Monday, May 28, 2012

Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer

Even though the calendar says it's still spring, the weather has quickly turned summer-like and that has presented some challenges this week. It's only been eight days since my last blog post, but I have completed 5 more hikes! Here are the locations and stats:


Hike #
Location
Distance
Temp
Time
Date
24
Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary
3.44 mi
77°
1 hr 45 min
5/19/12
25
Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve
2.2 mi
86°
50 min
5/19/12
26
Curtis Gates Lloyd Wildlife Management Area
1.58 mi
87°
50 min
5/25/12
27
Mullins Wildlife Management Area
3.36 mi
87°
1 hr 36 min
5/25/12
28
Ceasar Creek Lake State Park
5.72 mi
87°
3 hr 26 min
5/27/87

This is a glimpse of the way that I keep track of my hikes so far and how I plan for future hikes. It's been really useful to make sure that I am staying on track to reassure myself that I will be able to get all 60 hikes in by the end of the year. I have all of the hikes mapped out on the table and make adjustments as needed according to my schedule or the weather. It's been very helpful. I'll use this blog post to share a little bit about each of these hikes and then summarize what I've learned this month.

Last weekend Morgan, Lorrie and I headed to Indiana to hike two hikes in one day. The first hike was to the Mary Gray Bird Bug Sanctuary. I had to change the name due to the multitude of bug bites that I got during this hike (no wonder the birds love it here!) This is an example of where my inexperience reveals itself. Every hike I carry a small pack on my back with hiking necessities, but I don't have any bug spray. Duh! The trail here was really pretty, however, I'm not sure the lengthy drive was worth it.  You know you're out in the boonies when every road you turn on for miles doesn't have a name, but is labeled with a number. After the hike we got some lunch in Connersville and then headed to Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve. This hike was very beautiful as well. There were some really huge old trees, a variety of holes in the ground (we wondered if there is a field guide for this, like animal tracks?) and more bugs! The trip was complete with a pit stop at Shirl's Swirls for some much deserved ice cream to enjoy on the ride home.

On Friday, Joe and I headed out in the afternoon (our first mistake) to hike two hikes in Crittendon, Kentucky. These hikes were hard to follow and the temperature was very hot and muggy. I found myself missing the winter hiking months. We landed first at Curtis Gates Lloyd Wildlife Management Area. There was a shooting range on site so we listened to gunshots as we got started. We hadn't gone far when we took our first wrong turn of the day. We got completely off trail and hiked through a field of weeds and flowers. This mistake in combination of the stinging nettles along the hiking trail contributed to the bleeding cuts on our legs (Note to self: get some summer hiking pants.) Once we figured out where we were, we enjoyed the hike, but it was pretty overgrown in spots and not very well cleared. We both said it was not a place we would like to go back to hike. Next we headed to Mullins Wildlife Management Area. When we pulled up to the small gravel parking lot, it was apparent that this was not going to be like any hike we have done before. The property had a mixed identity - farmland meets hiking area - very confusing, but interesting at the same time. We headed along the mowed trail in the direct sunshine for quite some time before we got to the wooded trail for some shady relief. The hike through the woods was much more enjoyable, however, the trail has changed considerably since Tammy York wrote the book and we took 3 wrong turns which seemed to be the theme of the day. The heat made these mistakes a little unbearable. Joe was leading as we were finally on the home stretch. Because we were hot, sweaty and tired, we were really quiet when suddenly about five feet in front of Joe, a turkey came flying out of the weeds and into the trees! YIKES! It scared us as much as we scared it! We picked up the pace a little and headed our tired selves out of there. Joe and I got in the car and headed straight to the Whippy Dip around the corner. They served 27 different flavors of soft serve ice cream. Genius!

Having learned from the overheated experience from Friday, we headed out early in the morning on Sunday to Caesar Creek State Park. It was still hot, but much more bearable than trying to hike in the afternoon. I was joined on this hike by Cheryl, Lorrie, and Lorries' daughter, Jenna, who was given the nickname "Miss Goody New Shoes" because she had brand new shoes on for the hike. A risky decision considering we were going to hike around 5 miles, but Jenna's new shoes held up well and we were impressed that she got up so early in the morning to join us when she could have stayed in bed.  Thanks for joining us, Jenna! We hiked the Perimeter Trail that weaves its way through a fossil hunting area, into the woods, around Ceasar Creek lake, through several creek beds, and through a historic pioneer village. It was beautiful and we all agreed that it is a place that we would like to hike again.

