I Spy on the Trails - July 1-15, 2025

July came in with a bang, as it usually does. Fireworks, fireflies, heat and knee-high (wait, make that shoulder-high) corn by the 4th of July were back suggesting a more typical pattern to this month's adventures. 

Tule bluet damselfly
Image - Earl Bye, https://rwwild.com

Our temps stayed in the mid-to high 80's with fairly high humidity most days.  Abundant and frequent rain earlier this month in parts of the MN, IA and WI Driftless areas encouraged lush plant growth, higher river levels and faster currents, massive mosquito hatches and the annual return of the mayfly. We ended up with about 1.5 - 2 inches of rain over this two weeks.

Stoney Point prairie remnant (MN)

The mosquitoes made woods hiking challenging during the latter part of these two weeks. Without bug repellent, head nets - and for me, my Rynoskin shirt - we would have reluctantly donated alot of blood to the female mosquito's reproductive cycle. A recent hike had swarms of mosquitoes surrounding us as we hiked through a woods towards our prairie destination. Talk about aerobic hiking! Once out on the sunny, open prairie, we enjoyed virtually mosquito-free time exploring. Prairies forever!

From July 11-13, we had significant degraded air quality in MN and over in WI from Canadian wildfires. The north and central part of the state had very high levels of particulates, while our Driftless area had slightly less. To check air quality, you can use the EPA Air Now app or website: https://www.airnow.gov/ . It will help you determine the risk of outdoor activity during poor air quality times.

Holland Sand Prairie (WI)

As an oldster, I hike with an N95 mask when the air quality deteriorates to the “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Do I love it? Nope. But as a thinking human being, I know that the smoky haze I see in the distance is surrounding me as well. I prefer to ease things for my lungs and body systems by masking up and staying on mellow trails - if I head out at all.

Grant Park, Chicago

I spent some time away from the woods during these two weeks in downtown Chicago. While classical music concerts and museums were on the agenda, I didn't have to leave nature far behind. The city parks and sidewalks were festooned with gorgeous planters and gardens that are only open in summer. 

Rory McEwan print

And a real treat was an exhibition of artist/musician Rory McEwen's amazing botanical drawings from the 1960s -1980s. It was wonderful to still feel connected to nature despite being surrounded by high rises, crowds and concrete.

As we enter the second half of the month, the woods are full of fungi and mosquitoes, the prairies are awash in flowers - and sometimes gnats. It's a great time, especially in the morning to get out and see all the amazing life - not just the plants but the bees, dragonflies, damselflies and other insects that are much in evidence.

See you on the trails!

Plant Observations
Flowering/Mature plants:

• agrimony, tall hairy
• alyssum, hoary
• anemone, candle (cylindrical thimble weed)
• avens, white
• beebalm, spotted

  

  Spotted beebalm flowers

• bergamot, wild
• black-eyed Susan
• campion, starry
• cinquefoil, sulphur
• cinquefoil, tall
• cliffbrake, dwarf
• clover, purple prairie
• clover, white prairie
• columbine
• compassplant
• coneflower, gray-headed 
• coneflower purple
• coreopsis, prairie
• Culver's root
• Deptford pink
• devil's paintbrush
• fern, bracken
• fern, interrupted
• fern lady
• fern, maidenhair
  
• fern, ostrich
• fern, wood
• fleabane, daisy
• fleabane, prairie
• flax, grooved
• germander, American
• harebell 
• hawksbeard, narrowleaf
• hawkweed, hairy
• hyssop, anise
• indigo, wild white
• leadplant
• lobelia, palespike
• milkvetch, Canadian
• milkweed, butterfly 
• milkweed, common
• milkweed, green comet

  

  Whorled milkweed

• milkweed, whorled
• mint, Virginia mountain
• New Jersey tea
• plantain, ribwort
• poppy mallow, purple
• primrose, common evening-
• puccoon, haory
• rockcress, lyreleaf 
• rose, prairie
• spiderwort, Ohio
• spurge, flowering
• St. John's wort
• sunflower, false
• thimbleweed, tall
• toadflax, yellow
• vervain, blue
• vervain, hoary
• yarrow

Sprouts/unbloomed/past bloom:

• aster, aromatic
• aster, Drummond's
• aster, hairy
• aster, western silver
• aster, white heath
• blacksnakeroot, clustered 
• blazing star, dense
• blazingstar, dwarf
• blazing star, rough

  

  Roundhead bushclover (WI)

