Night Hiking

Pike Lake has always been one of my "go to" places to explore the outdoors, not only because of it's relative close location, but because of its variety.  On the 4th of July, my wife, daughter, and I climbed the Powder Hill tower to take in some of the fireworks form around the area.  Absolutely gorgeous!  However, driving in to the lot that night, I noticed the park and all of its trails were open until 11pm. Night hiking was never really something I had considered as I usually hike with my daughter in the morning hours and the wee hours of the morning if I am doing a longer trek. However, that night I was beginning t understand the reasoning my wife bought snazzy headlamps a few years back.

Tonight, we busted out those head lamps and headed back to Pike Lake. We explored a variety of the trails this wonderful state forest has to offer. After venturing off of the Ice Age Trail, we found ourselves on the Astronomy Trail, a very unique trail I encountered last summer on a trail run.  Basically, this trail is very much like any other trail except that it is marked by placards along the path that provide information about the solar system.  One very cool tidbit about it is that the different planet information posts are spread out as they are in outer space.  As you start the trial, Mercury, Venus,. earth, and Mars are practically right next to each other.  However, once you pass Neptune, you feel as if they must have taken the Pluto sigh away since astronomers now designate it as a dwarf planet.  However, it shows up sooner than later.

After our tour of the universe, we took one of the park's trails until we came across a sign for the Black Forest Nature Trail. This was a trial that went through a mesic forest, once quite common to Wisconsin.  Want to know what that means?  You'll have to come check it out as there are information posts throughout this quaint and unique trail.  Though light was fading, my wife and I noticed some very exquisite trees, a variety of ferns, and a plentiful amount of fireflies.  We also heard the screams of what sounded like a hawk and felt the sting of Wisconsin's friendly mosquitoes.  Having bug spray seem almost ineffective and having our baby girl with us, we cut this hike a bit shorter than we would have liked and found the nearest yellow blaze, hopped back on the Ice Age Trail and hiked back to the car.

I look forward to checking out more of this specific Black Forest Nature Trail along with many of the other surprises Pike Lake has to offer in future visits.  I encourage you to do the same. 

Cloudy Day Hiking

The gray skies couldn't keep my daughter and I away from the trails.  Today, we were lucky enough to be accompanied by a fellow teacher and her absolutely adorable baby girl.  Maybe my little lady has found a hiking buddy? :)

Though the trail was a bit sloppy and the mosquitoes extra hungry, the trek though Monches was still a wonderful way to avoid the gloom and doom of an overcast day and get back to nature.

I actually enjoy hiking on some of these type of cloudy days (minus the skeeters of course).  The sun isn't blinding, the sweat isn't dropping, and the sunscreen melting off your face doesn't sting the eyes.  There's a different smell, a different feel, and although the mud is dirty, who doesn't love slopping in the mud?

I look forward to more summer hikes on cloudy days and who knows, maybe my daughter and I will find even more hiking buddies to hit the trails.

Pike Lake

I absolutely love Pike Lake. It is definitely one of my favorite state parks, and not just because it's quite close to my house. I love the fact that it is on a lake, there are many various trails to explore, and I've always been partial to a tower. I love exploring there and am excited to continue my explorations with my daughter.

The Ice Age Trail that cuts through the park is just over 3 miles, but there is a lot to see.  On this overcast day, we strapped on the hiking carrier and saw lots of furry friends, from an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks to a few deer and even a ferrel cat. The chorus of birds was also quite enjoyable.

We trekked through the forests and prairies and saw plenty of ferns on our way to the tower, which is just off the IAT.  We caught up with a little boy and his grandmother.  On the somewhat exhausting trip up and around the hill to reach the tower on top of the glacial kame called Powder Hill, he confided that he wasn't very experienced with hiking, but he knew that if my little girl could make it up the hill, so could he. :)

I was very excited to get this little boy a bit more excited about hiking. As my last post discussed, I am helping coordinate a Summer Saunters program through my district for next summer and I can pretty much guarantee a trip to Pike Lake will be on the agenda.

 

National Trails Day 2014 & Saunters

Today was National Trails Day and I celebrated by volunteering with and amazing group of individuals from my local IAT chapter.  Hours before the first hikers arrived, meetings were held, snacks were baked and sorted, materials were gathered, and decisions were made. All that hard work paid off as many came out to enjoy an absolutely gorgeous day in two of the most spectacular IAT segments southeastern Wisconsin has to offer.

Personally, I was excited to help out as this was my first ever National Trails Day experience. Before the hikes actually began, I was assigned the duty of using my megaphone to welcome the hikers and help split them up into groups based on their hiking preferences for the day: distance and speed.

