Hiking Wildcat

Sunday morning we went hiking at Wildcat State Park. 

The State Parks have a rule about leashed dogs which I follow strictly. When I stop to take photos, along a trail, I generally step on the leashes and tell them to sit. Hannah is learning what it is like to be a 'photography' assistant. 

It has taken all of my dogs at least a year to understand that they have to be near me when I stop for photos. Charlie is an expert now and I expect Hannah will be in another year [I hope!]

Anyway.

I was pretty unhappy to have to scramble when a gent with two angry Corgis and one angry mixed breed dog came charging at us growling off leash. 

To his credit, the owner tackled them and struggled to hang on to them while they were snarling and growling.

He grabbed them by their vests in the brush and it was all he could do to hold them. 

I passed without saying a word. But you bet I had a few things I wanted to say.

Hannah is trying out a reflective vest that Charlie has worn for a few years. It fits her perfectly. It never fit Charlie very well but I did find a new vest for him which should arrive some time on Monday.

This is a cool little footbridge over a ravine.

I knew that we'd meet other hikers as this is a well visited trail. When we saw other hikers coming, I'd take my dogs off the trail and work with Hannah on her sit and reactions to other people walking by.

She did pretty good when the other hikers ignored her, she came undone and bouncy when people started to coo to her. 

The Old Settler's Trail at Wildcat is a no hunting/no trapping zone in the park which is why I decided to go there. 

Pheasant season opened this weekend and the Reserve is usually packed with hunters and their pheasant dogs. The hunters I've met there have always been polite and mostly in complete control of their hounds.

Thankfully, we had hiked the coolest part of the trail along the sandstone/limestone/karst bluffs before the trail got busy with other hikers.

I got this beautiful abstract of lichen growing on the side of the sandstone.

Below that was some of my favorite mosses to find.

Snakeskin Liverwort

It grows in high moisture areas along bluffs and near springs. This was evidence of a fairly wet year for our area.

The hike was pleasant, out of the winds, and very unhurried.  We did come across more dogs on our hike and these dogs were so well behaved it made me blush.

Reminder to myself though, on a perfect fall weekend day, don't chose the most popular hiking trail in the area to explore.

Falling into Fall

September seems to be a great month of colors and moods that stretch through October. Fall is a fleeting time filled with shorter daylight hours and changing weather.

If you live in the Midwest I can safely say that most of us admire and 'chase' colors and light or at least do some Leaf Peeping.

When I was in the UP, the colors were already changing. I'd love to make more trips, but the drive is about 6 or more hours for me. 

I am happy with September here around our place. We have so many mornings that are fog filled.

Deep morning fog at the south pasture.

This was morning fog clearing from the east as the sun came over the ridge. I happened to point the camera towards the east and noticed I could get a shot of the leaves lit up by the sun. I moved slightly and got this instead.

The Orb Weavers are still at work in the large eastern meadow. The one small maple tree is there but turning bright colors.

What can I say, more meadow shots with ground fog. Some of the trees in the distance look like they are turning colors, some are and some are dying from the damage done by logging. Still, it is a pretty beautiful sight.

On Saturday before going hiking, I took Hannah to the Farmer's Market to work with her being calm around crowds. At first she was crazy- stupid -happy. Eventually, she sat next to me and watched people go by. On the way home to pick up Charlie, I took a detour down Tainter Hollow Road and was surprised at how different the colors of the trees are just a few miles away.
 

I normally don't go to the Reserve on a brilliant fall Saturday, that's generally when the place is full of people on the paved trail walking dogs and pushing strollers, and riding bicycles. 

In other areas, there is usually large groups of horseback riders so I just picked a trail that is not very popular.

It is rough, rocky, full of roots to trip on and steep.

Oh. And it is quite beautiful.

There are a couple of spots on the ridgetop that give you a view of the Kickapoo River Valley. The colors were simply beautiful.

Charlie was in great form. The temperature was under 70 F and he trotted right along as if he were in charge.

Our goal was Hanson's Rock Lookout. The log is set there for people to enjoy sitting and looking down on the valley. In an area not photographed, there is a highline for people with horses to tie up so they can take a breather and have a picnic or just enjoy the scenery.

The view:

We sat here, well, okay I sat on the log and the dogs explored scents. Below the outlook is a long and winding trail that is well used. We could hear a horse below us in the valley whinny and faintly hear someone saying something. 

It was 'treat' time. I had a granola bar and the dogs had treats and water from their collapsible bowl. Hannah was satisfied to hang out. Charlie started to whine. It is his way of saying, *Let's get moving!*

We explored and stopped often to look at things and they stopped often to sniff interesting scents. I only wish I could smell a portion of what they scent. It tells them so much about the world around them.

Oh yeah, Fall/Autumn is showing off her beauty. I do wish that it would stick around a bit longer than it really does.

Blue Moon & Hike

So, a Super Blue Moon won't happen again until 2037 so I thought I'd best get out there and try 'shooting' the Moon last night.

