Rocky Balboa Cheer

On Saturday, June 23, Joe, Morgan and I set out to do a couple of hikes at Shawnee Lookout. We hiked a total of 3.11 miles in about one hour and twenty-five minutes. When we started hiking it was 77 degrees and when we finished it was in the 80’s. This is a beautiful park. It sits up high between the Ohio and the Great Miami Rivers. The views were spectacular!

First, we hiked the Miami Fort Trail. It was mostly shaded and one of the first great views we had was of a valley. You could see huge fields with abundant green crops. Along the way there were a lot of signs about Native American life of the past in the area. There were also markings where different mounds existed. On our way into the park, we stopped at the park “museum.” It was a tiny room connected to the golf course clubhouse. There were some really cool artifacts that were uncovered by University of Cincinnati students back in the 70’s. As we kept climbing upward we soon reached other viewing areas where we got to enjoy some pretty views of the Ohio River, including one of the bridges that connects the states of Indiana and Ohio near Lawrenceburg.  The trail was well-cleared and had great ups and downs, so we felt like we got in some good exercise despite the fact that the trail was only about 1.3 miles long.

Next we hiked the Little Turtle Trail. This trail was not quite as hilly and was a little longer (1.81 miles.) The peaceful shady atmosphere was really pleasant. Right after we were commenting about how much easier this trail was than the other, we met up with a pretty sizable hill, one that really got our hearts pumping and our lungs puffing. At the top, Joe celebrated with his “Rocky Balboa Cheer.” Without saying any words the cheer says, “We did it!” The most exciting part of this day happened at the very end of the hike when we arrived back at the trail head. I was in the lead and Morgan was right behind me. I heard a sound at the ground to my left and then we both saw it – a black slithery snake! Joe didn’t get to see it because it took off into the woods so fast when it saw us, but Joe said it was probably a black rat snake. I googled a picture and that is certainly possible.  I love trail magic!!!!

It’s hard to believe that this is the end of 6 months of hiking. Thirty-three hikes later and I am still learning. Here are my insights for this month:

• A hike just isn’t a “hike” when the trail is paved.
• If  the title of the park has “wildlife area” or “nature preserve” in it, it’s likely that the trail will be rustic.  Be prepared.
• I hate deer flies!
• Temperatures can fluctuate a lot even in the summertime.
• Clif Bars are my new favorite hiking companion.
• Summer hiking can be like walking through a maze. All of the green leaves are pretty, but they block the beautiful landscape views.
• There's nothing like putting on a pair of flipflops after a long hot hike.

33 hikes down and 27 to go!!!! I have hiked a total of 110.16 miles so far this year. I will take a “Rocky Balboa Cheer” for that! Next blog post will be about a sunrise hike I’ll be taking on the Fourth of July. Anyone want to get out of bed while it’s still dark on your day off and join me?