Saturday, December 31, 2011:Green Rock Trail, Rockwood Portion

Hiked maybe 2 and a half miles in on the Green Rock Trail, Rockwood side. Although this trail is linear and used to be 10 miles, a sign at the Rockwood Trailhead said that improvements at Greensfelder have resulted in the trail being lengthened to 14.5 miles.

This is a hilly trail.

Thursday, December 29th: Hawn State Park: Pickle Creek and Whispering Pines Trails (North and South Loops)

Hawn Park near St. Genevieve

Highway 55 to 32 (or O to 32), through the town of Weinberg

Reached 60 degrees--twenty degrees higher than normal temps in December in Missouri, but it wasn't disgustingly balmy. Took time hiking ten

miles in approximately five hours, stopping to take photographs, climb on rocks, watch the sunlight reflect off of water on to tree trunks and rock formations.

Although there were a few cars in the parking lot and campers in the campground, I saw only one other hiker, a back packer, during the entire five hour, ten mile hike.

Water run off was outstanding. The sound of waterfalls followed me for five hours--I had to take my hiking boots and socks off to cross one of the creeks. The water was cold, but my feet felt inexplicably great for a couple of miles after I'd put back on my socks and boots.

December 9, 2011: Clark Trail with Nina and No Name

Hiked the Clark Trail with Nina France and her dog No Name after school on Friday, December 9th. No Name is deaf, and Nina has, amazingly, taught her sign language! Back in the trail head parking lot at the end of the hike, No Name was standing by my car instead of going over to Nina's truck. Nina told me to first point to my nose, and then extend my arm outward, still pointing. No Name looked at me and then immediately ran over to Nina and jumped in the the truck for the ride home. 5.3 miles. Cold. The temperature dropped significantly while we hiked.

December 3 Urban Hike: Forest Park

Paul and I hiked the perimeter of Forest Park, beginning at the southeast corner, walking north towards Lindell and then following the walking/biking paths that are along the park's edges (we probably walked between 5 and 6 miles). A windy but really pleasant weather day. A myriad of dedicated runners passed us. We finished up our day with a trip to Goodwill and lunch at Six Row Brewery, both located on Forest Park Parkway.

Sunday, November 27

The Hoeckelmann double fireplace.

The Lost Valley Trail (10.5 miles) is located along Highway 94 about 5 miles south of the 40/94 intersection. It took me about 4 hours and fifteen minutes to hike the entire trail--including back tracking because I came out at a different trailhead from the one I started at. I heard shot guns from the nearby range while I was hiking, but deer hunting wasn't allowed this weekend (although it is o.k. to hunt squirrels and such). I learned this information from the James Bolden, Jr., the Conservation Agent for St. Charles County whose number I acquired from the Columbia Bottoms Conservation Office (314-877-6014). (Both the office and Mr. Bolden returned my Sunday morning calls very promptly.)

The trail is for bikers, hikers and some times, hunters. On Sunday, I encountered one squirrel hunter, four trail runners, one walker, three bicyclists and two hikers. The terrain includes creeks, the foundation of an old house in which a fireplace still stands, a corn field, crumbling foot bridges, yucca plants growing wild, and many ponds.



Really cool web site with a history of the land and the people who were forced off circa 1940 for the munitions plant. Complete with old photos, histories, diaries, hikes with GPS coordinates to locate remnants of old homesteads and cemeteries. Totally awesome:

http://www.thetntstory.org/

The Lost Valley Trail

Friday, November 25: Urban Hike--Carondelet

Bellerive: one of the prettiest streets in St. Louis.

Biker bar on Broadway: Cross and Bones? Bones and Skull? Something? Still warm enough for roses.

The river is low, low, low.

November 21, 2011

Clark Trail

3:08-4:55 p.m.

5.3 miles

Saw: one woman at beginning of hike talking on cell phone, ten deer

Heard: one gun shot

This was the last day of a posted managed hunt on the Busch Conservation Area Trails.

Saturday, November 19th: The Hamburg and Lost Valley Trails

Awoke Saturday morning after drinking an enjoyable amount of Pinot Noir at Ernestos on Friday night, followed by an enjoyable amount of Baileys and coffee at home. Knowing I had to go to Heritage Dental in St. Peters (my second home) to have a temporary crown replaced at 11:30 on Saturday, I decided to stave off hangover by hiking before the apppointment. The Lewis and Clark Trail parking lot was full and made me want to drive back home to go to bed, so I sallied across 94 to the Hamburg Trail. At the beginning of the Hamburg Trail, just off 94, is an interesting and relatively new interpretive center with information about the town of Howell, which was located on this spot. There is also an army training base located here, which, in my opinion, gives off a creepy, secretive vibe ala Bradbury's Farenheit 451. Periodically, large militlary helicopters will fly low over the woods as you are hiking. On a cloudy day like yesterday, I had no problem imagining I was living in a dystopian future.

