One Month In

My brother Joe and I did a short hike on Sunday to Withrow Nature Preserve which is very close to my house. It was a short hike. I would estimate that we hiked a little over a mile as part of the trail is closed due to a landslide.  That was quite a disappointment!  This closed section is my favorite part of the trail because it's the steepest and has nice overlooks.  Hopefully it will be repaired in the spring. The Hamilton County Park Service does a great job taking care of this trail. There is a lot of gravel to help combat the mud which makes it easy to hike in all weather.  It was dry and warm at 45 degrees for the hike.  Although this hike didn't feel as adventurous because I've hiked it so many times, it was great to get outside, get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine!

Hiking with Joe was great.  He is an experienced hiker.  He shared some of his hiking stories from the first time he ever went hiking with our older brother, Mark, to hikes he took last summer to Red River Gorge in Kentucky. It was kind of comforting to know that finding your way on trails can always be a little tricky. Joe also had some stories about going on hikes and not always being in good physical shape for what the hike required.  We both agreed that it's important to work your way up.

Wow! It's hard to believe that the first month of my fitness challenge is over! I'm one twelfth of the way to being an "experienced" hiker. I took a picture of my boots at the start and now at one month in.  I wonder what they will look like in December? I have learned so many things this first month. Here's a short list:

• Study the trail before leaving the house!  Some trails are clearly marked and others are not. Sometimes it's like a maze in the woods. It's best to prepare!
• Check out where you're going on the internet.  Sometimes those maps are better than the ones in the book.  Thanks, Lorrie for starting this!!!!
• Don't accuse your hiking buddies of potentially causing a fall. You don't need anyone else because it's easy enough to fall on your own!
• Hiking alone is not necessarily a good idea unless the trail is very clearly marked or you're familiar with the trail.
• Winter hiking is wonderful! You can see a lot of landscapes that are blocked by leaves in the warmer seasons.
• Winter temperatures are not the devil.  When you're dressed right, it's enjoyable to be outdoors.
• Hiking brings people together. I enjoyed hiking this month with my daughter, brother, nephew, and two great friends.

8 hikes down in January!  Woohoo!!!!  Only 52 hikes to go! Next weekend's hike will be to Whitewater Gorge: Cardinal Greenway Rail Trail in Richmond, Indiana.  It will be some good exercise because it's 6.1 miles long.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Thistlethwaite Falls along the hike.

Look Out for Karma!

This weekend Cheryl, Lorrie and I headed out to Caldwell Park on the west side of Cincinnati. The weather early in the morning was very cold with rain mixed with snow.  The forecast was not good for the rest of the day and for the first time this year I was tempted to cancel and tell my fellow hikers that we would take the weekend off. But, just as the forecast was worse than expected last weekend, this weekend it was better than expected. When we got in the car to hit the road, the sun came out. I was grateful that we just decided to bundle up and go with it because we enjoyed the hike at a sunny 37 degrees and knocked out another hike!

We pulled into the parking lot (brace yourself - without getting lost) and got on our gear. Lorrie noticed that she forgot one of her gloves.  This was not a good day to go glove-less! She did some quick thinking and had an extra sock that she put on one hand.  She later shared that she would put on a sock puppet show for us if we got bored along the way.  Fortunately, that didn't happen as we enjoyed the sites of this park set in the middle of this urban area. We heard the sounds of trains and traffic throughout a good portion of the hike.  Despite some sites and sounds of civilization there were many nice woodland landscapes.  We hiked for 2.4 miles and it took about one hour and 15 minutes to complete.

I would consider this hike one of the easier ones that we have done, except for the extremely muddy conditions. Because the trail was mud covered with wet leaves, we were really watching every step!  As we hiked along, I commented how I didn't like being in the front of the pack as we were traveling downhill.  I was afraid if Cheryl or Lorrie fell that they were going to take me out too and that we would all go down like dominoes.  About 2 minutes later, before I knew what was happening . . . down I went on my butt! It was pretty funny and I told the girls that it was Karma calling since I had just been dogging them about not falling on me! Oh well, it kind of felt good to finally get the first fall out of the way. One advantage of the mud was seeing signs of wildlife.  At least one smart little deer used the cleared trail to travel, because we could see its hoof prints here and there along the way.

