Sheep Ranch Pathway Hike

 
I have to increase my walking, quickly, because Marie and I have a real hike coming up at the end of this month. So today, I went to Sheep Ranch Pathway and hiked for a couple of hours. It's not a particularly interesting place to hike, but I found some gems to share with you.

One of the best spots is where you access the Baldwin River. You've seen this same location before, but this is a prettier picture. A little sun brighten things up.



I didn't park in the access area, but went to the north end, parked along a dead end road and hiked the opposite direction from my usual. That will make any familiar area seem a little different. And, of course, one should never make assumptions about what will be found. Remember how excited I was to find pipsissewa locally, last fall? Well, there is a small patch along this path. How cool is that?



More to be expected, but always a treat when I find it blooming, is trailing arbutus. Small flowers hide under the leaves. It's one of the first woodland flowers to bloom in the spring.



And here's a mystery. This shrub was growing in standing water. It almost has to be some sort of willow, and these the fully opened pussy willows (male catkins). So pretty!



This is no mystery. Last year's fallen leaves at the bottom of a puddle completely covering the trail. Oh well, they are still pretty.



Tomorrow I need to start getting serious about carrying some weight as well as walking. No joke.

	See Good Timing at Sheep Ranch Pathway
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Good Timing at Sheep Ranch Pathway

 



Today, I had a meeting to go to about 30 miles from home. There's a trail near there called Sheep Ranch Pathway. (I've never researched it, but I'm guessing it might have been a former sheep ranch, ya' think?) So, I got to eat pizza and Maggie got to wait in the car for 3 hours. But finally we headed to the woods. It's an area of varied forest, wetlands, and small lakes. If you hike it all, it's 4.5 miles- long enough to feel as if it were worth the trip. Here's Maggie standing in what is pretty much an oak savannah ecosystem.



At the very north end of the trail system, you can access the Baldwin River. It's a nice place to let a dog get a drink.



The colors are pretty much gone. Another frost last night loosened even more of the leaves from the trees. But even in brown, the northern maidenhair fern has an intricate beauty.



There are two small State Forest Campgrounds there, on Big and Little Leverentz Lakes. This is the bigger one. Not too picturesque on a gray day, but any day in the woods is better than a day on the couch!



Maggie wants you to know that she had a great time. Not only was it a nice walk, but she got to sample deer guts (before I managed to chase her away), and found a donut for dessert. With pink frosting, no less!

The good timing? It started to rain just as we got back to the car!

See First Snow and Last Hike for another hike in this location See Sheep Ranch Pathway

First Snow and Last Hike

 

Woke to the first snow of the season this morning, but since I overslept, I was rushing to make it to the trail club hike on time and didn't take a picture. It was wet and fluffy, about two inches, covering all the bushes and trees. It was melted before I returned home.


Farther east at the hike location it had not snowed hardly at all. One other hiker braved the suddenly cold and damp weather. Maggie wasn't too happy about those conditions! But we hiked the outer loop at Sheep Ranch Pathway, about 4.5 miles, and finished just before the serious rain began. The picture is of Wayne, the other hiker, and Maggie, at the closest approach to the Baldwin River. Last hike? Oh... not REALLY, but it might be the last one before gun deer season begins on Nov 15. I pretty much stay out of the woods for those two weeks of the year.

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