• boneset, false
• bushclover, roundhead
• camus, mountain death
• cecily, sweet
• coneflower, cutleaf 
• Culver’s root
• cup plant
• feverwort
• goldenrod, elmleaf
• goldenrod, early
• goldenrod, giant
• goldenrod, gray
• goldenrod, prairie
• goldenrod, showy
• goldenrod, stiff
• goldenrod, tall
• horse-gentian, orangefruit 
• honewort, Canadian
• lettuce, Canadian
• mayapple
• mint, mountain
• pussytoes, plantain
• rattlesnake master
• sunflower, stiff
• sunflower, woodland
• Pasqueflower 
• white sagebrush
• wild ginger
• wood betony

Grasses/Sedges:

• alfalfa
• bluestem, big
• bluestem, little
• brome, prairie
• brome, smooth 
• ryegrass, Virginia wild 
• grass, eastern bottle-brush 
• grass, Canada wildrye
• grass, beardless
• grass, deertongue
• grass, sideoats grama
• grass, switch
• indiangrass, yellow
• panicgrass, Scribner's

Fungi/Moss/Lichen:

• forkmoss, broom 

  

  Jellied false coral fungus (IA)

• fungus, jellied false coral
• fungus, scrambled egg slime
• fungus, white jelly
• mushroom, clay-gilled milkcap
• mushroom, mustard-yellow polypore
• mushroom, oysterling 
• mushroom platterful
• mushroom, puffball
• mushroom, ruby bolete
• mushroom, scarlet elfen cup
• mushroom, veiled-bulb aminita
• mushroom, weeping milkcup
• moss, American tree
• moss, silvery thread 
• thyme-moss, woodsy 

Wildlife Observations (seen, heard, detected)
Birds:

• blackbird, red-winged
• blue jay
• bobolink
• cardinal, northern
• catbird, gray
• cedar waxwing
  
• chickadee, black-capped
• cowbird, brown-headed

  

  Great-crested flycatcher
  Image - Scott Martin, Merlin Bird ID

• eagle
• dickcissel
• finch, purple
• finch, house
• flicker, northern
• flycatcher, Acadian 
• flycatcher, great-crested
• gnatcatcher, blue-gray 
• eagle
• finch, house
• flicker, northern
• grosbeak, rose-breasted
• hawk, redtail
• indigo bunting
• goldfinch, American
• kingbird, eastern
• meadowlark, eastern
• meadowlark, western
• nuthatch, white-breasted
• oriole, Baltimore
• oriole, orchard
• pewee, eastern wood
• purple martin
• redstart, American
• robin, American
• sandpiper, spotted
• sapsucker, yellow-bellied
• scarlet tananger
• shrike, loggerhead
• sparrow, clay-colored

  

  Warbling vireo
  Image - Dan Danko, Merlin Bird ID

• sparrow, field
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• swallow, barn
• swallow, cliff
• swallow, tree
• swift, chimney
• titmouse, tufted
• towhee, eastern 
• vireo, Bell's
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, warbling
• vireo, yellow-throated
• vulture, turkey
• warbler, cerulean
• warbler, yellow
• wild turkey 
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• woodpecker, pileated
• woodpecker, red-bellied
• wood-pewee, eastern 
• wood thrush
• wren, house
• wren, sedge
• yellowthroat, common

Waterfowl:

• sandhill crane

Black-and-gold bumblebee (WI)

Insects:

• beetle, American rose chafer
• bumblebee, black-and-gold
• bumblebee, common eastern 
• butterfly, great spangled fritillary
• butterfly, monarch
• butterfly, pearl crescent
• butterfly, silver-spotted skipper
• butterfly, silvery checkerspot
• butterfly, tiger swallowtail
• damselfly, bluet
• damselfly, tule bluet 
• dragonfly, blue dasher 
• draginfly, Halloween pennant
• dragonfly, twelve-spotted skimmer
• dragonfly, widow
• moth, hummingbird clearwing

Two great spangled fritillary butterflies on a butterfly weed (IA)

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location  of the trails found online

IOWISOTA bluff, Lansing IA;  Vetsch/Stoney Point Park, La Crescent, MN;  Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Visitor's Center, Brice Prairie WI (2); Yellow River State Forest, Harper's Ferry IA; Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI (2); Mathy Quarry, La Crosse WI; downtown Chicago sidewalks, Chicago IL (3); Apple Blossom Overlook Park, Winona County MN

Iowisota (IA) bluff prairie view 
of the Mississippi River

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Compass plant, Apple Blossom Overlook Park MN

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Snakes (Keep Them) Alive

 July 16 is World Snake Day. I want to share two recent Facebook posts from WI's Outdoor Recreation Alliance (ORA) and the WI DNR with some info on rattlesnakes and snake encounters. With warm sunny weather, snakes are more apt to be seeking spots in the sun along trails and asphalt near woods. 

