down the dry run near the Kickapoo River.

Again we did the same thing.

Zoomed in.

I pointed to the next section where there were two more ice formations and while we were looking at how to get to it, the wind picked up and started dropping snow on us.

I lifted the camera and said, "Shoot, shoot!"

We both marveled at the snow falling and blowing from the tree tops above.

Next up was an ice shelter and ice falls just to the south of the previous one.

I suggested she pick a composition and told her I was shooting for a black and white photo that showed off the zig zags and cascading ice falls.

We walked on and headed towards one more spot where the ice was forming.

Some fungi on a tree caught her eye and I told her to go for it.

I walked around behind her and took this:

Her battery was just about all done in, and we had to get back to her mom's house at a certain time.

She told me more about her journalism job and the schools she'd applied to and somehow we ended up talking about how to start a fire if we were lost with birch bark, birch wood, and chaga.

Her eyes brightened and she thought that would make a great story for her little local paper. "A story about winter camping!"

She paused, "And I could photograph the steps of doing it!"

"We have to do this more often," she said. She is a Senior now and going into her last semester. She said her class load will be a bit lighter and maybe...she ... we can get together more.

I hope so, she is one busy young lady, but still just as gentle and kind as ever. She juggles a lot of things, a part time job, school, and family obligations.

It was so much fun to see her discover things through the lens and then think up ideas of how she could use the camera. Spending time with her is always so enjoyable.

I'll go by the little bell on the blue yarn and ring it more often!

Fresh air recharge

We finally got our schedules to mesh up and go view the ice caves. I met with my ex neighbor and her kids at Weister Creek. 

Charlie was beyond happy. 

The view of the first of the two ice caves?

Let's just say there where a lot of ... Wow's!

The upper two iced areas are the ice caves that a person can get into.

Comparison photos....

Just a little over 4 weeks ago:

Yesterday in the same spot with me holding Charlie:

We did a lot of exploring and when some other folks appeared we let them have the cave to themselves.

The lower half of the ice formations were incredible with different hues of colors.

I would like to go back and climb down in there to get a closer look at the icicles. 

Briar was our comedian. He too, loves snow.

 

The second ice cave wasn't so exciting and two groups of people were already there so we hiked out to Weister Creek to enjoy the ice falls.

4 weeks ago:

Briar asked if he could explore the ice and I cautioned him to be very careful as the water under the ice is deep.

He stood on it. I wouldn't let him go out more than a foot on it.

When we turned to leave, he took a large step and his foot broke through the ice. 

Thankfully, it was just his boot that went through.

We hiked down to another ice fall area to explore the colors of the ice.

As we were admiring the ice falls and discussing the colors of the ice, we turned to see a woman walk out alongside the dead tree that lays across the stream.

We collectively held our breath.

I wanted to shout out to her to stay off river/stream ice unless she wanted to take a cold dunk.

She got back to the bank without breaking through and we all sighed. Too often people from not around here assume that the ice that forms over streams/creeks/rivers are the same as the ice that forms on lakes.

 

It is a very dangerous assumption.

This is the current under that ice.

We had to hold Charlie to keep him from exploring the edge and falling under the ice.

Exploring the area is beautiful. But one needs to use their head!

This photo was done with my infrared camera. Who says IR is only for summer?

We explored up one of the dry runs until we got to a spot where it split in three directions.

There was a huge log laying down that would have been a perfect spot for a picnic.

We enjoyed the warm sun and listened to the breeze rustle the leaves above our heads.

Charlie was worn out from 'snow swimming'. Everyone had picked him up at some point and given him a small lift. Being a tough little guy, he wiggled and was put back down. He was the trail leader after all.

We really had to laugh when we got back to the parking area.

Subaru owners do this on purpose. If there is another Subaru around, they will make every effort to park near the others. There were two more Outbacks just out of frame and an Impreza pulled in as we got ready to leave.

Mine is the dirtiest one!

Charlie was all ready for a cuddly nap when we got home.

As much as I didn't want the adventure to end, I felt relaxed and recharged.