Finally, some cooler hiking weather—sunny and 70 degrees with a light breeze! What could be better than that? I drove to Gate 2 at Dupuis Wildlife Management Area, and I stepped onto the trail at 9:00 a.m.—destination, Loop 2 this time.
The first part of this hike was familiar to me—I had hiked Loop 1 this summer, and you have to hike most of Loop 1 to get to Loop 2. But wow! What an overgrown trail! I arrived at the picnic tables about 20 minutes later, and my legs were covered with burrs—so glad I wore pants. The grass was dewy, and the ground a bit damp.
At one point during the first mile, something quickly passed in front of me on the trail—about the size of a small to medium-sized dog, reddish brown in color. I have no clue what it was. Other than that, I came upon lots of turkeys, but no humans.
It was a beautiful day to be on the trail—regardless of its unkept state. (I saw on Facebook that volunteers worked on Loop 1 the very next day.) At times, it was difficult to find the trail, and I was happy I had apps to stay on track when the path was uncertain. Walking in tall grass with no path—accounts for the burrs and the tick that rode back home with me.
Apparently, the wild boars have found a home and had spent much time digging up the trail. The torn-up ground made my hike more challenging at times. Lots of evidence, but not a boar in sight!
With a couple of breaks, I completed the 7.5 mile loop in four hours and arrived back at my car around 1:00.
Footprints and Ripples 