We experienced downright fall weather during our next hike (seventh of ten) in the Cuyahoga Challenge. We started just after a noon picnic at the trailhead with bright skies, a few clouds, lot of wind and cool temperatures (upper sixties F).
This hike was on the Wetmore Trail (pdf) in the southern part of the Cuyahoga Valley (pdf).
It's one of the longer ones we've planned and we allocated most of the afternoon to this hike. The NPS rates this one moderate (some places rate it difficult) and certainly it's harder than some we've hiked but it felt a little harder than moderate. There were a fair number of ups and down and the fact that we were sharing the trail with horses didn't make it any easier. Even though we didn't see any while we were hiking, the trail feels much more groomed and designed for horses and their impact on the terrain was undeniable.
This hike also showed us some marvelous fields and meadows. One was completely covered in goldenrod. (I'm resisting the urge to sneeze even now!)
Another was covered in tall, yellow flowers that looked similar to balsam groundsel (pictures).
And of course there was milkweed here and there. On the Lake Trail at Kendall Lakes we saw a monarch caterpillar and a chrysalis.
This time we caught a glimpse of a monarch butterfly. Since we aim to follow leave no trace guidelines, I didn't leave the path to get a closer look. This zoomed image will have to suffice!
We also saw a number of chipmunks, running along and behind the large number of downed trees here.
At one point, my wife saw some tails running off into the distance. Deer or something else?
At one point we had several "somethings" calling to one another from different points around us. My wife took a recording and we hope to figure out was was making these sounds. (Perhaps woodcocks?)
One of the highlights of the trek was seeing a new bird (new for us).
This hooded warbler was deep in a thicket, behaving just as hooded warblers are reported to behave.
At the time, we had no idea what it was, but this zoomed and cropped image seems to point pretty conclusively to it being a hooded warbler.
What fun!
So far, we've hiked 11.8 miles (Wetmore is considered 4.5, not 4.0) over eight days. Today was a challenging one and yet the three year-old kept up with us.
It was a great day for a hike.
The Wetmore Bridle trail (approximately 4.5 miles) (pdf) starts at the Wetmore Trailhead parking lot which is located on Wetmore Road, east of Akron/Peninsula Road Road (pdf) in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is considered a moderate to difficult trail.