It wasn't blue at all, but orange and rippled on the horizon from the atmospheric distortion. To the left is a farm's silo that is on the other side of the Kickapoo River and on the ridge about a mile away. I was surprised that I could actually see it as the moon rose. 

On that ridge there are 4 cell towers which annoys the heck out of me because the blinking light and towers ruin most sunrise photos. Any...way...

Below I tried shooting the moon through a distant tree. It sort of worked, but it was a fun effort.

I headed towards home but found one last spot where I could get a clear shot of it before heading back down into our hollow.

Two Super Moons in one month is a rarity. I missed the first one of this month, but am satisfied that I caught the last one!

At home these guys were looking for the moon too! Apparently, even NED-B grabbed a Lego camera.

At least none of them have cell phones! 

Yesterday morning was a cool enough day that Charlie and I did one of the longer KVR trails. It has been a few weeks since we took a new trail on.

This one is an out an back Lollipop loop which ended up being 4.95 miles.  To his credit, short legged Charlie just chugged along like nobody's business. Here we stopped for a drink of water. Charlie likes to drink out of a peanut butter jar lid.

This little dog is a rock star, he goes and goes when the temperatures are nice out.

We stopped and had a break at Hanson's Rock Outlook and just sat for a little while on a log.

There is another outlook that one can walk out to, but over the years, trees have fallen across the outcrop's end. This looks south east and would be a cool place to watch the sunrise if one wanted to walk 2.5 miles in the dark.

All in all, it was a fine day. We heard someone at one point in time in one of the valleys but we never saw another person.

The woods are eerily quiet this time of year as most of the songbirds have migrated. We heard a few bluejays and woodpeckers, but most of the song of the woods were the crickets.

The forest and grasslands will be terribly dry once fall hits if we don't get rain.

Breathtaking and terrifying!

I was able to eek out a few hours in the early morning to head to Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

My hiking pal, Bill has been busy since he became the sitter for his grandkids. In June he had them every day. This month they are in summer school and get out at noon. Then he has to get them to baseball games and whatever else their social calendar requires of him.

I do have to say, that makes him an extraordinary grandfather! I've decided not to wait to continue my Trail Challenge. I am charging ahead in case Bill's time is still tied up and we can't make all the trails together.

KVR does make a pretty good effort to designate the trails, however in some places they are rather vague. Carrying a map and a compass is a great thing to do.

This marker reminds equines to stay on the trail. In the 1990's we used to ride up and over this rock formation and skinny down the other side. We loved it, however it was deemed dangerous and it created issues with sensitive soil and plants.

Charlie and I marched on like we were on a mission for the first two miles. Most of this part of the trail is uphill. We started at Pott's Corners and headed up the West Ridge Trail past Ma & Pa's Trail to the Hanson Rock trail. 

The Hanson Rock trail traverses a mature oak and maple forest and goes along the top of a rock ridge. You can't really see it in the summer, but fall, spring, and winter, it is more obvious. The trail is serpentine and heavily shaded which was perfect for us.

This is from the first leg from Pott's Corners or Weister Creek parking area in Infrared. The green is almost overwhelming so I thought it would be fun to see it this way.

This is from the Hanson Rock Trail through the oak/maple tree forest.

As Charlie and I ventured into nearly the second mile, we came to an area where numerous trees had been blown down. There was a huge oak leaning into another tree and we could hear creaking. I couldn't tell where it was coming from but I suspected it was the huge oak. There was no wind to speak of. 

I decided to go around.

Just as we got to the other side we heard -- snap, crackle, pop and watched as the huge oak came slamming down with a thunderous boom. 

Charlie was unnerved. I got my answer to the age old question. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it? You bet, it makes noise!

Fallen Oak

We went on.

After many twists and turns we finally came to the marker that designated Hanson Rock Loop. The loop on the ridge is .67 miles long and ends at a pretty neat lookout of sorts.

Charlie and I had a well deserved break at that time and enjoyed sharing a PB&J sandwich along with an apple. He had his water in a peanut butter jar lid and I had mine from my bottle.

I took some time to photograph the lookout in Infrared. Where the sky doesn't appear very interesting in normal color, it sure looked neat with the IR. The shot below is a 3 shot panoramic hand held.

These oaks are rooted to the edge of the bluff.

We headed back a bit more swiftly than our hike out. I was amazed that Charlie was doing so well. His pace was slow at times. The closer we got to getting back to the car, the faster he went.

We ran into a woman and her dog at the head of the trail that said she was headed for Hanson's Rock to see the Petroglyphs she heard were there. 

I heard that they existed but I couldn't say where they were in that 5 mile loop. Exploring around the bluffs would mean going off trail and she'd never been to the area before. The bluffs and areas around the rocks are choked with weeds and wonderful plants like poison ivy. 

I wished her luck. She asked how far it was to the Lookout. I told her that it would be a 5 mile out and back. Her face was priceless. 

I told her to enjoy her hike.

We headed towards the car....

Charlie in the lead

Our trip had been exhilarating and peaceful. 

Time to head home.