Wildcat Mountain State Park

I used to ride equine at Wildcat Mountain nearly every week with Rich. I started hiking it, snow shoeing it, and cross country skiing the trails about 10 years ago. That's when Rich stopped driving, riding, and doing many things he used to be able to do.

The view above is from the Lookout point not far from the parking lot. I just had my little point and shoot camera with me and cell phone. So this is just a view looking out from the Look out point framed by a tree.

This was taken two years ago on a hike with a fellow blogger Aurora in November. I think this is one of my favorite Autumn photos of all time. But then I have many!

I'd gone to see if I could find an attendant at the Park Office and of course it was closed. I wanted to pay and receive a year's State Park pass. 

Charlie and I decided to hike the Old Settler's Trail which is a 2.2 mile hike. I don't consider it a rough or tough hike but it really can be. The altitude changes on this trail add up to 581 ft. That is pretty interesting as I never had a used a GPS tracker before to figure that out. What a great workout it is!

The footing is pretty good in most places but one has to watch out for roots and rocks that hide on the trail and spring up to grab your foot! 

I came across and elderly man [maybe he wasn't elderly I just perceived it that way] who was hiking with hiking poles. I thought to myself. That is very smart with those attack rocks and roots. I've never used them. 

I tried a walking stick for a while but in true Val Fashion. I see something I want to photograph, drop the stick and then have to backtrack to pick up the stick I forgot.

The sign at the start of the Loop says that the trail takes 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. 

I told Charlie, I thought that was a good challenge. With all of our sniffing and dawdling, we did it in 1 hour and 20 minutes. 

I think these 'stairs' were probably the hardest part. They are on steep hillsides alongside bluffs and are not spaced like a normal person would walk. Charlie handled it fine. I was a bit more careful. These stairs went around a bluff called Taylor Hollow Outlook. I wish they'd cut down the brush at the outlook point so one could see better into the valleys.

Yet, the rock formations remain very impressive.

I will admit to climbing around on those rocks when hiking with my young neighbors a couple of years ago.

I don't do that when hiking solo.

Charlie seemed tireless and kept the pace going except for when he found a good scent or a perfect tree that he could pee on.

Charlie and I have hiked 151 miles since the first of October. My Garmin shows only 148, but one day I didn't have my watch along so I used MapMyWalk. I get too restless if I am stuck at home going through stuff, so I need a break and fresh air often.

I leave things right here as I don't want to charge off on other topics that have been on my mind.

Have a day.

In all things of nature...

The Mystical world of Infrared. 

Sometimes I take hikes and meander about on the least popular trails on KVR. 

These trails are unappreciated and often missed because they don't offer ice caves and magnificent wonders of the world.

One can imagine Tree Ents moving about on the bluffs with their gnarly twisted roots that seem to be able to hang on rocks with no effort.

Yet they can resist flash floods and high winds....

to teeter above...

ever watchful from the bluffs...

...

and guide you along a wonderous world of 

something else...

These are places that stop you in your tracks and humble you deep inside. If it doesn't, then you are not a living cognizant creature.

I took Bill along this trail.

I cannot tell you the joy I took in showing him this world of pines/bluffs/trails and snow.
He kept stopping in his tracks and saying:

"Oh wow. Oh Wow!"

Over and over again. 

He mourned over the fact that he'd lived in our area for nearly 26 years and had never explored this region.

Yes, his job, his family and bringing up children had been his priority. And now...

I could show him the magical landscape around him. 

As we parted ways at our vehicles, he asked me this.

"How did I not know about this before?"

My answer was fairly simple. I replied, "You didn't have time for it before."

In all things of nature

There is something of the marvelous.

~~ Aristotle

People waved & other things

On Sunday morning I was at the grocery store just after 7am. Our town is not large. The town itself has a population of about 4 thousand.

We have a hospital and clinic, a main street, a Walmart, a regular grocery store, and a Food Co-op.

I thought I'd shop early and not have to deal with crowds. This store does have Senior Shopping. Two weeks ago I did this too and found that it is a perfect time to go. Sunday at 7am. Even better, if it is raining. No one likes to shop early or shop when it is raining.

There were about 3 other customers in the store. 2 wore masks. I wore the one I had done instantly with a bandanna and hair ties. I felt awkward at first and then I got down to business.
The store was well stocked and I got potatoes! And Sweet Potatoes! The lettuce looked as though it had been a bit abused, but I got some anyway.

I thought I'd grab a pizza for one of those nights, a quick supper after working all day cleaning up pasture.

Was I ever surprised!
I purchased two pizzas for 'emergency' suppers when I didn't want to cook.

I filled the back end of my Subaru.

That job was done. I got home and unloaded/washed the items, the car, hands, and did my due diligence in making sure I didn't bring home any nasties.

Then I had coffee with Rich. I looked up our hardware store to see if they had updated their shopping to online. They closed two weeks ago but people can call in and order for pick up. They supply feed and agricultural items too so they are essential in our area.
To my surprise, the site was up and running. So I ordered some Pasture Pro to help combat the invasion of Burdock, a garden fork [our old one broke and the cost of a new handle to fix it was the same as purchasing a new one...since I am not handy at repairs, I got a new fork], and some seed.

The site said that my order would be ready in 3 hrs and 10 minutes later I got a text to pick up. On my drive back into town I saw couples out walking hand in hand, or parents with their children, or people with their dogs, all walking on our sunny nice morning.
Suffice to say also, there was almost no traffic on the road.