On July 11, 2025, the ORA wrote:
It’s that sunny time of year again where sometimes we see all types of trail friends using the trails - Even the sunbathing, slithering kind! Because we've been hearing a few snake reports lately in Hixon, we wanted to remind trail users that there are a few ways to make sure we all stay comfortable when sharing natural spaces with wild animals. Even our slithering friends. 

In the rare event a bite occurs, seek medical help. Local groups, like Friends of the La Crosse Marsh can be great resources if you're looking for more information on wildlife and native species, and helped develop these tips.

To read more about rattlesnakes in the Driftless, check out this WI DNR information shared July 16, 2025 on Facebook:

It's World Snake Day, and to celebrate, we want to tell you about Wisconsin's two species of rattlesnakes.

They're the only venomous snakes in the state, but most people will go their whole lives without seeing one, which is precisely what these snakes prefer! They're not aggressive and will choose to hide or slither away before risking their lives confronting a creature 70 times their size (us).

Timber rattlesnakes are larger (3 to 5 feet long), have dark brown rings and are a species of Special Concern (protected wild animal). They're found in bluff prairies and nearby forests in the southwest, south central and western parts of the state.

Massasauga rattlesnakes are smaller (2 to 3 feet long) with brown saddle-shaped markings on their back and spots along their sides. They are endangered in Wisconsin and federally threatened. They live in more specialized wetland habitats across a diagonal band from the southeast to the west-central part of the state. Due to habitat loss and a historic rattlesnake bounty, they only remain at eight sites in Wisconsin.

There are many snakes you're more likely to see that will imitate a rattlesnake in an attempt to avoid becoming prey! Many of these imitators are much more aggressive than rattlesnakes and may pretend to rattle their tail or strike if approached, because they are nonvenomous – it's all an act.

Rattlesnakes try to conserve their venom for actual prey and usually choose to hide or flee. They are ambush predators, so they wait patiently along downed woody debris and on movement corridors for small mammals to cross their path and capture a meal.

Learn more about Wisconsin's rattlesnakes and their mimics: https://widnr.widen.net/s/5kskcl2gcl/nh0944

MN Driftless Hiking Trail July 2025 Update

The Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail is continuing it's growth and evolution. Here is the most recent newsletter from the group that updates what they are doing and planning. If you'd like to get involved in volunteering and helping to develop this proposed 100 + mile backpacking/hiking trail (similar to the Ice Age Trail in WI), head over to their webpage for even more information - and to sign up for this occasional newsletter!

Happy July! With the first half of the year behind us, we’re stepping into a new season of work for the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail. In the early months of  2025, our focus was on outreach, education, and engagement throughout the trail corridor. As someone still relatively new to the project, having been hired last fall, it’s been a meaningful opportunity to connect with people across the region and hear directly from residents about their hopes and concerns for the trail. Thank you to everyone who attended a forum, visited us at a public event, or welcomed us for a presentation. We’ve felt incredibly supported in every community we’ve visited–proof that Minnesota hospitality is alive and well. Looking ahead, we’re turning our focus to building landowner partnerships and working with local communities to establish access agreements. This project has so many layers, so in this issue, we’re sharing more about that process and how landowners can get involved. We hope you’ll take a look! Wishing you a wonderful summer, Alexa Shapiro Trail Director Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail Conversations Shape the Trail Ahead

