Owen Conservation Park in the Heart of Madison!

I was pretty amazed by this little gem of a park.  It's located right in the midst of a neighborhood on Madison's west side.  I recruited my niece for a little adventure and while she's game for just about anything, it shouldn't take too long (1 hour is about the limit).  We were in here for longer than an hour, however!  It's just a 1.5 mile trail - a loop, but we found much to explore and enjoy and took in more than 2 hours worth of this beautiful space within the city.

We started off from the parking lot on a back loop that did get close to the surrounding road and we could hear the sounds and see some of the surrounding neighborhood, but this wooded space was a real favorite.  We walked logs and ate berries and by this time, I had my niece convinced that hiking was fun!



Trees to walk and berries to eat!

 

We had to recross the parking lot to head into the oak savanna.  I love that the oak savanna is being restored in so many of the parks I frequent, because for me the view of an oak with crooked, winding branches in the midst of grasses and blue sky, is sublime.

Edward T. Owen created this park in an attempt to save some natural space from the developing and sprawling city of Madison.  Good thing too, because the city has spread beyond and is now completely connected to the city of Middleton.  In this picture you can see the park is located on a hill and off in the distance is the skyline of the university.

We followed the trail, enjoying some of the best coneflowers I had seen all summer.  The bees and butterflies seemed to agree!  This was one of those warm July days with the amazing clouds floating through a pure blue sky.

We veered off into an area that included some type of creek or run off combination and some housing, but we were unsure where we were.  We decided to walk the creek.  This was especially fun and a bit of a challenge.  We found some deeper pools within the creek and here actual goldfish or koi were abundant!  I was unable to get them photographed, unfortunately, so you will have to take my word for it.

We wandered up an embankment, still lost and found ourselves on a street!  So, we reversed our course and found our way back to the oak savanna.  I found a stand of 5-6 oak trees and just revelled in the beauty of the branches, the sky blue between the branches and the sun shining brightly through the dark boughs.  My niece was getting tired of the adventure at this point and was not appreciative of the oak savanna and its beauty.

The neighborhood surrounding Owen Conservancy is lucky to have such a gem in their midst!

The Black Hawk Unit - 2nd hike

I don't have pictures of the Black Hawk trail.  It was one of those hot days of the summer of 2012 (there were many hot ones!).  I didn't know where I was going for this one.  This was new territory for me.  The trail is a total of 9.5 miles and I decided on this day that I would just do a scouting mission - see where the trail was located, what it was like and what sort of planning I should do for a possibly 4+ hour hike in the future. 

This was one of those hikes where I was very much alone.  I did not see a car parked in the lot and not a soul on the trail.  It was very much me and nature.  When I am isolated on a hike, I make sure a friend knows where I am and when I plan to be done.  I set my alarm on my phone which I carry with me and make sure to let her know when I am safely on my way home.

The heat and lack of breeze often made the trail feel like it was closing in on me.  Because the trail is named after a massacred tribe of Sauk and their leader Black Hawk, I sometimes felt the sadness of the place and the history of our government's treatment of the native people of this land.  I visited the mounds and the memorial stone along the highway.  It was good to think of and be aware of, yet again, the aspects of our history we should not repeat.

The trail was challenging and on this particular day after some strong winds, there were trees down in a handful of places.  At one point, I was forced to walk some ways off the trail and found myself in a field of cacti!  Not the tall desert cacti of the south, but small, low to the ground plants, I had to tip toe through, as if in a mine field! 

The trail is near the Wisconsin River and I would have loved to dip my toes in and cool off on this hot day, but I did not see or hear water.  However, after 2 hours, I looped my way back to the car.  This is a trail that will have a future repeat, so I can get all 9.5 miles in and hopefully see the river!

Directions:  The trail head I used is on WI 78.  There is a marker for Wachter Rd. there and this is where you begin - hiking up an old, blocked off road- which is all up hill! 

First hike- Pheasant Branch Conservancy and Frederick's Knoll

I have walked around the Pheasant Branch Conservancy many, many times since I began teaching yoga in Middleton at Harbor Wellness which is essentially right across the street from the conservancy.  As part of my commitment to the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles (of Madison) by Kevin Revolinsky, I made the trek again.  In the book, the author combines both sides of the conservancy into a 3 hour or 7.6 mile hike.  I decided to take one side of the road at a time.