Everyone I passed waved. I waved back. Their smiles were real and these were people out enjoying a morning stroll. No one was walking with their heads down staring at their smart phones. It was almost odd in a way.

~~~~~
I went for a hike in the afternoon. I took the .22 that Rich had with a scope to do some target practicing. I love the discipline it takes to shoot a distant target. I did joke about shooting squirrels for supper and we had a long conversation about that. Rich had to shoot squirrels to supplement his family's dinner table. I recall my mother saying the same thing.

See that orange blob? That is the target and it had a piece of black tape in the center. That was what I was aiming for. I settled in at the school desk and took my time. Two shots on the tape, three shots next to the tape on each side. I could do it. However the rifle is too large and heavy for me, even though I am accurate with it.
I took the time to clean and oil it before I put it back in its case. I got out Rich's father's bolt action squirrel rifle and cleaned and oiled that as well. It was something that Rich and I could do together. He directed me [I know how to clean a rifle...but it was important to get him interested in doing something!]
The rifle is a Mosseberg Model B .22.

I looked this model up and it was made from 1930-1932. Apparently these are worth something I guess but usually never found in very good shape. Not so with this little rifle. It is in excellent shape.
It is perfectly sized for a small person and it is open sited, which I like better for a few reasons.

Well.
Wasn't that exciting?

Lastly, I hiked up to the top of the ridge and stopped at the leek patch.

I dug up a bunch of the larger ones to take home and dehydrate.

I washed them in the creek before heading home.

One interesting thing I spotted in the woods!
A green stink bug!
I wished Allison could have been with me, but with Isolation and Social Distancing as the new normal, she and I haven't been able to go 'bugging' at all.

Be well.
Stay safe.

The Big Melt Down

Sunday morning I had to wear Yak Traks to walk up to get Saturday's mail.
The snow had melted all night and the fog misted down ... so the driveway was a combination of ice and water.

I had to run to the nearest gas station/convienience store before breakfast. I thought the Subaru could handle the driveway. Icy but not pure glare ice.

The gravel roads were somewhat of a nightmare, soft in some spots, icy in others, and in one spot a culvert was plugged and icy chunks of water was beginning to run over the road.

By the time I got home our township had rescued the day and had spread gravel on the worst spots and down the steepest part of our driveway. I parked the Subaru and did a short happy dance.

Since water was running I thought I'd do a quick hike down to the creek and see if any run off was occurring yet.

The fog was intense even down in the creek bottom. But the air temperature had changed so rapidly in 36 hours from -32 on Thursday morning to 42 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

I figured that one of the dry runs could bring water off the ridge. So I walked the length of our creek starting from the west and heading towards the east. I could hear the run off before I saw it.

And as I climbed closer, I could hear the sound of the water change from above me in the dry run.

I quickly backed up.

Somewhere an ice jam had given way and released dirt, clay, and ice with water all at once.

I backed off to the other side of the creek and watched it roar.

It soon subsided yet the water still ran. I looked upstream and didn't see any of the tell tale white bubbles or discolored water heading my way.

So I set up to take a few shots before I had to get back home and check on Rich.

The top shot is looking upstream 

and the bottom is looking 

downstream from the same spot.

I wish I'd had time to stay for a while, but I grabbed some photos and headed home.

The weather calls for rain again today with ice jams and localized flooding in small streams.
This truly is my kind of weather.
Okay, it isn't pleasant, but it sure makes the creek very interesting.

Sole Searching

Gotcha!

But I couldn't help think that when I found this sole from an old boot in the creek today.

We had flash flooding again this past week and I went down today to look around and well, ... just get a bit lost in nature after the hectic week I've had.

This 'sole' is familiar, I've seen it further up the creek in years past. So I thought it quite funny to find that it had moved with the flash flood to another area of the creek.  I think in all it has moved about 250 feet with this summer's floods.

Some things move great distances. Not this rubber sole.

I really went searching for cool fungi. Of course if you search for something, sometimes you cannot find it. So I quit looking and decided to just climb rocks in the big wash and enjoy the peace of the woods.

The little creek itself was pretty amazing. The water was so clear.

I'd seriously think about this as a wading spot to cool off if it gets hot again.

It just seems so inviting.

No, I did not bring Morris along on this little walk. We've had a pair of wolves sited near by. I'm not in fear for Morris, but if I am super distracted I don't keep track of him and ... well... I was afraid that I'd be distracted quite a bit on this little hike.

I guess I didn't want to worry about him. I'd been personally a bit stressed over a few things and wanted to do the 'chill out' thing.

That is exactly what I ended up doing. I followed the deer trail to the end of the property then decided to take the 'dry run' back down to the creek.
I took my time and didn't consult my watch.

Imagine my delight when I saw "NO Service" on my cell phone. I was happy then.

The coyotes are pretty active right now and I found quite a few of their tracks. I admire their stealth and cunning. Some farmers around here have had a lot of trouble with coyotes.
Our Dexter cattle don't seem to be intimidated by them. Especially the horned moms.
They will chase down a strange dog in their pasture and try to gore them.

[They are used to Morris...no worries there..] They are small but they are tough!

Valerie has some awesome horns, and she is not shy about using them.  That is a plus and a minus. But I'd rather her be aggressive with dogs than let them attack.

Anyway...

I went rock walking. Not really climbing, just rock walking.

The flash flooding cleaned out this section of the dry run very nicely. I spent quite a bit of time here just enjoying the sounds of the forest above me and the noise of the water still trickling down through the rocks from the ridge above me.

...Same rocks just a different camera angle.

I really liked it here and I think I spent a lot of time just sitting and daydreaming.

I eventually decided to climb the rest of the way down and head towards home.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that I'd been wandering...daydreaming...for over 3 hours.

I however did find a lot of slugs. And I found some orange colored lichen. I thought this was my prettiest find of the day.
It wasn't fungi. It was the Slug Fest.