In October we had to share one vehicle, so there was no kayaking and hikes/rambles had to be closer to home and confined to shorter periods of time.    Most hikes were started early and were 1 – 2 hours in length.    Three of these are shared here.

From Home Depot next to Kenna Cartwright Park I hiked the Kinnikinnik Loop  – Reservoir Trail > Mapgie > Deer Run > Lower Doc Findlay > Kinnikinik > Reservoir.    This took about an hour.   It is a hike I return to do a couple of times each year.

Some images from the hike are shared here.    Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

Magpie Trail

Deer Run Trail

Kinnikinnik Trail

snowberries on Kinnikinnik

Mt. Paul and Mt. Peter across the valley

the route

On another day I drove to Rose Hill Park and hiked another short loop route along single tracks and some double tracks with great viewpoints.

Up the gully

the traverse to the gully

Overlander Bridge and Rabbit Island to the west

Rose Hill

the meeting of the Rivers

across the Lower Rose hills to the river

along the ridge

I did an exploratory hike from the Goose Lake Road following double tracks which paralleled Peterson Creek.    All was quiet in these grasslands hills as I hiked for 2 hours.

Peterson Creek flows through a series of marshes and ponds.   Ducks were dabbling on the ponds.    I spotted a beaver dam at one point.   These areas would be busy with blackbirds in the spring.

Each day’s hike has a different location. Some are old favorites. Some are exploration routes. Some are variations on hikes from the past.   All are rewarding.