As we finished the series of loops and headed back toward the parking lot, we commented on how lucky we were with the weather. If anyone would have told me a month ago that I would enjoy a hike at 37 degrees, I would have said, "No way!"  When I was a classroom teacher, my least favorite thing to do was outdoor recess duty in the winter time! As our first month of hiking comes to a close, I am amazed how quickly I have learned to enjoy the outdoors this time of year.  I know how many layers to wear and which coat to put on for various temperatures.  This is one part of hiking that I no longer feel inexperienced.  January was good to me!

7 hikes down and 53 hikes to go!!!!!

Halloween in January

You've heard of Christmas in July - our hike this week was Halloween in January! On Sunday, January 22, 2012 we headed out the door to Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. It is a National Historic Landmark. We anticipated different weather than the day provided, however, the weird weather conditions added to the spooky ambiance. During the wee hours of Saturday morning there was an ice storm and by Sunday it was warming up slightly, so the air was foggy and the ice covered trees were dripping. Can you imagine any better conditions for hiking in a cemetery other than night time? The pictures say it all. It was 32 degrees when we started the hike (a far cry from the 50 degrees the local weather man predicted in the morning!) We hiked 3.63 miles in an hour and 42 minutes. The park covers 733 acres, of which 400 are landscaped and maintained. I am purposely choosing not to share how we did with our map reading. Not because there were any disasters, but because it was business as usual!

Due to the icy conditions over the weekend, there was a sign of caution at the beginning of the roadway into the cemetery. Cheryl practiced her acting skills to get the day going. There were some slushy spots along the walk, but the hike wasn't as treacherous as it could have been had we hiked the day before. The first site along our hike was the Civil War Section, where more than 1,000 soldier are buried. The cemetery was dedicated in 1845, so there were many old grave sites. This fascinated us as we walked along and got a very small snapshot into the people's lives buried there. As the melting ice dripped down on our heads, it sounded like it was raining. I spotted a hawk landing in a tree. There was such an interesting mixture of nature and man-made structures which made this hike so different than any of our previous hikes.  We all commented how this didn't feel quite as much like a "getting away" and "being a part of nature" experience, but we all thought it was a cool place that we'd like to go back to and explore again.

There were so many interesting grave sites and mausoleums. We didn't even put a dent in seeing that many of them. There were some very large structures all the way down to the smallest stones that you can't quite read any more. Because of the weather conditions, some of them had little icicles hanging off of them and frost covering some of their surfaces. One of our favorite headstones was for a 5 1/2 year old little girl. It was straight out of a spooky movie. We also got to see the Johnny Appleseed statue. The sculpture work was very cool and a great tribute to John Chapman who preached his way around Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Kentucky while planting apple trees.

It was shortly after this that Lorrie realized that her phone wasn't working. The screen was white and she couldn't get it to work. She even took the battery out a couple of times. I told her not to worry about it.  That a couple of spirits were probably using it to communicate while we were in the cemetery.  On the ride home, just when she thought it was time to get a new phone, it suddenly pinged and came back on, fully charged.  Hmmmm...maybe those spirits really were busy with that phone!

Overall, it was great to get outside on a paved surface this past weekend.  I can't begin to think what a regular trail in the woods would have been like.  Thanks to Morgan, Lorrie and Cheryl for enduring the damp and cold weather, joining in the fun, and trying to help read the soggy maps!

6 hikes down and 54 to go!!!!! This weekend's hike will be to Caldwell Park, just 20 minutes outside of downtown Cincinnati.  It's 2.78 miles and the difficulty level is moderate. The trail is a series of loops and looks really interesting.  Come join the fun if you're so inclined!

The Blind Leading the Blind

The title for this blog is probably so politically incorrect, but if the shoe fits... On Sunday, January 15, 2012, I headed out for a hike to East Fork Lake State Park with my friends Lorrie and Cheryl. The previous day, Cheryl and I spent more time in the car hunting for the trail head at Kleber Wildlife Management Area than we did actually hiking (and that’s saying a lot since we hiked for 2 hours!) I wasn’t really planning on hiking on this day, but the sun was shining and the trail was calling – I am shocked at how quickly I am getting addicted to this! It was 32 degrees out. We hiked 2 miles in about an hour and 36 minutes. 

