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It was a gorgeous day out there today.\u00a0 We continue to try and keep up our hiking.\u00a0 And today was made for a good hike.\u00a0 We enjoy hiking a lot and it\u2019s healthy.\u00a0 While over vacation, we decided to try and keep up with some long walks and hikes.\u00a0 Rich and I lost about 10 lbs a piece over vacation on our hikes.\u00a0 Seems like a good thing to keep up with.<\/p>\n
Originally, it was going to be the three musketeers.\u00a0 Then Rick got a better offer to go and have lunch with some of his friends.\u00a0 We always tell him to be social, if possible.\u00a0 After breakfast, we dropped Rick off at the house and gathered our camelbaks for the hike.\u00a0 Since we didn\u2019t know if dogs were welcomed on the trails, we left Sascha behind.<\/p>\n
Last week, we went to Volo Bog and wished we had packed the baks.\u00a0 We had water bottles, but a little more would have been helpful.\u00a0 The baks give us somewhere to stow jackets when it warms up.\u00a0 It\u2019s also nice to take a sip as you walk when you need it.\u00a0 I\u2019d say it was one of the best investments we made in equipment.<\/p>\n
Glacial Park is about 20 minutes north of us.\u00a0 This is an example of what the glaciers did in the area as they pushed south.\u00a0 All the rock, dirt, and debris were pushed out in front of the moving mass of ice.\u00a0 At the park, there is an excellent example of a kame, which is the large hill of debris just in front of the glacier.\u00a0 At the back of the park, you can climb Camelback kame and overlook the valley on both sides.<\/p>\n
The area was a homestead for farmers who settled here in the early 1800s.\u00a0 Their original house, barns, and other outbuildings are still standing on the property.\u00a0 The park invites you to walk the trails during the good weather along with horseback riding.\u00a0 During the winter, the trails allow you to snowmobile or cross country ski.<\/p>\n
Today, we were walking the trails.\u00a0 We started out at the main barn and just above the amphitheater.\u00a0 We headed to the kame first.\u00a0 The climb up the hill is relative easy.\u00a0 We came across a set of grandparents out with their grandkids.\u00a0 The kids were young enough to make the hike seem hard.<\/p>\n
From the top of kame, you can look west and look out over the Nippersink valley.\u00a0 The Nippersink Creek winds its way gently through the grassy meadows.\u00a0 The Prairie Path runs through the valley as it runs north to Wisconsin.\u00a0 The valley was green and lush at this time of year.\u00a0 The trees have hardly started to change and the grasses are still very green.<\/p>\n
Walking along the top of the kame, the path is wide and pounded down.\u00a0 The gravel kicks up easily in the dirt.\u00a0 The path is cut through the tall grasses and ground cover.\u00a0 Sumacs grow in places and their leaves are red and shiny.<\/p>\n
The other side of the hill is steep and very gravelly.\u00a0 Rich slips a couple of times going down.\u00a0 I\u2019m overly cautious because I don\u2019t want to land on my face.\u00a0 I side step down to prevent having an accident.\u00a0 My legs burn again.\u00a0 Going down is so hard on the upper thighs.\u00a0 Downhill is my\u00a0 least favorite way to go on a hill or mountain.<\/p>\n
We continue on the trail.\u00a0 At one of the overlooks with a bench, we come on an older couple with their dogs.\u00a0 Yes, we did see the sign that told us it was okay to have your dogs on the trail.\u00a0 One of the dogs was blond and small.\u00a0 The other was most definitely a beagle, that didn\u2019t bay.\u00a0 I stop to pet both dogs and talk to their owners.<\/p>\n
Back on the trail, we head down the Coyote Loop.\u00a0 This adds another .75 miles to the 1.5 miles on the Deer Path trail we are on.\u00a0 Just a good stretch of the legs.\u00a0 We circle around to the outer edge of the park on the south and can see the farm land adjacent to the park.\u00a0 We walk over the rolling hills and through the oak grove.<\/p>\n
At the end of the Coyote Loop, we come out at the parking lot.\u00a0 From here, we jump to the Kettle Bog trail.\u00a0 This trail lets you walk a boardwalk through the actual bog.\u00a0 It starts out easily and you can see the path, but it quickly it overgrown and just a single path through the tall grasses and other growth related to a bog.\u00a0 The ground squishes and the boardwalks are floating above a bed of mosses.<\/p>\n
We head back down the Bog trail through the tall grasses.\u00a0 I look down at my feet and see a small snake just at the toe of my right shoe.\u00a0 I screech to a halt and almost throw my shoulder out of the socket.\u00a0 The snake is fast and darts into the tall grass before I get a good look at it.\u00a0 I assume it is a garter snake with its dark brown scales and yellow pinstripes.<\/p>\n
Rich totally missed seeing the snake slither away from him.\u00a0 Now we see them leaving the trail pretty quickly ahead of us.\u00a0 They all seem to be out sunning themselves on this nice day.\u00a0 We see one snake that is over 12 inches long.\u00a0 This must be a very healthy population.<\/p>\n
One more hill stands before us as we head to the end of the trail.\u00a0 This hill takes up back to the top of the kames.\u00a0 We inch our way up slowly.\u00a0 With sore legs, it is a little harder than when we started out.\u00a0 We make it to the top and over to the amphitheater.\u00a0 The parking lot is just ahead.<\/p>\n
We unpack our gear and stretch our legs before climbing into the car.\u00a0 We have one stop at the store before heading home.\u00a0 Rich is making Coq au Vin for dinner today.\u00a0 A nice warm and cozy meal just tops off the day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>