Powder Valley revisited

Posted by Kara |1 comments

 This weekend I took a test run. It has been a terrible, terrible spring for allergies for me this year (though luckily my asthma has been fairly tame so far), and half the time I'm miserable even just being indoors. So in order to give myself a taste of the outdoors and test how my allergies would hold up, I decided to do an easy walk at Powder Valley, where it is easy to get to my car if I suddenly was about to die of my eyes swelling shut. It went well, to say the least, and I immediately could feel myself relax just being outside under the trees.

I have been to Powder Valley multiple times, I think the most recent visit being half a year ago in November. There are things I love about it and things I dislike about it, but convenience is definitely a big selling point for me. It's kind of a surprise to find it when you go, because it seems stuck right in the middle of a fairly urban area. One minute you're driving down a road with doctor's offices and houses, and then you turn and there are woods around you. Powder Valley also offers a really neat nature center with kid-friendly activities (that I found kind of fun too, when I went), and very friendly staff who were willing to talk to me about teacher-education opportunities and classes when I went this time.

This is the first time I've done all three trails in one day, though that isn't saying a ton. Broken Ridge Trail is 2/3 of a mile long, but has a few ascents to make things interesting. Tanglevine Trail is barely a trail at all, 1/3 of a mile and very flat, basically just a small circle. Both of these trails have signs on the trees or near interesting wildlife in case you are wondering what kind of tree/plant you are looking at, and the Tanglevine trail also has a few poster signs along the way about the habitat of the wildlife. The Hickory Ridge trail is just a nudge over a mile long, though there is a shorter loop option (I did the long trail and then finished up on the short trail back to the parking lot, just because). This trail has the most ups and downs, and is different from the other trails in that it spends a bit of time on the valley floor, following along the stream. Overall, all three trails add up to about 2.2 miles, not a bad little walk.

Cons for me on this trail are:
-all paved trails
-fairly well traveled and full of families/children (which for families with kids, would be a pro, I imagine)
-there can be lots of noise from the nearby highway and roads-- I had to use my ipod the whole time.
-Fairly uneventful scenery, without much variety on the trails.

Pros:
-Convenience
-Good short length for a day walk
-helpful staff and plenty of facilities
-Despite the lack of variety, the scenery is nonetheless beautiful. Tall green trees, wooden bridges, and streams really give you a peaceful, calm feeling
-Just enough up and downs on the trails for it to be more than just an easy walk.

Weekend Walks

Posted by Kara |0 comments

The beautiful weather is sticking around into November, though it's awfully cold in the mornings, and then slowly warms up during the day. It's absolutely my favorite weather. Today was actually pretty warm, with a strong sun to bring the temperature up to nearly 70.

No actual hikes done this weekend (though I had considered it), but I did do some walking. Yesterday did the Hickory Ridge Trail at Powder Valley-- this has two loops, one of which is about half a mile and one which is about a mile and a half. It actually gets a little confusing on which part of the trail you are on, but as far as I know it was the longer loop. Powder Valley is gorgeous this time of year, and this trail was really lovely. All the trails at Powder Valley are paved, but it's always kind of amazing to see this beautiful little wooded area hidden away in the middle of an urban area. The walk was relaxing, the views were lovely, and there's just enough incline here and there to keep you busy.

Today I also went back to Queeny Park to do the Hawk Ridge trail of about 4 miles. It was fairly busy (being the middle of the afternoon instead of the earlier morning when I've gone before), but not so much that it was unenjoyable. Even though a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, there is still just enough color here and there. I don't think Queeny Park could ever really be unattractive. I went with my roommate, who keeps me in check a bit. Not only is she more in shape than me to begin with, but she is also taller than I am (not a hard feat, I admit), so I have to quicken my own strides to keep up with her longer ones. I never liked running, but a good brisk walk is something I do enjoy. I felt really good afterwards, and even though I didn't get any real hiking in, I felt good that I had managed to get out a little to enjoy this gorgeous weekend. Once November hits, I kind of live each weekend like it could be the last nice one we have for months. I'm glad the sun and fall weather is sticking around though!

Hilda Young Conservation Area & Powder Valley Park

Posted by Kara |2 comments

Even though we are about to begin the second week of November, the weather has been extremely warm (though with St. Louis weather, that hardly surprises me) at near 80 degrees today! So of course I couldn't pass up the day for hiking, especially after an especially quiet and lazy weekend at home. Originally it was going to be another group hike, but in the end it was just me and Allison, and a promise to meet the other girls at the London Tea Room later that afternoon.

I wanted to try the Hilda Young Conservation Area because it sounded gorgeous and seemed kind of out of the way, though 60 Hikes in 60 Miles recommended it as a good spring and winter hike. However when we arrived, not only were there plenty of cars already parked in the small lot (it seemed like mostly hunters and fishers?), but a sign on the board said that the main trail was closed because the bridge was out. I'm not sure when Missouri Conservation plans on fixing this, but hopefully by next spring the whole trail will be available to hike. I will be returning to this trail again in the future to complete the entire thing.

Despite this, Allison and I took the hike down to where the bridge was out, just to take a look, then began hiking back down the closing side of the loop that would lead us towards the pond and the parking lot again, a nice short loop. I was very glad, however, to have the 60 Hikes book with us, because the author described a small mown path that we could take that would follow LaBarque Creek and give us a look at the bluff where the pine plantation was (where the full hike would have taken us had the bridge been in working order). It was very pretty and gave us just the extra bit of hiking to make us feel that we hadn't missed something by coming while the bridge was out. Between the very pretty light woods, the open medows with tall grasses, the creek, and the easy to see, wide grassy trails, the hike was pleasant, very pretty, and really relaxing. The trail was very well marked (for once!) with easy to see sign-posts and little markers with hikers on them, and also had some informative signs along the way near benches explaining how the planting of certain trees was working to prevent erosion. Despite the large number of cars in the parking lot, we didn't see anyone on the trail or spur except for a man fishing at the pond when we started. There was some noise from the nearby roads that never quite seemed to disappear, but it wasn't too bothersome-- also, I imagine as the hike goes on further past the creek, noise might be less of a concern. Overall I really liked the feel of this area, small and kind of intimate, and the book promised some really good sights further on up the trail which I will definitely return to explore. The warnings about hunting season made me slightly nervous, but the signs on the trail seemed to promise no hunting within those limits.

Afterwards, because it was on our way back, we stopped briefly at Powder Valley Park in Kirkwood and did their shortest 2/3 of a mile hike on the Broken Ridge Trail. This was a very different walk for me because the paths were paved, but it was actually very beautiful, and completely surprising to find such an expanse of wooded walks in what seems like the middle of the suburbs. The path was crowded with families and children, but it is very family friendly so that was to be expected. The trail actually had some pretty steep inclines, and was very peaceful and a very short but pleasant and fulfilling walk. If I have more time, I would love to go back and do the other two short trails at Powder Valley. It seems like a nice place to go for a stroll with friends or jogging.