28 miles on the Ozark Trail: Johnson's Shut Ins to Taum Sauk and Back

With the long Easter weekend, it was time to test myself on a rigorous overnighter (maybe two nights if I couldn't do the miles!). I chose the Johnson's Shut-Ins to Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail. I'd been to JSI in 2006 on a cross-country bike trip just months after a reservoir above the park had broken, creating this path of destruction.

The breach happened in December 2005. Had it happened in the summer, there probably would have been fatalities as the state park campground was right in the path of the billion gallons that came through here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taum_Sauk_Hydroelectric_Power_Station#Upper_reservoir_breached 

On a different day, I might have explored the Scour region more, but I'd already driven 2.5 hours to get here and wanted to get started on my miles for the day.

A sign at the trailhead warned of a controlled burn at Taum Sauk, so I dithered at this intersection for a while, checking maps and wondering if I should head toward Bell Mountain instead, but banking on the fact that they would have finished the burn before the long weekend and the resulting increased number of visitors, I headed toward Taum Sauk. The main drawback, though, was that this was supposed to be a really dry section of trail. If I couldn't get to the first water source because of the burn, I'd have to retrace my steps, so I went pretty conservative on my water and decided that I'd turn around if I got below 1 liter before getting within sight of a water source.

The trail was well marked but much rockier than I expected. My feet feel stronger after the 100 miles I put in during March, but I was still pretty cautious and grateful for the assistance of my poles on a number of occasions.

As always, I took it pretty slow on the uphills, my 30-pound pack weighing me down. I hope my pack never reaches that weight on the Superior Hiking Trail, but I was carrying a lot of water/gatorade, a heavy tent (my new ultralight tent hasn't arrived yet), all my cold-weather Minnesota gear, and extra food in case I couldn't finish the hike in two days, so the pack was heavy. Oh well...carrying the weight was good training, but I could definitely feel it.

Spring wildflowers were out, and I saw a couple of snakes and a bunch of little lizards. Parts of the trail were wet with runoff from recent rains, but the rocks were the main feature.

There were a lot of rocks.

At about 6.5 miles, I found a little rivulet big enough to dip water from, so I put some in my dirty water bag to filter just in case I needed it before the real water source appeared. Just 50 yards after that, I came up on a group of 4 women about my age out for a two-night trip headed the opposite direction. They assured me that they'd gotten through the burned section and that there was plenty of water ahead. I was much less anxious after meeting them, but they weren't as happy to learn that there weren't any real water sources until they got to the state park. They were all training for longer trips and had more backpacking experience than I did, so it was nice to chat with them for a bit.

After a while, I started a major descent and happily moved into some more shaded and more gently graded areas. Soon I was within sight of a creek, where I happily gulped a couple of bottles of water after filtering it. I also had a small snack, but I wasn't really hungry. I should have eaten more anyway, but I was more thirsty than anything else. After crossing the creek and leaving the little oasis with its shaded rock, I almost immediately came up on a group of Boy Scouts. They'd just filtered water, too, and asked about other water sources ahead (none before their proposed campsite). The leader kept insisting that he could get out his filter if I needed to get more water even though I assured him I'd just done my own filtering just 100 yards back. Maybe he just didn't want to leave the nice shady spot where they were resting! I wouldn't blame him. It was cooler down in the trees than it would be for them once they ascended out of the valley. One of the boys told me not to worry about water now since there were at least three sources in the next few miles, but they must have been loaded down with water since they needed enough to do the miles I'd already done that day plus camp somewhere in the middle of those miles, make dinner with no nearby source, and hike out to the state park the next day. They looked burdened enough with all their stuff, so I thanked them for the information, relieved I'd chosen the direction I'd come so I could get the harder section out of the way in the morning (never mind that I'd retrace that harder section later the next day in the heat myself!)

