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!