I didn’t anticipate that we would have any trouble finding the trail for a couple of reasons: 1. We live relatively near this park and I have been there on many occasions; 2. I had a new co-pilot who I anticipated would be able to help with directions. Because we impulsively decided to go hike, I didn’t spend time looking at the map myself. When will I ever learn? This is starting to sound like an excuse!  It took us ten minutes longer and a couple of u-turns to find where we were going. Does this happen to anyone else? If so, please comment and make me feel better!!!!! Obviously I am still looking for a suitable co-pilot!

The hike itself was beautiful! There were hills, but they were very gradual.  It was a good thing because there were some very icy spots on the trail.  I don’t know how Lorrie managed to hike it in gym shoes and stay on her feet the entire time! The trail was heavily wooded and did a lot of weaving. It also serves as the park’s mountain bike trail. After walking the trail, I can’t begin to imagine riding a bike on it! That is one hobby I have no desire to try, I value my head and neck too much! Plus, what’s the point? You  wouldn’t be able to see the beauty around you - you’d be too busy watching where you are going!  I’m sure I’ve just offended all mountain bikers – feel free to defend yourselves.

As we followed this weaving hilly trail we came across what looked like a large creek or part of the lake – we weren’t sure. It was so pretty that it almost didn’t look real. We eventually reached a view of the lake where we could see the dam across the water. It was constructed in the 1970’s by the Army Corp of Engineers to control flooding. This part of the trail was flat, but it had a steep drop off and we were grateful that it wasn’t icy along here. Images of Lorrie slipping down into the water with her gym shoes leading the way danced through my head! Yikes!

What was so cool about hiking this week was the dusting of snow on the ground.  Hiking in the winter allows you to truly see the landscape without all of the leafy green brush that is usually there, but with the snow, it gives even more definition to the ground and you can really appreciate the lay of the land – the rolling of the hills and the curves of the trail.

When we got back to our starting point and the kiosk, we looked at the park’s trail map that was posted and realized that we hiked a different path than the one intended. Shocked, right? We had set out to do the easier trail in the same area, but we ended up hiking the intermediate trail.  It didn’t really matter because we had a great time.

5 hikes down and only 55 to go!!!! This weekend’s hike will be to Spring Grove Cemetery which I have actually hiked before.  It’s paved and will be a different setting than previous hikes. Looking at the weather forecast, it looks like Sunday will be the warmest and sunniest day this weekend so grab your boots/shoes and come out and hike with me!

PS. I've already studied the map extensively and have a plan for how to make sure we stay on the right trail!

Help Wanted: A Co-pilot to Help Find Trail Heads

The hike this week was to John A. Kleber Wildlife Management Area somewhere north of Frankfort, KY. How do I know that it was north of Frankfort? Not because I studied a map or anything before we went (that would make too much sense), but for the sheer fact that we got lost on the road three times before we finally made it to the trail head, and it wasn't even the trail head that Tamara York directed us to in the book. My hiking companion was my buddy Cheryl who has many, many wonderful qualities, but being a co-pilot and helping with directions - NOT one of them!  When I would ask her for support as I was driving her standard response was, "I don't know, I'm not driving." Somehow we missed 3 important turning points and I will seriously take partial responsibility for too much female chatter! You might wonder why we are not using a GPS. We don't have addresses for these remote places and cannot set them as a destination. So we are trying to use the directions from the book and our GPS maps and Google maps as we drive.

My favorite part of one of our detours was to a little gas station/mini market. The people were lovely! Customers and workers alike were all trying to help us find Cedar Creek Road.  One of the ladies who works at the mini market listened to a couple of fellows give directions and then she made us a map on a paper bag. They were so helpful! When I watched her create the map, I realized that the directions were taking us back to where we had already been (my co-pilot at this point was surveying snacks and was uninterested in directions!) I quickly realized that we were lost because we had made that dreaded mistake of going to far. So, with paper map in hand, a fresh set of perspective, some Pringles and sodas we set back off to find the trail head.  Despite our lack of ability with street directions, we found a trail that was amazing and was still part of John A. Kleber - the mistake ended up being a prize! It was 32 degrees and sunny when we set off on the hike.  We hiked 2 miles out and 2 miles back in 2 hours.