On July 14th (yes, I need to catch up) a friend and I headed out with her kid in the stroller, knowing the small gravel of the loop side of the trail would be accommodating to the stroller wheels.  However, I also knew we would have to part at Frederick's Knoll.  The trail up the hill is cut prairie grass and is often very lumpy.  But the view, is so worth it!  This is where you truly understand you are walking around the Pheasant Branch Creek.

 

The entire trail, except near the Knoll is surrounded by housing.  It is very well used by walkers, runners, and bikers.  There are areas with boardwalks and bridges to traverse over the creek.  At the base of this photo, you can see an overlook structure and here the spring bubbles up.  It takes an hour to an hour 15 minutes or more to hike the full loop of Pheasant Branch and there are some hilly areas besides the knoll.  However, it is mostly an easy flat hike/walk.  For someone often hiking alone, it is nice to have a place where I know I will see others and be near something safe, so this is a good bad weather or late night hike. I once walked late on a spring night and found a very delightful woman walking the same pace and so we walked and chatted for the rest of our distance together.

I enjoy this hike because I love the knoll so much.  It is a nice challenge and it is prairie all the way up.  The top of the knoll is covered with oak trees - which I love!  One down side is that on occasion, the nearby CAFO or cattle factory in Waunakee sends it's stench along with the wind.  I find that there are always positives and negatives to each hike.  Ease, parking, gravel might be positives but they also mean traffic noise, factory smells, and other civilization related negatives.  Some days I want more of a natural experience and some days this is the perfect place.  We are lucky to have it so near - 15-20 min. for most Madison residents and closer for Middleton residents.



Prairie Grass



Seed pods from a prairie plant (someone please tell me what this is, because I love it!)

The winding branches of the oak trees on top of Frederich's Knoll

The farm fields can be seen beyond the branches of this oak tree



Queen Anne's Lace seemed to love this dry summer weather

One of the few really colorful flowers in the prairie on this day



Directions:  There are several starting points along Hwy M in Middleton and also Pheasant Branch Rd.  Easy to find or stop and ask anywhere!

 

Beginning

Some years ago I started a "bucket list" which didn't exist back then, because the movie hadn't come out.  My list was actually a "25 things to do before you die" list.  I had recently read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson as recommended by my dear uncle.  We both loved walks in the woods, nature, adventure and the hilarity of Bryson's adventure/ordeal.  I am not the first one to be inspired thus.  However, there's more inspiration to the story.

My uncle has since died, and my life has moved in all sorts of directions, not getting any nearer to the Appalachian Mountains.  I recently read another book, this a self-help type book called The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.  I haven't finished this one as is usually the case with self-help books and me (I need time to implement!).  I am taking time now to implement some of the ideas recommended by Ferriss.  First was a list:  5 things you want to do, 5 things you want to be, and 5 things you want to have.  They are not in that order, but I like this order better.  My list ofthings to have is sad - a new roof, a new garage... I am not much for more stuff.  However, on my list of things to be and to do:  a hiker who has hiked the Appalachian Trail!  Ferriss then helps his readers work through how to do, be and have all you want. 

I realized that financially, hiking the AT is currently not possible (Ferriss claims otherwise, but I haven't read that far yet).  I could have just given up there.  But, because I'd begun to catch on to Ferriss' motivational style, I thought "even if I had the money I needed to set off for months and months hiking, I wasn't in any way in shape for such an adventure, nor am I prepared!"

This is where book number 3 comes in (anyone who knows me well knows that I am usually reading 7-8 books at a time- very much frowned upon by the author of The 4 Hour Work Week).  My third inspiration is 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Madison by Kevin Revolinsky (also known as Kev Rev, which is cool!).  I live in Madison and I have walked and hiked many places, but 60?!  Who knew?!  I decided I could very easily start right here and hike my way to the Appalachian Trail! 

And so my journey begins.  This blog idea came late and I have hiked a few trails already, so I will need to spend some time back-tracking......