Over the past few months, we had the opportunity to host community forums in Chatfield, Caledonia, and Whalan. These gatherings brought together over 60 community members and sparked meaningful conversations about the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail. We were grateful for the opportunity to listen, learn, and share. Each session helped us better understand local hopes and concerns, and gave us space to talk about the many potential benefits the trail could bring to rural communities—like increased tourism, more opportunities for youth and families to access nature, stronger protections for our unique Driftless landscape, support for local businesses, and the chance to showcase the distinct culture of this region to new visitors. Of course, these conversations also highlighted some of the tough—but important—questions our project must continue to address. We appreciated the deep interest and thoughtful questions raised. It’s clear that people want to fully understand what the trail could mean for their communities and their land. Concerns ranged from the use of eminent domain to the potential impacts of increased foot traffic. We heard questions about litter, trailhead use, and how this project will respect the landowners who view their properties as places of refuge. We also heard important questions about how the trail might affect local hunters and how we plan to build this project in a way that strengthens, rather than disrupts, existing recreational use. These forums underscored the need for more clear communication from us. That’s why we’ve created a new FAQ document to provide more transparency and clarity about some of the key topics we heard at the forums about landowner partnerships and how hunting will be factored into planning. FAQ Despite the tough questions, the forums ended on an incredibly hopeful note. In each community, we saw a spark of excitement—an eagerness to start thinking about what comes next. From new ideas about how to welcome hikers with campgrounds, showers, and supplies, to conversations about funding opportunities and community partnerships, the energy was contagious. One question in Whalan captured the tone perfectly: “What can we start doing now to prepare to welcome hikers?” The answers that followed reflected a genuine sense of local pride and future-minded optimism. We walked away from each forum feeling more committed than ever to building this trail with communities, not just through them. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who joined us to share ideas, voice concerns, and offer support. We’re looking forward to offering more opportunities to ask questions, provide feedback, and shape this trail together. The path forward is clearer—and more inspiring—thanks to you. Interested in Having the Trail Cross Your Land? Here’s How It Works. Becoming a landowner on the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail is a collaborative, thoughtful process rooted in mutual respect. It starts with a conversation–about your goal for the land and the vision of the trail. From there, we move step by step: Intro Conversation – We learn about your property and your vision for your land, and discuss how that could fit into the plans for the trail. Letter of Intent – A non-binding document that simply says you’d like to keep the conversation going. Site Visit & Mapping – We walk the land with you, learn how it’s used, and begin shaping what a trail route could look like. Access Agreements – These vary by property and your preferences–more details coming throughout July on social media and our website! Trail Designation & Build – We finalize the route and prepare it for hikers. Public Access Begins – You’re now part of a lasting public asset that benefits your community and the region! If you’re curious about what this could look like for your land, we’d love to talk. Keep an eye on our social media and website this July as we highlight landowner stories and walk through each step in more detail. Landowner Partnerships Voices From the Land 📖Do you love a good short story? Then you won’t want to miss our July Series – Voices from the Land. We’re highlighting some of the landowners who make the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail possible. These are the farmers, foresters, and families who’ve said yes to welcoming the trail across their land. In this special series, they share what they love about the Driftless, why they chose to partner with the trail, and what it means to care for the land–today and for future generations. To catch the series, follow @hikemndriftless on Facebook, Instagram, or X. The series begins Friday July 11! Social Media Help Build the Trail One Conversation at a Time Building the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail is about more than clearing brush or placing signs–it starts with relationships. From meeting with local and state leaders to walking the land with property owners, this trail is being built through trust, dialogue, and shared vision. If you’re someone who knows the land, the people, and the value of community connection, we need your help. We’re seeking volunteers to support our Landowner Partnerships–trusted voices who can talk with neighbors, share the vision of the trail, and help us connect with landowners interested in learning more. Whether you’re a lifelong resident or someone who’s deeply rooted in the region, your experience and relationships can help lay the foundation for a trail that reflects the heart of the Driftless. Want to get involved? Send us a message–we’d love to hear from you. Contact us P.S. We had a great time on Sunday helping our friends at the Lost Creek Hiking Trail with building a bridge to cross an area that has become washed out from the recent rain. A big thank you to our volunteers for helping with the project – we’re so grateful for your support! Next time you’re on the Lost Creek Hiking Trail, keep an eye out for the new bridge (pictured below)! We are grateful to Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center for serving as our fiscal sponsor for the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCRM) through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF). Their support enables us to carry out our efforts to build a 100+ mile backpacking trail, fostering greater access to and appreciation for Minnesota’s natural landscapes.

Copyright (C) 2025 Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail. All rights reserved.

Additional posts on the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail:

• Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail Introduction 10/18/23
• Minnesota Driftless Trail Development Update 5/1/24
• Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trails Updates  2/7/25
• Helping to Make the Dream Come True  3/7/25

Naturalist's Corner - Mayfly Hatch Time

If it's July, it's time for the annual mayfly hatch. I was thrilled to see this great article about mayflies in the July 2025 Frontenac (MN) State Park Association newsletter. I am pleased to welcome Pamela Miller, an FSPA volunteer naturalist, back as a guest contributor to this column.  Pamela is a Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer and member of the very active Frontenac State Park Association (FSPA) - among many talents. She is also a wickedly good fungi-finder (I am in awe of her skills ), a fabulous writer and the editor of the FSPA's wonderful monthly newsletters. This timely post, reprinted with permission from the newsletter, will tell you about all things Mayfly. 

