Mind the Switchback

 "Feels like 23" degrees is a chilly way to start a hike.  But Lone Elk Park keeps popping up on my radar for good winter hikes, so we gave it a go. Cool icy streams and open, sunny prairies are allegedly the qualities that land you on such a list. We didn't really find either on this trail, which we have hiked before. Major points in its favor, however, is the ease of fitting this trail into a busy day. At only 30 minutes from St. Louis City and a 3-mile hike, we were there and back in the span of 3 hours. Much less a risk or investment compared to our usual drive-2-hours-hike-6-miles routine. It's a pretty constant up & down and can get sloppy after a good rain. But I find it hard to deny myself a weekend hike when it's that convenient.  We were pleased to encounter few people on the trail. Maybe 10? That's the below-freezing trade-off.   We saw WAY more piles of elk poop than people. And saw quite a few elk themselves on this visit! Including one hangin...

 My what a difference a few months can make.  We first visited Lower Rock Creek in September 2020. At that time, it was hot as blazes, the trail was really rugged, and we struggled to find a reasonable path running parallel to the river. Pretty much all my pictures from that visit are of fungi and other small-scale features. You can compare them here! In September, we took part of the trail up the creek bed because the trail was so rough. Ryan's boots got unbearably waterlogged, and we stopped about 2/3 of the way in to hide in the shade, stick our feet in the water, and dry his socks on a rock in the sun.  Coming back in January, the creek presented a completely different experience!  Turnaround lounge spot in September Looking up river at the same spot - not so shady anymore The January version of Lower Rock Creek was a sight to behold, from a completely different perspective! Every step along the way presented a gasp-inducting view of the river: rushes over rocky...

It seems St. Louis City was the only part of the region that missed out on ice & snow this weekend!  When we left the house on Sunday morning, the ground was wet, but the temp was still above freezing. I was honestly a little disappointed. We're trying to test out gear and get accustomed to winter hiking before our big February trip to the Rocky Mountains, and it didn't look like this would be the weekend after all.  Imagine my excitement when, not long after we turned onto highway 67, the tree tops off in the distance starting getting frostier. Then we started to see dusting in the ditches alongside the highway. The sun was finding its way through breaks in the clouds, which made for beautifully sparkling glassy trees. It also threatened to melt all those magical icy trees before I even got out of the car to walk amongst them. The last 25 minutes were a race against the sun to hit the trailhead before the winter world melted away.  The last 5 minutes, though, the who...

 A switchback is a zig-zagging section of a road used to tackle a steep slope. Switchbacks are the reason why, when we lived in Guatemala, distance on a map gave no indication as to how long travel would take, because what appears to be 15 miles on a map can double, triple, quadruple in zig-zagging up one side of a mountain and back down the other.  Switchbacks are also frequently found on trails, and while it may be tempting to forgo the switchback and cut corners to a more direct route - DON'T DO IT! Switchbacks are important for preventing erosion! Cutting switchbacks can harm the trail and the ecosystem. It can result in those closed off sections you encounter on a trail that are trying to be repaired. According to this information from the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky , switchback cutting is prohibited by law there. So I'll give you good reasons to mind the switchback - cutting may be illegal and it's definitely a jerk move.  But guess who didn't know a...

My writing used to be more music-focused, until Covid took the music away - temporarily.  I went to a LOT of shows and spent a lot of time writing about live music events. I had just worked up the nerve to start concert photography when Covid came down upon us like the ultimate party pooper of the century. Black Lips at the Duck Room on March 10th was to be my first photography gig. Unfortunately, the guest list didn't work out and I was still timid enough that I took the small obstacle as an opportunity to completely chicken out. "Op! Wasn't meant to be! Guess I'll have to try again another time!!" Little did I know there wouldn't be another time for a long time. Two days later, the Melted Musical Festival we were supposed to attend in Columbus, Ohio got cancelled. The photo above is the closest I can get to concert photography at the moment - a picture of my TV streaming OSees live at Big Sur, which Ryan surprised me with as an early Christmas gift. I love t...

And what a terrific problem to have!!  We found this beauty in Southern Illinois on a magical, not-another-human-in-sight trail. Ryan spotted it from a good distance, glowing on the end of a fallen tree. Thankfully, I had just gifted him a proper specimen collecting bag from Fungi Perfecti , so we had a proper place to store it while we finished our hike! The bag is nice because the netted design and hoop around the bottom helps ensure the 3 key qualities for mushroom storage: dry, cool, and air flow.  We kept the mushroom (along with some oysters we found further on) in my hatchback overnight, as the weather was in the 30-50F degrees range. We set it on the scale and realized what a beautiful and weighty specimen we had collected, and immediately set to googling recipes.   Thing is, most recipes call for a half to a full pound - at most - of Lion's Mane. We had 3+ to manage! And neither of us had ever eaten Lion's Mane, only heard how incredible it tasted....

Christmas weekend brought us some beautiful weather. Mid-50s and sunny! But also the Sunday after Christmas, the middle of holiday break season, when it seemed lots of folks would be interested in some outdoors time. So, we looked for a reasonably difficult but not-too-time consuming hike with low traffic, and this fit the bill.  I'd read the Trail of Tears sections in Illinois, while of immense historical significance, made for largely uneventful hiking. This trail wasn't exactly loaded with features, but the slope was plenty eventful. Aside from a few flat stretches running along the top of a ridge, the hike was a constant climb or descent, which packs a lot of activity into a 3-mile hike. This out-and-back trail turned around at an amazing view of the Mississippi River, which I bet is most enjoyable in the winter. We sat and had sandwiches, watched gulls float along the shore, listened to the wind in the trees, and tried out our new binoculars til we could read the numb...