May has turned out to be a busy hiking month! I hiked 18.9 miles this month for a total so far this year of 89.51 miles. Some things I learned this month:
  • How quickly determining the hiking day can change. I used to look for the warmest day, now I am looking for the coolest!
  • Morning hiking is preferable to afternoon hiking this time of year.
  • Pack bug spray.
  • Trail confusion is a normal part of the hiking experience and adds to the sense of accomplishment when you're finished.
  • When you do get confused on the trail, stop, assess, and talk it through out loud. You're less likely to go the wrong way.
  • Just when I think I'm becoming "experienced," something happens to remind me that I am still a work in progress.
28 hikes down and 32 hikes to go!!!!!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Frogger

Playing a little catch up this week with the blogging, but the hiking has continued! The year I graduated from high school the original Frogger video game came out. The object of this game was to get frogs to their homes one by one while avoiding a road with hazards. The hike we took on May 6 was like Reverse Frogger. We were trying to cross the road and avoid all of the frogs that were crossing our paths!!!!  Cheryl, Lorrie and I ventured out to Gilmore Ponds Metropark in Butler County. We hiked 2.6 miles in about one hour and twenty minutes. The temperature was a beautiful  82 degrees.

The very beginning of the hike was my most favorite part of this park, unfortunately for Cheryl it was her least favorite. The trail starts off on the pond, literally. We were walking on water. I'm not sure how long this floating platform was, twenty or thirty yards? but it was amazing. Check out the picture. You can see the duckweed and the water right there by our feet. There were frogs sunning themselves on the platform and jumping off as Cheryl shrieked with every step! The geese families that were swimming in a row, quickly glided across the water to get away from all of the noise. Poor old gal, she really does have a great fear of amphibians. It's a good thing she didn't know about them before setting out for the day, I know she would have stood us up!

After we crossed the water, we started off on the muddy trail. This part of the trail is a long straight stretch. One side of the trail is a marshy pond, the other side of the hike is a creek that was once to be part of the Miami Erie Canal, a historic abandoned canal system. The trail was extremely muddy and filled with puddles. It was a challenge to get through it.  There were some pretty spring flowers and some nice views of the pond as we continued onward.

Several times, we wondered how we were going to get across the water and deep mud and then the path veered away from the pond and became more wooded. This is called the Gilmore Wetlands Loop.  This hiking felt more familiar and we were now cruising along the trail.  We took the Highlands Trace Trail that departs from the Gilmore Wetlands Trail and the path wound it's way through sparse trees and then a meadow before we headed back to the water area. We now entered the most difficult part of the trail to pass. We actually had no choice but to go off of the path to avoid our boots being completely submerged under water. It was a pretty easy hike as far as hills, there isn't much variance in the elevation. Tammy York classifies Gilmore Ponds as a moderate hike and if it wasn't for the mud, I would agree. I think it was more moderate to difficult for us.

Overall, it was a fun hike. I really enjoyed walking on the floating dock. Cheryl didn't overcome her fear of amphibians, but she survived her elevated heart rate. Lorrie was outfitted in white gym shoes and they suffered through the hike better than expected, but her feet were soaking wet by the end. I think if I lived closer to this park, I might venture to it again, but I'm not sure it was one of my favorites and that I would drive the distance for a repeat visit.

A shout-out to cousin Tammy for my new hiking shirt. Check out the picture! It is from myhappyshirts.com. Great comfort and quality.  For every shirt purchased, a shirt is donated to an orphan.  It was a fun surprise to get in the mail and I thank Tammy for thinking of me! (I have worn it on three hikes now!)

Twenty-three hikes down and thirty-seven to go!  Summer is right around the corner with new challenges and things to see!