This was the first hike with some actual snow on the ground. It gave a beautiful look to the winter woods. I never thought I could enjoy being outside so much on a wintery day, but because we were moving around so much, the cold was very easy to deal with. This was a walking trail but also a trail for horseback riding as well, so it was very wide and well taken care of. As we traveled along we soon reached a wide turn and the view of a fairly good sized creek that was frozen in some spots and flowing in others. It was very pretty! We followed this creek for most of the hike and I loved it. Because we had so much difficulty finding the trail head and knew from the author's directions that we were not on the correct trail, we set a goal for ourselves of walking 2 miles out and then we would turn around to get in a total of 4 miles of hiking.  We felt that a longer hike might justify the fact that it took us about 2 hours to get to our destination! Cheryl was keeping tabs on her pedometer of how far we traveled on the trail. At one point she said that we had about 1/10 of a mile left before we needed to turn. I asked, "Is that about a city block?" She said, "I don't know, but I do know that my old boyfriend's driveway was 2/10 of a mile and it was pretty long." Now, if you don't know Cheryl, let me clue you in: she's been married for about 29 years!!! Her story didn't really help me to know how far 1/10 or even 2/10 of a mile is!

Most of the time that we hiked, we had to keep our eyes to the ground to keep our footing.  Because of this, I spotted a fossil in one of the rocks on the path! I couldn't believe I saw it because most of the rocks were covered in snow.  The funny thing was that after this we were checking every single rock. It reminded me of walking on the beach and looking for seashells.  There were some good hills throughout the hike that allowed for some nice views of the woods and the creek. While we were out in the middle of this beautiful and peaceful place, we both had a moment...we shared out loud how cleansing it is to be so inside of this natural place...so far away from day-to-day routines and duties...so far away from noise of traffic and human existence.  It was truly a wonderful feeling!

So, I am looking for someone who has the skills of a possible co-pilot. Someone who can read a map, read from the book, and give directions as I drive. Although, Cheryl might not be the best co-pilot, I have to say that she is a wonderful hiking companion because of her enthusiasm, ability to keep up, and her sheer companionship. If I am not lucky enough to secure a co-pilot, here are some new hiking rules:
1.) Must have road map
2.) Talking should cease within three miles of a turn off
3.) Study the book more closely before heading out (which was on my things I learned from last week, but obviously I'm a slow learner!)

4 hikes down and 56 to go and it's only January 14th!  Woot!  Woot!

I'm with Stupid!

I went on my first solo hike today to Dinsmore Woods State Nature Preserve in Boone County, Kentucky. Hence the title of this blog post! It was great to get in two hikes this weekend and I'm so thankful for the great weather that allowed this to happen. I can already tell that the "Inexperienced Hiker" is slowly gaining experience and I mean slowly. The temperature was 44 degrees and the hike was 1.83 miles long. The hike took me one hour.

When I pulled into the parking lot I saw the Dinsmore Homestead historical site. I didn't take time to explore the site and would like to go back and do this another time. I did get a chance to check out the family cemetery that was at the top of the hill that led to the trail head. Truthfully, I was catching my breath. It was quite a hill and the six or so beers that I drank last night to help root on the Bengals weren't doing me any favors at this point either! I tried to take a picture of the sign marking the trail, but my battery quickly died on my i touch - right after I checked the time. I tried to get out my cell phone and quickly realized I didn't have it with me. Mistake number one of this hike: hiking alone without a phone. I didn't wear a watch and couldn't get the i touch to power back on.  This unsettled me a little, but I figured I was being a whimp. There's something about knowing you have that phone should you have any problems...

