Spent an afternoon with the Adventure Club hiking at Kill Creek Park in western Olathe. We were mostly on the hiking and equestrian trails – the bike trails were a bit too wet. The rocks I’ve used previously to step across Kill Creek were missing (washed downstream?) so I’m going to have to get back out there to rectify that. Not wishing to go wading, we took a long detour.
I spent much of the day hiking at Landahl Park in Blue Springs with some other KC Adventure Club members. I’d been on the trails in the north half before and had been looking forward to getting back there. Unfortunately, the trails were kinda muddy so that shortened our visit to only 3.5 hours. Fortunately, it meant we had plenty of time to explore the southern half of the park – which was all new to me and was more interesting than expected. We spent about 3.5 hours more there but left many areas for a future trip.
I spent a most satisfying 6 hours today at Shawnee Mission Park with 3-6 others from Earth Riders Trails Association building about an eighth mile of new trail. I’d previously worked only on existing trails so it was interesting to see what goes into a new one. I spent most of the time using a pick to dig many, many rocks out of the path while others followed – cutting, grading, and compacting the trail surface. I apparently got into a bit of poison ivy but surprisingly, no ticks.
I spent much of the morning cutting down Asian bush honeysuckle at George Owens Nature Park in Independence. This stuff is an invasive species that is taking over many wild areas. It can grow 4-6 feet per year, is generally the first thing to leaf-out in the spring and the last to drop leaves in the winter, shading the soil under a dense canopy. Some varieties release a chemical into the soil that further inhibits other plants. It’s nasty, nasty stuff. After cutting, the stumps must be painted with a herbicide and the area will require regular monitoring and follow-up treatment to catch the sprouts. It sounds like a never-ending job, doesn’t it? There’s a lot more work like this in my future.
Before: an area smothered under bush honeysuckle
After: an area where wildflowers and trees can develop normally
Afterward I headed to Liberty to hike with a friend at Stocksdale Park and then Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary (where we also saw large areas lost to the honeysuckle).
Spent about 5 hours hiking the Northwest Blue Trail at Hillsdale Lake today. It’s a horse trail, with all the negatives that implies, but it goes through some nice terrain with lots of trees. The map says this trail is a 10.7 mile loop and there are other trails there that are probably about 17 miles one way, so there’s still plenty more to see. The trick is to find a place to access the trail without paying the day-use fees.
There are a few ranches out there that do group trail rides so that is likely to be an upcoming event for the Adventure Club.
Pawpaw blossom
Rose verbena
Squaw Weed
Spent the day with some people from the Adventure Club exploring Monkey Mountain and Honey Creek Conservation Areas north of St Joe. We had over 6 hours on some hilly trails so I think we were all pretty well pooped by the end of the day. The trails at both areas were mostly wide paths where trees were cleared as a fire break, or through grassy areas on top of the hills. Honey Creek appeared to be popular with the equestrian crowd so some trails there were muddy and rocky ruts. It wasn’t my ideal hiking experience but there were some nice views from the hilltops, lots of wildflowers blooming, and good company.
Looking east from atop one of the hills at Monkey Mountain Conservation Area
Moss on a rock at Honey Creek Conservation Area
A yellow violet! Who knew?
Spent a bit of time with friends exploring some “new” trails at Wyandotte County Lake and some jerk(s) stole my license plate! There is a Sheriff’s station at the other end of the lake so it was reported within a couple hours. It cost me $3 and 1.5 hours to get it replaced but I hope the cost is much higher for whoever took it.
I saw an Indigo Bunting as I pulled in the parking area, and my first Zebra Swallowtail of the season. A goose wanted to join us for lunch – it has probably become accustomed to handouts.
Zebra Swallowtail
Blue Phlox
Had a weekend meetup at Clinton Lake with the KC Adventure Club. Several of us met Friday evening at the Woodridge Primitive Area and backpacked about a mile into the woods to make camp.
Saturday morning we packed up, hiked out, and drove to Overlook Park to meet more people and spend a very sweaty day hiking the North Shore trails. In the late afternoon we went to Rockhaven Park to camp. The strong unrelenting wind made everything difficult.
A smaller group of us hiked a bit there Sunday morning before an even smaller group went to Woodridge (again, for me) to hike the entire trail there. I probably only hiked 18-19 miles the whole weekend but the backpack and unseasonable heat sure made it feel like more!
There was some great scenery – interesting rocks and trees along the Land’s End trail, and wild flowers blooming everywhere.
Instead of DEET, I tried an insect repellant with Picaridin – it doesn’t dissolve synthetic materials such as clothing, tents and sleeping bags – and it seemed to work well. One mishap was that after setting up camp Friday night I found my almost-new flashlight was dead. The button had apparently gotten clicked-on and drained the batteries at some point while packed. The good news was that I had bought spare batteries a couple days earlier (even though there was no way I’d need them for a new flashlight, right?), the bad news was that they were $25 worth of CR123 lithium batteries. Ouch. I guess another mishap was the granola & protein bars melting in the heat. How did I not see that coming? I kinda had to lick them out of the wrapper and try to get more in the mouth than in the beard. Gotta rethink my trail food selection for the summer.
Wild violets were blooming everywhere
Descending to the shore on the Lands End trail
Contemplation
The tunnel on the blue trail
A windy afternoon
Rockhaven Park shoreline
Had a pretty full day in Independence with the Kansas City Adventure Club. Started with a hike at the George Owens Nature Park, then a picnic and more hiking at La Benite Park, then over to River Bluff Nature Reserve for yet another hike.
I spent much of the day last Saturday at Perry Lake clearing brush from a hiking trail with a group from the Sierra Club and the Kansas City Outdoor Club. The entire trail runs about 30 miles and I want to try doing the whole thing at some point – probably a 3 day journey.
Michael R - The Compulsive Hiker
The Compulsive Hiker 