Conditions: windy, 58-60 degrees. Blustery skies that went from clear to cloudy.

My brother Pat and I hiked this trail a couple of years ago--and he recently told me that it had been expanded to include the Lost Valley Trail--and it does. The land traversed by this trail was acquired by the government during World War II as a munitions area. Today, the trail consists of a couple of old logging roads--and a winding hiking/biking path through the woods. that is suitable for mouontain biking.

My two hour and twenty minute hike--from 8:48 to 11:10--was invigorating and--happily--devoid of very many individuals ("People? I don't hate people. I just feel better when they're not around." --Mickey Rourke as Bukowski in Barfly.) I came across a biking couple, one trail runner, an orange-vested hunter and a few more bikers, one of whom marveled at the presence of hunters and military helicopters flying overhead.

Advice: if you're going to hike this trail during hunting season, wear an orange vest or bike it. At least you'll be a more quickly moving target.

Thursday, November 17: Lewis and Clark Trail

Hiked to the second river vista, then back out before dark. Few people. Ran into a woman and a boy just as I started (they were finishing). He had light red hair and spectacles; she was slight but carrying a large rock--his new "pet" rock, they told me. And then crossed the path of a man with a camera on a tripod who was photographing into the woods from the trail.

Friday, November 4: Lewis and Clark Trail

The usual. This trail never gets old. Five point three miles after school on a Friday. The best way to end a work week and to begin a weekend.

A few other hikers. Group of twenty-somethings, one who graduated from Zumwalt West six years ago and asked me if I worked at one of the schools. Two very young attractive men who apparently walked out of the pages of Evelyn Waugh, one of whom was smoking a pipe and asked me what trail was the shortest.

Pickle Springs and Hawn: October 15th

Often visited trails in the last ten years, we hadn't hiked either one in at least two. Revisited on a weather-perfect day in October. Morning temps at 9:00 a.m.: 50-55 degrees, climbing to 72 by 2:30 when we finished the hikes.

Copious amounts of people--as I've never seen before. Groups of ten and twenty at Pickle Springs. At least 20 cars in the parking lot by 10:00 a.m.. We avoided as many people at Hawn by taking the "new"--new to us anyway--connector trail # 3 that provides a short cut to the more remote, southern loop of the Whispering Pines Trail. Still, we passed a back pack camp with at least five large tents and ten people, and an illegal camp fire. In the twelve years I've been hiking Hawn, I've only seen that camp occupied two other times.

Total miles, probably around 7 although Paul swears we hiked 18 miles based upon how he felt during and afterwards. Total hours: about 4-5.

Greensfelder: September 10, 2011

A cool September day. Meandering. Taking pictures.

Urban Hike: Esplanade to Treme

"The nature of New Orleans is to encourage the optimum development of New
Orleanians. It's an environment for a specific life-form, a dreamy,
lazy,
sentimental, musical one, prey to hallucinations (not visions),
tolerant,
indolent, and gifted at storytelling."--Codrescu

Friday, July 29

By far, the best Urban Hike we went on in New Orleans was to walk down Esplanade from the U.S. Mint to Faubourg Treme.(Faubourg means "suburb"). We had read about Treme three years ago when we visited, but hadn't the courage or energy to venture very far from the French Quarter.


Treme experienced minor to moderate flooding. There are still a few homes that have not been restored, and one in particular that has a sign on the front door warning of hazardous mold.

The main drag, Esplanade, that runs into Treme from the Quarter, is lined with Creole cottages and antebellum mansions. If you look down the side streets, however, you see the smaller houses and the ubiquitous electrical wires that we recognize from the HBO series.


















One sight I could not get enough of were the ubiquitous systems of tree roots that emerged from underground!


















Plaques on a church on Esplanade recording the names, ages, and manner of killing for murder victims from 2007 and 2008. Below: The same church uses a dry erase board to record more recent homicides.

















Degas' house was where we turned around and headed back to the Quarter.

So many awesome courtyards, and so many ways to protect from intruders. Nails!