I hadn't been paying very close attention to the map since the trail had been so well marked, and there was supposed to be a massive, distinctive geologic feature just over a mile past the water source, but it soon became clear to me that the small creek where I'd gotten water was not the same as the water source marked on my map, so I wasn't as far along on the trail as I thought I was. This was no big deal, really, but I resolved to pay more attention to my location in the future, if only for the psychological benefit of knowing where I was.

Even though I was getting tired, this little pine grove was great. It's amazing how nice pine needles feel under your feet after miles of pointy, pokey rocks. The soft tread didn't last long, just a few hundred yards, probably, but the trail was more gentle and shaded from here forward, so it wasn't too bad.

I was feeling ok at mile 10, rejuvenated by access to more cool stream water and the softer tread. There were still rocks in sections, but part of the trail was just dirt, too. 

By mile 12, though, I was hurting. I hobbled to within sight of the Mina Sauk Falls, the highest falls in Missouri, and quickly forced down some calories, suddenly certain that I hadn't eaten enough during the day. I also drank a bunch more water since I suspected I was a bit dehydrated from being too conservative with my water on the first half of the day. At this point, after my break, I lost the trail for the first time. It looked like the trail went straight up beside the waterfall, and though I didn't see any markers on the trees, I knew I somehow had to get to the top of the falls. I could see other hikers up there. The next morning, I'd figure out that I'd guessed wrong and took a much steeper (but more direct) way up the falls. Oh well.

At the top of the falls, I saw a couple of possible campsites, but they were near where some day-hikers had been hanging out, and I wasn't sure I was allowed to camp there. I hadn't met my mileage goal for the day, but I was tired and wasn't sure I could find a better site. Plus, how often do you get to camp just feet from the top of a great waterfall? I sent Jeff a message from my satellite messenger telling him I was done for the day, but I didn't set up the tent. I was still hungry, so dinner was the first priority.

I love my little JetBoil. It took less than 2 min. to boil water for my Beef Stroganoff, and while my meal rehydrated and cooked, I peeled off my wet shoes and socks (wet from a big stream crossing a couple miles back), put on my camp shoes, and sat near the top of the falls, finally seeing an official trail marker on the other side of the river and confirming that I hadn't been on the right trail during my ascent to the top of the falls.

After my dinner, I felt better but the bugs were coming out and being annoying. Not really wanting to sit there for another couple of hours until dark, I decided to head around part of the Mina Sauk Loop at the top of the falls and find a quieter spot to camp near the top of Taum Sauk mountain, the high point of Missouri.

However, I started getting kind of worried when, as I kept hiking, the amount of land burned in the controlled burn earlier that week kept getting larger and larger. It was still smoking in a few spots, and I thought I might have a bit of trouble finding a spot for the tent that wasn't directly on the trail, which, because it was mostly rocks, was about the only unburned area in sight.

I made it to the high point of Missouri just before 7 p.m. and saw a grassy clearing nearby where I could come back to camp if I needed to, but I decided to go forward for another 15 minutes to see if I could find something better. That would give me just enough time to get back to the clearing and set up before dark if I needed to.

Eventually, I came on this small unburned area on some rocks with a great view of the sunset. Everything smelled like smoke, but I didn't have enough time to make it all the way around the loop back to the top of the falls where it wasn't burned, so this became my campsite for the night. If I'd had my new non-free-standing tent, I would have stayed back in the larger clearing where I could stake it more easily, but I had our old 5-pound biking tent that doesn't need to be staked, so I quickly pitched it on the rocks, washed up a bit with a baby wipe, made a quick call to Jeff, and was sound asleep soon after 8:30 with about 14.5 miles done for the day.

It had been in the 40s overnight, I think, and I was perfectly comfortable, even a bit too warm, overnight. I got up at 6 and had finished breakfast, packing, and all my morning chores before 7. I'm usually out of camp faster than that, but I'm out of practice. As I headed out, the trail was still about the only unburned part of the area until I got back to the top of the falls.

