Holly Went Hiking

Featured

My First Blog Post

Take me to the forest…

WordPress says I should start with a quote. I guess -insert your favorite John Muir quote here- if you want.
Here’s my best hiking advice…take care of your feet, hydrate, be prepared, All Trails is your friend, safety first, and for the love of all that is holy LEAVE NO TRACE!
Of course, on the trails and in life, HYOH

I have always loved being outside. I spent the Summer days of my childhood in the woods. Our family vacations were mostly driving out to a lake and pitching a tent. As an adult, I try to get out on a trail as often as possible. There’s no better stress relief than taking a walk among the trees, sitting next to a river, looking out from the top of a bluff, and listening to the birds and squirrels.

I have a big Hiker’s Bucket List. I want to hike in all 50 states (5 down, 45 to go!), I want to hike El Camino, summit a few of those 14ers, and maybe complete the Triple Crown. For now, I’m walking around the Midwest. It’s not flat, btw.

I’m always looking for a new adventure and trying to get my base weight down. Feel free to comment with any suggestions.

Holly

Bell Smith Springs

One of my favorite places in the Shawnee National Forest is Bell Smith Springs. This area has campsites, a swimming hole, and about 8 miles of hiking trails. Some areas are a bit challenging and can be dangerous. Always use caution, be prepared, and leave no trace.

Probably the best staircase in the Midwest. These steps lead to all the cool, natural features.

There are 4 hiking trails; White, Red, Blue, and Yellow. I have completed all but the Blue. The main features to see are the Devil’s Backbone, Natural Bridge, Mill Branch Creek, and Old Grist Mill Site. This hike includes some creek crossings, which can be ankle to knee deep in the Spring.

If you take the yellow trail, go left at the bottom of the stairs, you’ll see the Natural Bridge. This natural arch is 30 feet high and spans 125 feet across. During or just after a good rainfall, a pretty waterfall is active from the top of the bridge. The top of the bridge can be accessed by following the trail up and over or by climbing a ladder up the side. I have climbed the ladder once. It was scary and I won’t do it again.

Scary ladder to the top of Natural Bridge.

My favorite part of this hike is the Old Grist Mill site on the Red Trail. Depending on the season, it can be a rushing stream or small pools of water. Either way, it’s a great spot to relax and enjoy the water and rocks. Exercise caution in this area. The rocks can be very slippery. On my first visit to this area, I slipped and fell on my butt. Ouch!

There’s so much to explore here. The area does get a lot of visitors on the weekends, especially in the Summer months. Arrive early to avoid crowds. Leashed dogs are also welcome!

Short Climb to Inspiration Point

We took a drive down to Wolf Lake, IL. Near the LaRue Pine Hills Natural Area, the Inspiration Point Trail offers one of the best views in the Shawnee National Forest.

We drove down Big Muddy Levee Rd to Larue Rd, then Pine Hills Rd. We made a quick stop to check out Winter’s Pond. We started at the Inspiration Point trailhead and made our way up to the overlook. The view is really amazing.

This is an out and back trail, but we continued along the other side, through a lush, green forest area and exited at the McCann Creek trailhead. Instead of backtracking the trail, we just walked the half mile of road back to our car.

The trail was easy to follow and well maintained. We’ve seen pictures of snakes in this area, but we didn’t meet any on our hike.

The trail is around 3/4 mile of rocks and dirt and leads to a gorgeous, panoramic view of the Mississippi River valley and Big Muddy bottomlands. To add a little extra distance, you can start at the McCann Creek trailhead, just about half a mile away.

This trail is rated as “moderate,” but I would add that there are dangerous areas at the top. Proper footwear is recommended. The trail is quite rocky and it’s easy to slide.

The drive to the trailhead is full of potholes and I’m told that the road can be washed out after a hard rain. Always do a little research before you go and consider weather conditions.

Where’s your favorite scenic overlook spot?

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.