Sunday, May 6, 2012

Trail Magic

It's been since January 8 (hike #3) since I had the courage to take on the trail by myself.  This week's hike was a good opportunity to hike on my own and reflect about my hiking experiences so far while doing so. I went to Wilderness Preserve which is about 7 miles north of West Union. I had two short hikes picked out to do this day, but it took me an hour and a half to get to the preserve and an hour and a half to hike the 2.19 miles trail.  When I finished at almost 4:30 I need to start the hour and a half drive home for dinner plans with the family. The country drive was beautiful on this sunny 63 degrees day. What a perfect temperature for hiking! I had to stop at a Marathon station to find the roads to the park. This wasn't because I didn't have a co-pilot and it wasn't due to my poor navigation skills. When I realized I was having troubles, I turned on my GPS to use the map so I could get a better sense of where I was and it couldn't get a signal. I knew I was out in the boonies because of the long drive, but geez! To top it off there were all of these streets without street signs. I got as close to the area as I could and pulled into the Marathon station. As it turned out, I was only about 30 yards from the street on which I needed to turn, so my navigation skills were not as bad as I thought!  On to the park!

It was kind of timely that I was setting out to hike this trail alone on this day. The night before I finished reading the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. My brother, Mark, told me about the book and it was a great read for me right now. In her 20's, Cheryl Strayed hiked a very long portion (over 1,000 miles) on the Pacific Crest Trail which runs from Mexico through California into Canada - ALONE! In the book she writes about her life experiences of growing up and becoming an adult who was faced with very difficult circumstances. She interweaves these memories with her experiences hiking the trail. It is a great book. I highly recommend it! As I prepared to hike Wilderness Preserve, I read in Tammy York's 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles that it is so quiet on this trail that you can hear your heart beat. I thought, "Yeah, right! That's silly." But, it was very true. Sorry for doubting you, Tammy! This hike was so remote and peaceful it was amazing. There were easy parts and there were some challenging hills. It was great!

When I found the trail head after parking the car, I could tell that this was going to be a densely wooded site.  This trail is managed by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History for educational purposes. What makes it a great trail to hike alone is that it is very clearly marked. Frequently there are trees with yellow spray painted dots. This was definitely "hiking for dummies" as Cheryl would say.  After passing through some short stretches of meadows with some pretty spring flowers, the dense woods took over for the rest of the hike. This is when I experienced my first encounter with some "trail magic." It was so quiet that I could hear insects buzzing. It almost sounded like a constant hum as if there was a huge hive above me - slightly unsettling. A good portion of the trail follows a couple of creeks. At one of the bridges crossing a creek, I decided to sit down, dangle my legs and drink some water. I had just hiked some pretty good hills, so this was a good place to stop. As I sat there peering into this shallow, muddy creek I saw a huge crawdad (trail magic #2) moving around. I watched him for a few minutes. It was so shady, cool and peaceful.

After my short break with my crawdad friend, I got back on the trail. This second half of the hike was a lot of uphill climbing.  This is why I could truly hear my heart beating. There were some interesting trees along the hike. There was one that had some weird pointy pock marks all over it. There was another that served as trail magic #3 - the bark looked like it had a raccoon face in it - not carved - just a natural part of the tree. Take a look at the picture and see what you think.  Just a few feet after I passed this tree I experienced trail magic #4 - a white-tailed deer was spooked by my presence and starting running up the hill on the other side of the creek along which I was hiking.  It was amazing to see how gracefully this animal could move on such a steep grade. I kept trying to find it again as I walked, but never did.

At the end of the hike, there was a sign-in box. I was excited. This was my first opportunity to get to sign in to a trail. I felt like Cheryl Strayed who would meet people along her cumbersome adventure that would follow her and catch up to her after seeing her name recorded on the sign-in sheets.

This hike concluded my fourth month of hiking. Here are some things that I learned this month:

  • Spring weather can sometimes be even more unpredictable than winter weather (at least in 2012 it has been!)
  • Hiking socks may be as equally as important as the shoe choice - I learned this when hiking the mammoth hike of all so far this year to Clifty Falls.
  • After trying to hike one really unkempt trail, don't forget to be grateful for the work that people do to maintain good hiking trails.
  • Make sure you have a flashlight for late in the day hikes.
  • Since this journey is also about the blogging - urbandictionary.com is a cool place to find fun words.
  • An occasional hike alone can provide you with time to reflect and an additional dose of confidence knowing you can accomplish something on your own.
22 hikes down and 38 hikes to go!!! Setting out to hike today to Gilmore Ponds Interpretive Preserve; ready to take on month 5 of hiking.