The trail was narrow and very hilly.  The book warned me about one thing that makes this hike more difficult are the dead trees lying across the trail, however, these must have been taken care of since the publishing of the book, because I didn't have any trouble with this. I think this hike was the hardest hike so far because of the steepness of the hills. I had to stop mid-hill three different times to catch my breath (...maybe it was those beers?) What was totally amazing about this location were the views. It felt like I was at the highest point for miles and it was beautiful.  It was very cool to see the Ohio River in the distance.

This trail was not as clearly marked as the previous two hikes. By that, I mean there was leaf cover that was the same on the trail as it was throughout the rest of the woods. This was why I had map in hand the entire time. From reading the write up, I knew that the trail might be difficult to follow at times. At one point, I got to a clearing and couldn't really tell if I was on the trail or not. All I could see were leaves at my feet every where!  My heart started beating a little faster as I thought about not having my phone.  I also didn't have a compass with me. Stupid! I thought to myself, don't panic! That won't help anything. So I took in my surroundings and kept going using my intuition. Fortunately the trail from time to time had little tiny signs on the trees to indicate you were still on the trail. Eventually, I saw one ahead and started breathing easier again.

As I neared the end of the hike I was so lucky to run into another hiker, Ginger Grey (or Gray?) I could tell she was experienced right away by the look of her pack. After we exchanged hellos, I asked her if she had hiked here before. She told me that she comes here often to train for her longer hikes. She was actually training today for a future hike in South America! I told her that she was my inspiration and I shared with her my inexperience and my hiking goal for the year. She was very encouraging.  She shared with me some amazing stories about a hike she did in Central America - truly inspirational!!!! That is way down the road for me, but I'm happy to report that I am 3 hikes down and 57 to go and it's only January 8th!!!!

Amateurs - Without a Doubt!

Yesterday I was so lucky to get to hike at Hueston Woods State Park with 3 fellow hikers: my friend, Cheryl, my daughter, Morgan, and my nephew, Ryan. It was sunny and 48 degrees.  I was pinching myself that we were able to get one of the longer hikes out of the way in January! The hike was about 5 miles long and the ground was much dryer than last week's hike.  I apologize to my fellow hikers for the title of this blog, but as I share with you our experiences of the day, I think you will agree that we are all most definitely amateurs (sorry, Ryan since you do have way more experience than the rest of us!)

Before heading out on this hike I had some concerns about being able to follow the trail.  The write up in the book and the map seemed slightly confusing to me. I will share some more about this later as a "lesson learned". We noticed right from the get-go that there were a lot of bridges on this hike. It was quite hilly and I think deserving of the moderate to difficult rating from the book. We hadn't gone far when we reached our first confusion about the trail. We hit one of the state park roads and had three different choices of where we could go - just to paint a picture we had the map from the book out, the map from the park kiosk and a compass. We made what we thought was the best choice and happily made it to our next landmark, the "Sugar Shack". This was a beautiful area as we got our first full view of the park's lake. However, it was also the site of one of our first big mistakes of the hike - we got back on the trail in the wrong spot and didn't end up following the lake like we wanted. So, again we ended up on one of the park's roadways.  We walked it for a distance, complaining that this wasn't hiking (the little voice in my head was telling me that this was not where we were supposed to be.) Since we could see the lake through the trees and we knew the desired trail ran along the lake, Ryan and I made the executive decision to go "off-road" and hike through the woods to try to find the trail. I was sure that we were breaking the first rule of hiking - DON'T EVER LEAVE THE TRAIL!!!!  Hiking through the woods without a trail isn't the easiest thing, but at least it was winter and we were able to get through and see where we were going.  When we approached the lake, SUCCESS, I saw the trail! This was the West Shore Trail that we were looking for and it was probably the best part of the hike. Walking along the lake was beautiful! Because of our mistakes along the hike so far and the distance on our various tracking tools, we knew that we had not traveled as far as we wanted, so when we reached the sign designating the border of Hueston Woods, we decided to continue along the lake following a trail that was a little less well kept. We saw several duck blinds along the lake and made jokes about how our noise might be annoying both the ducks and hunters alike. We hiked for about a half an hour this way and eventually turned around to head back the way we came.