There, I found the trail I should have come up the previous day. It was pretty rugged, so I wasn't sad about my little shortcut yesterday, but I followed it as it dropped down right to the bottom of the falls. The falls only run in wet weather, so I was glad to see them. Pretty impressive! I managed to keep my feet dry on this stream crossing, but I knew I'd soon get wet on the larger creek crossing, so I didn't worry too much about the muddy sections of trail.

From the bottom of the falls, I'd retrace my steps back to my car at Johnson's Shut-Ins. This time, though, I had the advantage of knowing where my last water source was, so I drank almost a full liter before I left camp and carried minimal water during the morning to lighten my load.

I tried to make good time through this flatter bottom section since I knew it would be the easiest part of the day, but I did stop to look more carefully at the Devil's Tollgate formation in the morning light. When I'd passed through yesterday, I was too tired to explore.

When I hit the last stream crossing, I filtered a ton of water and stayed there for about a half an hour drinking 50 oz., eating a bag of chips, and having a small pile of M&Ms to fuel up for the harder miles ahead. I was reluctant to leave my little spot but confident that I had enough water this time. I could feel the temps rising. With a forecast of 80 degrees, I knew I had to stay well hydrated to keep headaches at bay. I don't do super well in the heat and sun once it gets that warm, but I was paying better attention to the map and being sure to drink at least 10 oz. every mile. I was peeing about every hour, so I was more than adequately hydrated!

I didn't take many pictures on the way back since most everything looked the same as yesterday, but this little guy stood still long enough for me to take its picture.

And this one wouldn't leave me alone during one of my breaks. Shooing it away was unproductive. Shade was in limited supply on most parts of the last 8 or so miles, so where there was shade, the bugs and I shared it. I sent Jeff a few texts from this spot, letting him know that I had 4 miles left and was really starting to drag.

As I rested, another group of boy scouts came by at what seemed like a really fast pace. I could tell some of the boys were hurting, and it sounded like they were getting low on water. I asked if anyone wanted a Duck Dynasty Nalgene bottle I'd picked up off the trail earlier (probably from one of the scouts I met yesterday since I was pretty sure it wasn't from that group of women I'd met), and one of the kids relieved me of carrying it and trying to find it a new home.

Before I left the shady spot, I ate a bunch of M&Ms and some other snacks, drank some Gatorade, and finally decided to power on, hopeful that the worst of the rocky sections were over, but I couldn't remember for sure.

I stopped again with a little over 2 miles to go and drank a bunch more. My feet and one knee were getting sore, my shoulders were aching, and I was ready to be done for the day. The final major descent was a challenge. Descending is usually more painful for me, especially late in the day, and this one was especially so. I had the beginnings of a blister on the bottom of one foot because of earlier descents with wet socks, but I'd changed into a dry pair almost as soon as I felt it, so it never got worse, but I was still babying it.

Just as I crossed into Johnson's Shut Ins, I saw this collard lizard on a downed tree. When I got home, I learned that the fire management in this area is partly designed to help their populations: http://www.nps.gov/ozar/naturescience/lizards.htm

I still had a ways to go to get back to the trailhead, but once I hit the park boundary, I knew I was going to make it.

This trip was the most miles I'd ever done in two days with the most weight in the pack on the most rugged trails, and I didn't feel totally incapacitated by the trip. I didn't feel awesome at the end, of course, but I felt ok. My feet were really sore as I limped into a Mexican restaurant in Farmington for dinner before finishing the drive home, but by the next morning, I was just sore and not in (much) pain, so I feel more ready for my trip than ever.

8ish miles: Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

On the weekend of April 12, I headed to Kentucky. Jeff had ridden his bike over 500 miles to get from our home to his mom's house and was doing an organized ride in Eastern Kentucky on that Saturday. He recommended I hit up the trails at Cumberland Falls while he did his ride, so that's where I went!

