Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

With a little Spring heat, the forests in the Ohio Valley have gone from almost barren to luscious green in less than two weeks. Since my last blog post, I’ve taken a couple of beautiful hikes in Bernheim Forest and Jefferson Memorial Forest just to check out the dogwoods and other trees in full bloom.

Last weekend, in between bouts of rain showers, we had  three hot days in a row with temperatures in the upper 80’s. That was more than enough to wake the remaining trees still slumbering in their winter hibernation. Early Spring wildflowers are dying off with the increased heat and the flowers of May are taking over. Spiderwort and irises and even the wild blackberry bushes are in full bloom now in Jefferson Forest. These attract lots of butterflies and it looks to be a good year for them, especially with the Japanese honeysuckle starting to take off.

At Bernheim Forest this past Sunday with my mom, the Canadian geese with their babies in tow seemed to be everywhere there was water. The hills in all of the area parks have taken on the pastels of spring as flowering trees begin sprouting their leaves and start maturing to the lush deep greens of Summer.

It’s a great time of the year to get out on the trail, I hope you get to soon. I have two new photo albums entitled Dogwoods 2009 and Tortoise on the Trail filled with lots of flowers and wildlife. I hope you enjoy them.

A word of warning to hikers in the area: Ticks! Be sure to check yourself when coming off any trail in the Kentuckiana area, especially right now. Ticks are abundant thanks to our ample Spring rains and I’ve picked off a few almost every time I’ve gone out in the last 3 weeks. Avoid wearing white clothes, especially white socks, since this color attracts ticks the most. Be careful out there!

Scott’s Gap Loop in the Jefferson Memorial Forest is a nice little 3 mile hike if you need the exercise. There are enough ups and downs to give you a decent workout if you push yourself. In fact, it can be walked in under an hour if you are truly fit.

But if fitness isn’t your major concern, take your time on the Scott’s Gap Loop and look at all of the interesting plants that are popping up along the trail this year.

I’ve been hiking Jefferson Forest for well over a decade and this Spring has been quite an eye opener with the new species of wildflowers and plants I’ve spotted. Most notably has been the proliferation of Jack in the Pulpit along Scott’s Gap Loop. They are literally everywhere right now, especially along the first big hill at the beginning of the trail. At the first fork uphill, continue up and look for the three-leaved juveniles that look like trillium, but the leaves are arranged vertically rather than horizontally and have no central flower bud. There are already a few mature Jacks early on the trail as well. This is the first year I’ve ever spotted any in the JMF.

After hiking the initial hill along  Scott’s Gap (counterclockwise for the loop), you’ll continue along a ridge for about a half mile and you’ll find a short ascent that is almost completely covered with Dutchman’s britches and Squirrel corn wildflowers, another new find this Spring.

Another half mile will find you descending into a creek valley which the trail will follow for a while. In the valley right now, Celandine poppies are everywhere, along with spring ferns and a couple of different trillium species. You’ll also spot Fire pink wildflowers right on the trail. When the weather gets warmer, this valley will also have lots of frog and toad species. Skinks and fence lizards are already out along the trail, but to spot them you have to take it slow as you approach downed timber, the preferred sunning spot for these cold blooded forest dwellers.

If you are quiet enough along the Scott’s Gap trail, you will most likely hear wild turkey calls and if you’re lucky enough you might spot a foraging group. Deer will also frequent the creek valleys during the wetter months for feeding.

Scotts Gap Loop is a diverse 3 mile trail through several habitats. Try to check it out over the coming month or so for the wide variety of plants and animals indigenous to the Jefferson Memorial Forest. It can be a rigorous hour or a fascinating 3 hours of discovery. It’s just up to you how you want to hike it.

Be sure to check out the photo album Scott’s Gap Jacks.

Especially for an amateur photographer, like myself.

Early spring can really throw you curve balls in the Ohio Valley, much like it did late Monday afternoon when rain mixed with a little snow was the weather throughout the day. The cold mixed with the wet made for a lonely late afternoon hike along the red trail in the Horine Reservation section of Jefferson Memorial Forest (JMF). But the wet conditions along with the cloudy skies made for excellent photography conditions, or at least for my favorite subject to photograph, water on plants.

I happened on the subject by accident this past fall when I took a November hike in the rain and noticed how the rain beaded up on the freshly fallen leaves. After taking a few pictures that I REALLY liked, it’s been a minor theme in my photography and a big motivator for me to get out hiking when the weather turns bad.

Even though the Spring is very young, it’s been quite a season of firsts for me in the JMF. Morels, newts and new butterflies are just a short list of some the things I’ve seen for the first time this year. On Monday afternoon, I added another first when I sighted a red trillium in the section of the Horine Red Trail that I like to call Mosquito Valley. Once the weather gets warmer, Mosquito Valley is about 200 yards of trail following a creek bed that can swarm with the bloodthirsty critters and it marks approximately the halfway point of the 4.5 mile loop trail.