After barking out those directions, I was fortunate enough to lead a very friendly group of hiking enthusiasts on the full 7.5 mile stretch through the Loew Lake and Monches segments. Though this group pushed for a faster paced hike, we did enjoy some beautiful scenery and views of some glacial features along the way.  We also met up with some very interested mosquitoes and a wide variety of other bugs.  I usually don't notice insects that much, but with my kindergarteners recently studying them, I did take notice. By no means am I an expert, but I did see many different species, from damsel flies to weevils. The clouds cover helped keep the hike quite comfortable and the group seemed very pleased with the hike when we reached the end.

Speaking of being pleased, I am very pleased to announce that I will be heading up a Saunters program beginning the summer of 2015 through my school district's summer educational opportunities.  I can't wait to share my love of the trail with kids for years to come!

Waterville

Starting on the UW-Waukesha Field Station grounds alongside a prairie restoration project, this beautiful segment takes a jaunt through some wooded and meadow-like fields before a mile-long road connect takes you deeper into the hilly woods weaving through residential neighborhoods.

 

In the woods, there were various wildflowers and ground cover covering just about every portion of the color spectrum. I did notice many downed and uprooted trees that had been taken over as homes for different animals. As a very primitive photographer and enthusiast of art, something about the site of the uprooted root structure that can be seen is quite remarkable so I was sure to snap a few pictures.

The sun peeking it's way through the trees and the chorus of birds made the up and down terrain's strain on my weary quadriceps much more pleasant.  I tend to walk one way and trail run the way back.  Not sure if I was tired after a long, long week of kindergarten or if this segment was extra hilly, but I stopped to rest on more occasions than usual this Saturday morning.

Though a solid chunk of the trail did wind through some beautiful forests, it did clear up near the end into some more cleared prairieland and marshy areas. A few boardwalks helped make the trek over low-lying areas a bit drier though there was gentle stream that had to be hopped over. The trail ended at a road connect which was a hop, skip, and a jump away from the next segment on my adventure: Scuppernong.

Early Morning at Loew Lake

With National Trails Day just around the corner, I was motivated to get to know the entire section that would be traversed that day: just over four miles of Lowe Lake and three-and-a-half of Monches.  Since Monches is one of my favorite and most traveled-segments, I woke up early on this frigid morning to complete a segment I hadn't yet done completely: Loew Lake. I have done a portion of it in the past and am especially enamored with the first mile or so which guides you through a pine forest where the needles are like cushions on you feet as long as you can avoid the protruding roots and eventually takes you alongside the Oconomowoc River.

 

After meandering through the woods, working my way through an open prairie, and taking the road connection, I was ready to embark on new portions of the Ice Age Trail.  This initial open meadow are included distant, but picturesque views of Holy Hill and the basilica as well as many, many birds.  I'm still learning about the different species, but I am pretty sure I recognized some gold finches, juncos, and at least one pair of sandhill cranes.  I also saw a soaring bird too high to describe besides a call that reminded me of a rusty gate swinging open.

 

 

Eventually, after some hilly terrain, the trail meandered through woodlands.  For some reason, many of the downed trees I saw today sparked the children's book author side of me and gave me potential ideas for a new book. I also saw many "bent" trees and others uprooted.  I am a huge fan of trees and love seeing the different types and unique characteristics of them throughout the trail.

 

After another short road connect and some more meandering woodland trails, a massive opening with some beautiful outlooks appeared.  I could se that this was the end of this segment and the beginning of another as it seemed to be intersecting with other trials from the Kettle Moraine State Forest. This expansive opening allowed me to observe a few different families of deer, including a pretty close encounter with one of the smallest fawns I have ever seen. The weather had warmed so much and the deer motivated me to continue my trek for an additional mile or so into the Holy Hill segment, which kicked off with a quick ascent into the forest and more grassland-type features with many more birds and a plethora of bunnies.

 

 

I am very much looking forward to National Trails Day on Saturday, June 7th and am hoping to see many fellow hikers, nature enthusiasts, and animal lovers enjoy a tremendous day on the trails.  While Monches is still my favorite segment so far, I thoroughly enjoyed this segment and look forwards to continuing exploring more of the Ice Age Trail and all of the beauty and adventure it has to offer.

 



 



Mother's Day at Monches

Wisconsin's own palm tree

 

Beautiful signage thanks to the Blazin' Babes

One of my favorite parts. . . .ridge on one side, river on the other

 

 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day for hiking, so what better way to spend Mother's Day and my 33rd birthday than a hike on one of our favorite segments: Monches. There were many, many hikers  (lots of kids :) out on the trails today. Monches is always a great place for the dramatic variety of landforms as well as species of plants. Though the trees were just starting to bud, the trilliums and other wildflowers were out and much of the land was swarmed with lush, green undergrowth. No deer sightings today, but we saw a ton of birds from herons to woodpeckers and plenty of red squirrels. One part my wife and I especially enjoy is seeing how many downed trees and hollowed out stumps serve as homes to wildlife. This was our first full family hike with the new hiking carrier and the little one was enamored with the views, though picking and holding dandelions was probably her favorite part.