I briefly visited the lodge there to pick up a map and get recommendations on the best trail. Before driving to the trailhead for the Eagle Falls Trail, though, I parked at the falls and had a look around. Accompanying my map was a flyer warning me of recent bear activity, and something large had obviously been in the vicinity of the falls overnight, tipping over all the heavy garbage cans and leaving a mess (mostly fast food wrappers) for someone to clean up. If they're serious about keeping bears from becoming habituated to humans, they need some better garbage cans. I'm sure the worker who showed up just after I did and had to pick up the mess thought the same.

However, the falls were impressive, and it was a great morning to wander around outside.

I headed to the other side of the river to the trailhead to what the lodge worker had said was the best trail in Kentucky. It was the best workout my calves had been through in a while, and as the temps rose, I was glad I didn't have my full pack on. The trail was great, following a cliff above the falls, climbing to an old CCC shelter, looping through a wooded area, and depositing me at the top of a long set of narrow stairs down to the river.

After a somewhat sketchy scramble over a big pile of driftwood and other debris deposited by the river, I could see Eagle Falls. The falls come from a small creek that enters the Cumberland River just below Cumberland Falls. 

The falls were nice, and I could have stayed longer, but I wanted to put in a few more miles. My best views of Cumberland Falls came on the way back to the trailhead. The "Niagara of the South" was pretty impressive!

When I got back to the trailhead, the parking area was full, and it was clear that the nice weekend was bringing a lot of people out. I sat in the parking area for a while getting rehydrated and having some snacks while deciding what trail to do next. Rather than drive to another trailhead, I decided to take the Blue Bend Loop that started just across the highway from where I was. The trail was clearly not as well used as the Eagle Falls Trail, but that was fine by me, and I didn't see any other hikers on it until I got within about 1/2 mile of the end.

After a long, steady uphill, the trail leveled off into a nice ridge walk for a while before eventually dropping back down to the river to join the Sheltowee Trace, a 300+ mile trail running North/South through the Daniel Boone Forest of Kentucky. Ever since a visit to the Red River Gorge, I've become more and more impressed with how pretty Kentucky is. This short (and flat!) little section of the Sheltowee had me considering the trail for a longer trip in the future. It's been getting more and more use (and regular maintenance), but a GPS is still highly recommended for some sections. This section, however, was clearly marked, even though the trail had been recently relocated a but further from the river, presumably to limit maintenance required by regularly flooding right along the bank. 

As the trail looped back toward the main part of the park, I was happy to be in the cool shade of rocky overhangs and relatively dense woods.

I had a short roadwalk to get back to the car, and I wasn't sure I had time for a third trail, so I headed back to London, KY, where Jeff soon rolled in after a 100-mile day on the bike. One of Jeff's friends grabbed me a beer from his cooler while we waited for the rest of their group to roll in, which made a nice end to the hike.

86.5 Miles Done in March!

I was in Indiana for a conference this past week and decided to check out a trail at the Morgan-Monroe State Forest afterward to finally try out my new tent and some of my other new gear. I arrived late enough in the day that I decided to just stay in the SF campground just in case some of my gear didn't work, but I got the tent set up with no problem, rinsed the dirt out of my hiking socks from the last trip (they hadn't, for some reason, made it into the washer with my other clothes), and set about messing with and modifying my stuff like I do when I'm in camp.

I wanted to practice the PCT method of bear bag hanging this weekend, and my campsite had a perfect tree. You want your food at least 10' high, 4' away from the trunk, and 4' below the branch so critters can't get it. I thought I would like the Knotless PCT Method and had made myself a little piece of PVC like in the video, but with 4 days of food, the bag was heavy enough to make it really difficult for me to undo the rope wrapped around the PVC, so I went back to using a stick like everyone else does. If the rope is too tight to undo in the morning, you can just break the stick and your food will come back down to the ground.

I won't always have big mature trees with perfect branches in the MN woods, but I can adapt the method to keep critters from getting my food and, more importantly, keep them from associating people with food.

Here's a close-up of the bag with a stick tied into the rope so it prevents the rest of the rope from going through the carabiner, leaving the bag suspended in mid-air.

