We hiked with Jenny, the naturalist at Shawnee State Park. Most of what we walked is actually in the Shawnee State Wilderness. I did not previously realize there was state wilderness here.
Also, this is my first NCT mile of this year, because I've been on this trip. Not much, but at least I can say I didn't completely abandon it for January.
We walked NCT/BT for a mile uphill to the top of Buckhorn Ridge. There we joined a very old road that is now a bridle trail and left the NCT/BT. That part was easy walking.
We went slightly feral, nibbling on the buds of Spicebush. They are... mildly spicy!
Jenny clued me in on a some new-to-me features. For now, I'll stick with Chestnut Oak, Quercus montana. Actually, that isn't totally new, but we saw the acorns (which I forgot to picture-duh). These are both leaves of the Chestnut Oak. The large leaves grow lower on a tree because they are struggling to get more sun. Notice that the shape is slightly different too.
Then we descended along an unnamed stream to the road.
We got stickers for participating in a winter hike in Ohio State Parks 75th Anniversary year.
Jenny took us back to her office and fed us white chili. So yummy! 4.9 miles.
The FedEx delivery I had to wait for didn't come until 5:15, so I'm staying here one more night and will move on in the morning.
Total miles hiked in 2024: 59.2 of which 1.2 is North Country Trail.
Buckeye Trail, Buckhorn Ridge, and a side trail. 4.9 miles
 | See Nikki and Chickie |
3 comments:
Looks like a fun day. And white chili, YUM.
Lulu: "That stream would be a river here in Southern California!"
Ann- yum was right. I ate too much.
Lulu- It got wide and very shallow at the bottom. The rest wasn't much.
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