Trillium are 3 leaved flowers that I normally  associate with the Great Smoky Mountains. This is the first time I’ve ever seen them in Jefferson County and it was a really great day to spot them. Mosquito Valley is a very diverse spring flower habitat and I look forward to hiking back to it again in the weeks to come as new plants flourish and grow. Right now, the dominant flowers in the valley are trout lillies.

I hope to see more trillium and other new flowers in coming weeks as I plan to hike the Millenium Trail in Bernheim Forest as well as other hikes in the area. I also hope to hike Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge State Park during their Wildflower Weekend in April.

The photo album for Monday’s rainy/snowy hike is titled April Snow Showers 09. Enjoy.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Ohio Valley. I’ve watched as Spring has taken a strong hold on the Kentuckiana area and I’ve got several trail reports, so let’s go!

Mitch McConnell Loop: Jefferson Forest

The Mitch McConnell Loop trail in the Paul Yost recreation section of Jefferson Memorial Forest is listed as a strenuous trail. Of all the loops or “there and back” trails in the Forest, the Mitch is definitely the toughest. With a length of 5.4 miles listed, the Mitch Loop is simply a long series of ups and downs. Every time you climb, you’ll descend again quickly and then repeat the process.

One of the cute characteristics of this trail is what I like to call “shoulders”. There are several long and fairly steep ascents that tease you with false pinnacles. As you reach what you think is the top of a ridge or hill, the trail simply goes over the hill’s shoulder and continues to climb. This is especially true if you walk the trail clockwise from the Paul Yost recreation area parking lot. Rest assured though, no matter which direction you tackle this trail, you will get a good workout.

Since the Mitch is very hilly, you will see a wide variety of habitat. Lower sections contain creeks and loads of early Spring wildflowers from Spring Beauty to Bloodroot. The cool weather of early Spring though keeps the majority of wildflowers in check until mid to late April and May.

Bloodroot

Spring beauty

Several pine groves along the Mitch were fairly devastated by the January ice storm, but the trails are clear and the forest is waking up. Be sure to take ample water when hiking this trail as you’ll need to keep hydrated, even in the cooler Spring temperatures.

Siltstone Trail: Jefferson Forest

The Siltstone Trail is a one way trail from the Jefferson Forest Welcome center to the Scott’s Gap parking area. It is divided by 2 road crossings at Bearcamp Road and Jefferson Hill Road. If you aren’t in the mood for the entire hike (almost 13 miles), you can park at one of the road crossings for shorter section hiking in either direction.

At the moment, in early April, the section with the most wildflowers as well as wild life is the 3.5 miles between Scott’s Gap and Bearcamp Road. Parking at either side, you can hike a very pleasurable 7 miles there and back along the same trail. Many spring flowers are attracting early Swallowtail butterflies including the striking black and white Zebra Swallowtail. I also spotted at least 5 more species of butterfly including Tiger and Eastern Black Swallowtails.

Zebra Swallowtail

Eastern Black Swallowtail

This section is characterized by a long hill on both road ends and then short descents and climbs along a long ridge. Conditions can get windy and in a one week period, I spotted two large 100+ lb widow makers had fallen. As always, in any of the Ohio Valley forests that suffered damage from the January ice storm, be careful and look up occasionally for possible falling wood.

If you can manage to be fairly quiet while you hike, you may spot wild turkeys, white tail deer and plenty of song birds and woodpeckers. This is also the trail section that contains lots of lizards a bit later in the year.

Purple Heart Trail: Jefferson Forest

The Purple Heart trail is a short 2 mile loop trail with spurs connecting to the Siltstone Trail and also Tom Wallace Lake Circle. When you include the Welcome Center with the Jefferson Hill Road section of the Siltstone trail and the Purple Heart Loop, you get a nice 5-6 mile hike depending on the spur from which you exit the trail.

The Purple Heart trail is an interesting contrast to some off the older Jefferson Forest trails in that the underbrush is deeper and closer to the trail than almost anywhere in the forest. In addition, the trail is also a mini-version of the Mitch McConnell loop in that it is a series of ups and downs with little or no breaks in between. This was the first time I’ve hike this loop and I look forward to what the seasons might bring in the flora and fauna.

Spring Morels!

If you’re a foodie like me, you probably know about morels, but you’ve never tasted them. Well, for the next two weeks, you’re going to find black morels in the general vicinity of hickory trees. Keep an eye out and you might be pleasantly surprised by a tasty culinary luxury.

Spring Morels

Check out the photo albums Mitch In Spring 2009 and Early Spring Hikes for all of the pictures