I'm a bit out of practice when it comes to camping, but I do remember how nice it is to have a table nearby for eating, reading, and spreading out stuff. The campsites on the Superior Hiking Trail have benches, which will be nice, too.

My site also had a nice view of the fire tower, though I couldn't climb up it since it was locked. This is a primitive campground with no water or electricity, so I didn't even think about checking for a security light when I set up. On a bicycle tour a couple of years ago, Jeff and I had to move our tent because of those things on a few occasions, so I was unhappy to see one not far from the pit toilets long after I'd set up my tent. Our freestanding tent was much easier to move than this one, so I resigned myself to having a bright nightlight.

The tent was a bit cozy, which I'd expected, but I was trying to set up like I would in a rainstorm (getting me and everything in the tent as quickly as possible while trying to keep everything in the pack dry). Getting my big air mattress aired up while I was in the tent with it was awkward--kind of like trying to carry too many helium balloons into an elevator. The mattress takes up most of the floor space of the tiny tent, but I was sitting on the floor trying to air it up around me and then scoot it under me. Me and everything, including the pack, all fit, but it was becoming clear that it was going to be difficult to fully pack and unpack everything with me and all that stuff in the tent at the same time.

Dinner was Wild Carrot Salad with pineapple and currents from Packit Gourmet. Tasty, but I wished I had brought along some chicken to throw in to counteract the sweetness and make the meal more satisfying. I like rehydrated carrots and put them in a lot of my homemade camping meals since they add extra chewiness, but since I wasn't super hungry, chewing a giant pile of mostly-rehydrated carrots was just a lot of work, and I ended up not being able to finish the meal. This would be a good size to share with someone else as a side dish (or in tortillas) or to eat by yourself when you're really hungry and is probably best on hot days when cool vegetables will be more appreciated. As it was, I ended up making a big bottle of hot tea right after dinner to help keep my hands warm.

Soon after sunset the temps started dropping and, I settled myself into my tent, checked for any messages on my phone, and tucked myself in, happy to be in my cozy sleeping bag. At some point in the night, though, the wind really picked up and changed directions, coming in through the ventilated bottom of the door of the tent. I made a little wall with some of my stuff to limit the chill, and the tent was definitely getting whipped around a bit, but all the guylines held secure and the tent performed well. The noise and chill of the wind kept waking me up, and I thought maybe I was up for good when I woke up around 4, had to pee, and couldn't go back to sleep (though considering I'd gone to bed at 8:30, that didn't seem so bad), but the wind died down soon after that and I slept for a couple more hours while waiting for sunrise.

The plan was to pack up and hit Three Lakes Trail with a full pack. I wasn't feeling particularly perky in the morning, so it took me a while to get packed up. Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed with instant coffee got me moving a little faster, and I knew I'd feel better (and warmer) once I hit the trail.

The Hoosier Hikers Council maintains this trail and had a nice register to track how many people were using the trail.

The trail was nicely blazed and followed ridgelines and ravines, with steeper hill sections mixed in. There were a number of small creek crossings, but only one of them got my feet wet.

One local trail maintainer marks the blowdown logs he cuts with a distinctive "W." I thought I might have to negotiate a number of blowdowns (trees that fall across the trail) because of recent storms, but most of them had already been cleared. I suspect this one was cleared just the day before since the air still smelled of sawdust.

As the trail made its way out toward Bryant Creek Lake, I finally saw my first fellow trail-users: two runners/speed walkers who stopped to ask about my pack and a couple of hikers just out for the day. The trail wasn't as challenging as I'd hoped since it had plenty of flat sections, but I was making good time. At the lake, a local couple was fishing. The woman must have received some bad news on her cell phone, though, because soon there was a burst of swearing followed by a lot more swearing when she actually got ahold of whoever she was yelling at. The lake carried the sound farther than it would have gone in the woods, so the woman's conversation followed me along the lakeshore for some minutes.

