Nine Springs E-Way

Despite having been to the E-way multiple times, after reading the passage about the hike in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Madison, I decided to check it out again. It seems the author was able to find places to explore previously unnoticed by me.  Since this is such a flat hike, except for one hill on the first loop, I decided to make this a trail run.  Good thing too, because any slow down caused a swarm of bugs to find me within 20 seconds! The E-way is partially wetlands and the ground is often damp in areas of the trail.  I love that this space is available almost right behind a mall and just a couple miles from the beltline highway.  Not only that, but the trail is right next to the Capital City State bike trail.  So, I rode my bike to the trailhead.  Whew!  This was a workout.

It was another one of those days with amazing clouds in the sky.  It was also pretty hot and humid which also made the mosquitoes even more voracious!  I found on the first loop which is a short jaunt to a hill with a lovely view of the area, that next time I could try exploring the area via kayak.  A water trail sign and a boat put in were available right there along Spring Creek.

Prairie from the hill with a view of the clouds and the wetlands beyond the prairie.

There's a lot of great prairie space here and it is getting closer to peak viewing time for prairies, so it was lovely.  I found an apple tree and with my mouth watering for the sour taste of a green apple, I decided to pick one and eat it as I walked to the top of the hill.  When I was a kid, there was a small orchard just past our backyard and I have always loved the sourness of early apples.

I begin my trail run at the base of the hill just in time for the shady, damp beginning of the trail.  The shade comes from trees on the right while the prairie and the creek remain on my left.  A slight decline makes my feet work hard to avoid a sprained ankle.  Once the trail crosses over the creek, it is all sun!  This area is still wetland and I can hear all kinds of birds chattering around me.

I cross yet another bridge and find a paved trail here as part of the Capital City bike trail which was not here before in my previous experiences.  Now, I am headed into a residential area and a park which is part soccer fields, part play equipment and part wood chipped trails through wooded space surrounding the creek.  I get thrown off track here as there are many choices and some things are new since the author's description was written, but I figure things out and am back out to what looks familiar in the e-way - a stand of corn.  The corn is higher than I am tall and I always find this disconcerting and amazing at the same time.  Not that I do not walk around things that are taller than me, happens all the time.  But, in this case, it is all that there is.  A corn field has no space for anything but corn.  There is the sound and the smell of corn stalks everywhere.

Walking up to the corn field - beautiful sky beyond!

This is a pretty short part of the trail which then goes up to the Capital City bike trail where I meet several bicyclists talking about their lunch plans.  Soon, I am doubling back along the creek path I took earlier.  I have to admit that I am getting tired and occasionally try to stop to walk, but the  misery of the swarm is too much and I run on.  I am thirsty and hungry, probably due to the bikers' talk of lunch plans, but it'll take some time to get back to my bike and then from there bike home.  I start hatching a plan to find an ice cream stand with water and treats along Lake Monona which is sometimes on my way home along the lake loop, if I can find it.  This fires me on.

The trail is the same I began with from here on and I make it to the end.  I no longer have the energy to cross the road and walk down the boardwalk to check out the waterfowl out in the wetlands as the author recommends.  Instead, I get on my bike and head toward that stand for some water and ice cream!  I will definitely hit this trail again as I know I can run across the street and add mileage when I am ready to run a longer distance.  But, not today.  The sun, the biking, and the trail have worn me out!

Tuckered out, thirsty and squinting in the sun, I finish my run and am ready to bike!

Back on the Trail!

I took the winter off and have certainly taken my time getting back into my hiking regimen.  Part of the problem has been a new interest in trail running.  I tend to be less adventurous with my trail runs, sticking to the same 3 beautiful and conveniently located parks and trails.  But, I am recommitted and last weekend hit yet another trail chosen from the book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Madison. 

I have many times visited Indian Lake County Park in the winter.  It is a favorite cross country ski and sledding destination of mine.  This was the first time I set out to hike the trail without a layer of snow present which made the view very familiar and yet very different from what I had in my memory.  For one thing, the hike I followed which was as recommended in the book went in the opposite direction of the cross country ski trails.  Hills I was used to skiing down, I was now trudging up and vice versa.  Views of bare trees and white snow were now filled with so many different flowers and hues of green, I was unable to name many of them.  My companion, David, and I did our best through our combined knowledge, but still left with a couple mysteries.

The trail starts with a trudge up to one of the highest hills in the area.  At the top is a small historic chapel (2-4 people can fit standing up).  Very quaint and very cute and a place I like to visit each time I am there.  A little further on is an overlook with a great view of the prairie, the lake and surrounding area.  Here is the first mysterious flower covering the hill surrounding the overlook - heather perhaps? Back down the hill part way, I found myself somewhere I had never known to exist previously until we came out at the base of the sledding hill.  Off topic here, but this is a fun and gentle sledding hill with a huge fire pit at the top, a warming house with wood stove, and an outhouse.  This makes Indian Lake my favorite destination each year on my birthday for a full day of sledding, picnicking, and fun!

View of the lake and park from the overlook

Unknown plant - heather?

The hill - at the top is the chapel and overlook.

We walked on through a buggy wooded area.  Madison's wet spring has been very conducive to mosquito breeding, so we were bombarded with buzzing and biting pests.  The goal here:  keep moving or be swarmed!  I am so very lucky not to be seen (or smelled) as delectable by mosquitoes, but the large numbers this year make even me a possible meal.  This wooded area is one of my favorite parts of the hike.  I just love to walk through spaces surrounded by trees and moss and ferns.  It seems enchanted and magical. 

This goes on for a while before we carefully make our way down a steep and rocky hill and now things change completely.  The trail is open, the sun shines bright, the blue sky above is clear except for a few puffy, beautiful clouds and there's the lake some way ahead.  The trail is mowed through tall prairie grasses.  At one point, I see a flash of bright blue and then notice that the blue flash is the tail feathers of a bluebird going into a house built especially for this purpose in the midst of the prairie.  Again, that flash of blue as the bluebird flies past to a nearby tree.  How exciting!  I can not remember ever seeing a bluebird use the houses I helped to build in other parks at other times in my life.

Prairie in bloom.

There are poems along the trail.  Winter poems only and I remember back to a ski adventure through a no longer used part of the park, another poem that made me love this park and the people who preserved its space.  Coming up to the lake is a dog park and we are greeted by 2 friendly beasts, one is well-behaved and ready to join us, the other obnoxiously bites at our hands as if we were responsible for his owner's slow pace.  Maybe we can keep up with him instead? 

Alas, we are going in the opposite direction toward an amazing field of yellow.  It is tall enough to feel almost like going through a corn maze.  Another foot or so in height and it would be much the same experience.  I believe this to be yellow yarrow.  It is a sea of yellow, literally, all around us. 

The prairie and the lake.

Yellow yarrow?

The sea of yellow!

The last leg of our hike is a walk along the length of Indian Lake, a quiet small lake left by a glacier.  There is a great deal of evidence of geese populating this space, but none to be found today.  I make a note to plan a trip out to the lake with my kayak.  It looks like the perfect spot for the kind of kayaking that involves paddling to a central location and floating lazily with the paddle in the boat and legs resting out on top.  No motors and not much more than one canoeist out fishing the edge today.  Also, along the lake's edge, yet another mysterious plant!

Lake edge plant - unknown identity.

The hike is about 4.5 miles and took us about 2.5 hours.  A nice number of hills to climb and flat areas to enjoy make this the perfect hike for getting back into my routine and moving on to longer distances and more challenging terrain!

If you would like more information or happen to know the identifications of the mystery plants, please contact me!