When we got back to the Sugar Shack, we took a different path to loop back to the car, hoping that we would find the place where we had made our first error on the trail. This decision led us to a stretched out hill that had all of us breathing heavy. We were certainly getting some great exercise.  As we approached the spot on our hike where we had previously huddled with the compass and the maps, we better understood where we were, where we had been and had a better understanding of how all of the trails intertwined with each other.

The biggest lesson I learned from this hike is to listen to that little inner voice.  When I was confused about the map and the write up, I definitely should have studied both more. Maybe we wouldn't have struggled as much with determining where we were throughout the hike. In our defense, some of the paths were not clearly marked and it was at times difficult to tell where we were.

Thanks to Cheryl, Morgan and Ryan for coming along, keeping me entertained, and being such troopers through all of the confusion! It was certainly a great accomplishment for the weekend!

Drizzle, Wild Turkeys, Mush, Toilet Paper, Gun Shot and Donkeys

What a great day for a hike! I never thought I would say that when heading out the door to hike on a cloudy day with the temperature in the forties! All weather forecasts said the day would be dry, but as my friend Cheryl and I approached Boone County Cliffs State Nature Preserve there was a light drizzle on the windshield. As we approached the turnoff for the trail we saw a couple of wild turkeys crossing the road, a sure sign that we were in the country! This made me hopeful that we might see some wildlife in the barren woods along the hike. The drizzle ended and we were neither hot nor cold. As Cheryl said, "It was perfect!"

The directions for the entrance to the hike were most helpful. This was a really out-of-the-way place! When we pulled into the gravel area for parking, there was a sign: "Trail Closed". I immediately started laughing and got out of the car to take a picture, wondering where we would head next to get a hike in on this day. It seemed ironic that on the very first hike the trail would be closed! Then we looked to the other end of the parking lot and there was another trail. Thank goodness! The forty-five minute drive was going to result in a hike after all!

Hiking boots were a definite must as the terrain was so muddy and rocky.  Gym shoes would likely have gotten sucked off of our feet in certain areas that were like mush.  The best part about this 1.7 mile hike were the hills we had to climb. They allowed us to see some beautiful views in this heavily wooded area.  Although it is the middle of winter, one of the beautiful sites we saw were rocky surfaces covered with very bright green moss.  It was amazing to see such color amongst the drab surroundings.

It was so unbelievably quiet out there! A small creek winds around the area and no matter how far away we got, you could hear it in the distance. One of the benefits of hiking with a friend is the stimulating conversation you can have. One that hops into my mind was about eating donuts and whether eating them can be considered "fun". I will leave you alone to ponder about that one!  Cheryl is kind of a worry wart and stated that she was concerned that "Earl" might come out of the woods with his shot gun. Not 5 minutes later, the silence of the woods was broken by gun shot in the distance which caused me to laugh hysterically and Cheryl to worry about our wild turkey friends we saw earlier.

I thought for sure that we would see some kind of wildlife as we hiked seeing as the trees are so barren and there is no ground brush this time of year.  The only other animals we saw were a couple of donkeys in someone's yard along the road to the trail. I was wondering why they were both standing side-by-side with their back ends pushed up against the fence. Hilarious! Wild turkeys and donkeys were not exactly what I was hoping for from these experiences.

The hike took us about one hour. The book said it would take about 1.5 hours and that it was a moderate hike. Since it was only the first hike and I don't have much to compare it to, I would agree that it was moderate due to the hills involved. I would love to go back in another season. It was truly a beautiful trail. Cheryl and I were both sad that it seemed to be over so fast.

I am so grateful for all of the messages of encouragement from so many people via email, blog comments and facebook messages. A shout out to Steve for recommending "New Skin" to help with blisters.  Although we didn't need it on this hike, I feel more prepared having it on me. A blister can ruin any hike. Another shout out to my friend Gina for her suggestion of toilet paper. I never would have thought of packing it! Whew! Thanks to Cheryl for joining me on the first hike of this journey.

One hike down and only fifty-nine to go! Next week's hike will be to Hueston Woods State Park. It's about an hour from where I live and the hike itself is between 4 and 6 miles. It's a moderate to difficult hike so I'm sure there will be plenty to share. I will post a comment to this blog after I look at the weather forecast and decide which day I will be hiking in case you want to join.