Beavers had been working on many of the trees near shore, with most of the smaller trees already downed and a couple of these larger ones just about ready to fall.

A shelterhouse near the trail on the far side of the lake provided a nice place for a break, including this very nice pit toilet and a number of stone picnic tables.

I stopped in this area for about 30 minutes noshing on a couple of granola bars and some almond butter in preparation for the second half of the hike and resting my feet. I was making good time, though, and started thinking about what I'd do the rest of the day after finishing the trail.

When I looked at these pictures, I thought this was one of the nicest ones I'd taken in a while, but then I realized that part of the reason I liked it was that it had green in it. With all the winter hiking I've done this year, I'm getting tired of crunching through last-year's leaves and seeing brown in every direction.

Including my breaks, I finished the trail in less than 5 hours but I was starting to feel kind of headachy and such. My original plan was to camp again and do another 10-mile trail the next day, but it was only 1 p.m., and I was getting anxious to be home after being away most of the week for my conference. I very briefly entertained the idea of trying to do the second trail right after the first, but it would be very close to sunset when I finished. I didn't know if I was capable of that many miles in one day, didn't want to injure myself trying, and knew I wouldn't be able to drive all the way home after that without camping or getting a hotel. I more seriously considered doing about half of the second trail and camping in a backcountry area, which is probably what I should have done, leaving me a short day on Sunday and giving me another night in the tent. What I did, though, was call my husband and tell him I was coming home. 

The forecast was for temps to drop down to 20 degrees, which would really be pushing the comfort of my sleeping bag and clothing setup. At best, I would have an uncomfortable night. I don't like having uncomfortably cold nights when I don't have to.

50-mile Spring Break Wrap-Up

So, I'd wanted to walk at least 50 miles during my spring break, but after my 3-day marathon, I was tired of driving very far just to go walking, so I headed to nearby Carlyle Lake to put on a few miles.

You know you're in a classy place when you see a sign like this at the entrance.

I did a few miles, but I just wasn't feeling it, even though it was nice and sunny. The trail was boring except for a few recent blowdowns. The trails here do these small little loops that mean you actually don't get very far away from anything, so I didn't do many miles.

I spent the next couple of days not walking much--just a few here and there running errands around town, so I had to put in 18 miles this weekend to get to 50. For Saturday, Jeff and I decided that he would ride his bike to Pyramid State Park, where I'd be hiking. He'd get to see some new scenery on the way down there since it's too far for an out-and-back ride from our house, and I would get to try a few of the trails there that I hadn't been on before. I decided to put 30 pounds in the pack (gear + 5 days of food + 2 liters of water), which is more than I should have to carry on the trip at any time except for maybe one day or so when I'll have to do a big resupply with extra food.

This area is a reclaimed mining site full of little lakes, and it was great to see and hear more wildlife than on previous trips, so spring is definitely here. Most of the turtles I saw hopped off their logs and into the lakes before I could get too close, but that big one was sitting pretty close to the trail, and we stared at each other for a while before I headed up the trail. This big turtle family was far enough away not to be threatened by me, I guess, but I scared up a flock of turkeys and saw what I'm pretty sure was a pileated woodpecker. 

My previous visit here was so cold and icy that seeing the sparkling water was nice for a change!

The pack felt really heavy, so I took two 15-minute breaks along the way at conveniently placed picnic tables and made minor adjustments to other gear and my shoes. The weight was manageable, but it slowed me down a bit and motivated me to go through the pack to get rid of stuff to cut some more weight.

By about mile 9, I was getting a little tired and ended up choosing a fairly direct route back to the car to wait for Jeff.

He texted that the wind was slowing him down, so I got out my ground cloth and took a little nap in the sun while waiting. The cool breezes and warm sun made for a good combination, and I was almost asleep when Jeff pulled in. We had briefly considered doing a few hiking miles together after he arrived, but my right foot was sore (again) and his ride had been harder than anticipated because of some strong headwinds, so we quickly abandoned that plan, ate some cold tangerines I'd stashed in a cooler in the trunk, drank our Gatorades, and headed out for some Mexican food on the way home. 

