Chubb Trail--Again

Friday, June 25th, 2011
8 miles (3 hours, 21 minutes)

Another amazing, non-St. Louis-like weather day. Revisited the Chubb Trail with the goal of hiking four miles (to where the Meramec River meets the B & N Railroad tracks along the trail). At the 4th mile marker awaits this inviting rope swing.

Saw more people today, including two bicyclists, one of whom was having technical difficulties with his chain and eventually left his bike and ran the trail, saying, "I guess I'm making lemonade!" the last time he passed me--and two women on horseback, one of whom greeted me and called, "Beautiful day! Are we in Missouri?"

West Tyson County Park: Chubb Trail

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 (between 6 and 7 miles)

This time I brought a camera to the Chubb Trail on a 75 degree, breezy day. It's rare to be hiking in St. Louis in June and not really even break a sweat--or to not feel like you're being pressed to death with brick-like humidity. It was so comfortable that when my mother called me on my cell phone, I sat at a picnic table at the edge of the field and had a conversation.

The breeze blew the bugs away and created soothing sounds throughout the hike.



Just Hiking Ratings:
Number of people: Surprisingly, on a summer Thursday with amazing weather, I saw only eight people. Three trail runners (one was maybe 9 years old) a couple on a romantic stroll, two bikers, and a lone hiker with a walking stick. Everyone was friendly.

Difficulty: This is not a difficult trail in terms of hills (there are maybe two) but the first three miles are rocky.

Surrounding Area: You can hike this trail to Castlewood Park. The Route 66 Park is also nearby--as is Lone Elk Park and Bird Sanctuary.

The Drive: This trail is only a twenty or thirty minute drive down Highway 44 from St. Louis. Take the Lewis Road exit.

Other points of Interest: The cool thing about this trail is how the terrain changes. You find yourself walking through the woods, then along the river, then in a field/prairie. You also cross railroad tracks and sometimes hear the whistle of a train through the trees while you are hiking. The tree roots and porous rocks remind me of Maurice Sendak's long ago illustrated version of Willhelm Grimm's Dear Mili, about a little girl who is sent to the forest to escape war.

NOTE: During the first mile, you will encounter a switchback (there is a sign on the tree). Do NOT go straight--go right, down hill, and take the switchback.

Urban Hike: Broadway to Dutchtown from Carondelet

River Bluff Ct., off Broadway, St. Louis, MO


"A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists in a thousand miles."
--Edward Abbey/Desert Solitaire

June 12th, 2011

Paul and I ventured out on an unseasonably cool Sunday evening--to see what we could see.

And this is what we saw: (albeit all the photos were taken the following Tuesday when I doubled back on bicycle with the camera that was charging on Sunday night) :

• the river, the Mississippi River, but from a different vantage point. A side street off Broadway is called River Bluff Court. It is a road that ends in a cul de sac. The houses on the cul de sac aren't mansions, but have large yards with river views. With the wind blowing and the 70 degree temperatures, I thought I was on Cape Cod for a moment--instead of in St. Louis in June.

• A giant tree stump, all that was left of a giant tree that tore up the sidewalk where it fell during storms in May. The stump was just being hauled away by the Street Department when I rode by on Tuesday.

• a roadside shrine that has survived over two years now, just past the bridge at Bellerive Park. A young woman died when her car hit the tree that has been transformed into her memorial: (See: Fund Set Up for Woman Killed at Broadway and Bates)
  

• Urban chickens in the Carondelet Community Garden!

• A recently built mansion that serves as a party place for political fundraisers of all kinds. Check out the web site for The Bluffs on Broadway, which includes the history of the land and former owners, with pictures. (Remember, being on foot makes you a little less conspicuous when trespassing!)

Yes, this waterfall is just down the driveway of 4708 Broadway!

• A Viet Nam Vet War Memorial Building (on Osceola in Dutchtown)

• a beautiful mosaic behind worn and cloudy plexi glas: Did you know their were missionaries still on Broadway? The LaSalette Missionaries, (St. Louis chapter established 1961) are named for an apparition of the Virgin Mary said to have occurred near Grenoble, France in 1846. Mary appeared to two young, uneducated shepherds (of course!) to whom she told a dreadful secret (sound familiar?) about the upcoming apocalypse. She was clothed in yellow and wore a crown of roses. The interesting thing to note, here, is that this alleged apparition occurred before the apparitions at Fatima and Lourdes.

• A house that looks to be from the time of Lewis and Clark--judging from its resemblance to houses on the riverfront in St. Charles, where I grew up.

• And last, but not least, yards where city pigeons can get a meal. (Incidentally, the Good Samaritan who feeds the pigeons also fixed the chain on my bicycle, which came off when I went over a curb on Osceola.) Paul and I had noticed that his truck was seriously padlocked on our walk on Sunday. When I asked him about the chain, he said that on Father's Day 2010, all of his tools were stolen from the truck during a period of ten minutes--while he was in the house showering, getting ready to go to dinner.