That trip still left me 8 miles short, and I thought that wouldn't be a problem for Sunday, but I hadn't checked the weather and realized too late that an ice/snow storm was coming in, so those 8 miles would be around-town miles. Jeff came with me for a 4-mile loop right after breakfast, braving rain and sleet with me. Once the sleet stopped, I headed back out for another 4-mile loop to finish out my 50-mile spring break.

My total for the month is 64.5 miles, so I'm still on track to hit 100 this month without too much difficulty.

3-Day Marathon, Part 2

Sweet, sweet (although temporary) spring! It's warm today! So warm I actually wore just a t-shirt!

Since it's spring break and I have a bit more evening daylight now that we've sprung our clocks forward, I decided to drive a bit farther and visit the McCully Heritage Project, which was supposed to have quite a lot of trail miles on old logging roads.

When I pulled into the site, two friendly dogs approached and were quickly vying for attention and/or my lunch. Bob, the black one, also promptly peed on the car tire, so I made a mental note to wash the car before returning it to the garage at home.

Nope! You can't have my musubi! 

I got my pack on and went to talk to the site caretakers and check out their maple syrup cooking process before hitting the trails.

Tapping a Black Maple to make maple syrup. 

I started with a 2-mile loop on the northern part of the site to warm up and quickly stripped off my long sleeved shirt. Bob and Amelia, the dogs, stuck with me on this loop, dashing off after interesting smells every once in a while, but mostly sticking to the trail, which I'm sure was familiar to them. I don't think many people had been on the trail since a recent windstorm, so I pulled some decent sized branches off the trail while I walked.

 Neat older signage.

Then it was off to the southern part of the property, which showed a much more complex set of trails/old roads and some serious hills. As I headed out, both dogs again followed along, but Bob didn't make it far and headed back home before crossing the creek and heading up the first big hill. Little Amelia stuck with me, though, running ahead and wondering why I was taking so long to climb the hill. Soon, though, we were both at the top, and she rushed ahead, seemingly oblivious to this possum just off the trail.

Hissing 'possum was unhappy with my proximity. 

As I headed for the part of the property farthest from the entrance, I worried that I might end up carrying Amelia part of the way if she kept following me, but she seemed to have boundless energy and happily chased after a small group of deer and a number of squirrels.

The spring had a picnic table where Amelia and I both took a break.

Thankfully, I wasn't in a hurry because the hills were slowing me down. None of them were particularly long, but they went straight up and straight down from the ridges. Ridgewalking between the hills was really nice, and I needed the uphills for training, but some of the downhills were a bit tedious because of poor footing and deep mud. However, just being outside on a decent day made the trip a worthwhile one. I didn't see anyone else on the trails all day.

Southern Overlook above the Illinois River. 

The best part about this post is that it's in the sun! Each intersection along the trail was marked by a number, making it fairly easy to navigate with the property map.

The mud is still following me...Just a few bad sections, though.

By the last mile or so, Amelia was getting tuckered out, but this cold creek revived her for the last bit of trail. I stayed in the water for a while, too, getting the mud off my shoes, but ice was still visible just upstream of the crossing, so I couldn't keep my feet in it too long.

When I got back, the sap from the syrup-making was bubbling like crazy, had cooked down quite a bit, changing from clear to amber, and smelled like breakfast!

I'd done about 7 miles, making for a total of 26 miles in 3 days, but Amelia probably did an extra mile or two with all her chasing and running about. When we got back to the parking area, she promptly flopped down in a flower bed and looked like she was going to stay there until dinner time.

Overall, even though this place is a bit of a drive, I'm glad I went and will probably go back and do more miles next time. Despite the mud, it has the best hills I've found so far, and I definitely could use more hilly training.