A Bug We Don’t Much Mind: Mayflies

Pamela Miller

(Note: This is an updated version of an article we published two years ago. Mayflies, like most natural phenomena, are an annual happening, so you might occasionally see an article from two or three years ago repurposed for a fresh newsletter. Don’t tell anyone!)

They descend on us after sudden, massive hatches – delicate insects that thicken the air and trees near Lake Pepin, black out the lights at Kwik Trips, slick up the bridges over the Mississippi, mess up your car, and get tangled in your window screens and your fancy hairdo.

Eek! Or, perhaps … hooray!

Mayflies, whose lyrical scientific name, Ephemeroptera or Ephemerida, reflects the fact that they don’t live long, are vital to the aquatic food web and a welcome indication of relatively clean water. (We’re not sure why they’re called mayflies, though, since we see them mostly in July and August.)

A  July mayfly swarm a year or so ago. There goes your hairdo!
 Image - Pamela Miller

Here are some things to know about mayflies, thanks to the Minnesota DNR’s impressive species profile:

• Reproduction: It’s sex, then death. Mating takes place in flight, as females fly through a swarm of males. They then lay eggs in the water and die.

• What mayflies eat: Algae, fungi and decaying material (more reason to appreciate them).

• What eats mayflies: Apparently, mayflies are delicious, though we’ll resist the mischievous urge to include mayfly recipes here. Amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals eat the nymphs. Birds and bats nab the fluttering adults. And when the mayflies die in huge swarms atop lakes and rivers, they present a bird and fish buffet.

• Habitat: Mayflies need fresh water with healthy oxygen levels. This is why we’re happy to see them – they reflect the fact that the water is clean. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, when your newsletter editor was growing up in Old Frontenac, there weren’t many mayflies.

Here’s why, the DNR tells us:

"The mayfly is sensitive to chemical pollutants, increases in suspended solids (erosion) and decreased dissolved oxygen levels. The primary cause of the collapse of mayfly populations during the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s was sewage. Little or no treatment of sewage was occurring during this time. We were literally flushing our toilets into the river. There were reports from this period of ‘cakes of fecal matter’ floating on rivers.

"While this sounds bad enough, the problem for the mayflies wasn’t the poop itself, but what happened next. As bacteria began to break down this mass of organic sludge, they used up tremendous amounts of dissolved oxygen. They used up so much that mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies and even fish disappeared from the Mississippi River from the Twin Cities all the way down to Lake Pepin.

"Today, because of modern sewage treatment facilities and regulations on the disposal of toxic chemicals, mayflies have returned to most of our waterways. New challenges revolve around chemicals that come from our homes and yards. Medications and other pharmaceuticals that leave our bodies go right through the sewage plants untreated and are affecting aquatic life that eat and breathe these compounds."

So, when you see mayflies, salute rather than swat them! And don’t worry – they don’t bite!

If you don't subscribe to the FSPA newsletter, I encourage you to do so. You'll learn a ton and find out first about amazing free programs at Frontenac (MN) State Park. You can read an additional column by Pamela on the blog here: Naturalist's Corner: The Glory Days of Bucks

Nature School - Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin

If you want to go to nature school, a great place to start is the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. This non-profit organization has been in existence for almost 40 years. They not only advocate for WI land, waters and wildlife but annually offer over 250 hands-on guided field trips around the state to get boots on the ground (or paddles in the water) to connect people with learning in and about nature.

Magnolia warbler - bird banding  
NRF field trip, May 2023

You can pretty much find an interesting trip on any topic: geology, birding, climate resilience, archaeology, insects, outdoor skills, foraging, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, mindfulness, mussels, migration, waterfowl. Many involve hikes, paddling or just observation. The field trips range in difficulty from very easy to extreme.

The trips are low cost and offered around the state. To access the trips, one must be a member of NRF ($35 annually). Membership is open to anyone whether they are WI residents or out-of-state. Members can sign up for 4 trips in early April. After the first week of registrations, additional trips that aren't full yet can be added.

Pro-tip: many trips fill up within seconds after registration opens so membership is a distinct advantage.

Trips costs vary depending on length; whether they are also fundraisers for a partnering organization; additional equipment is provided or other factors. Most trips I've been on start at the low cost of $18 to about $30. Others are higher. The funds go towards supporting conservation in the state. The NRF also provides some limited financial assistance to make it affordable to all.

My two most recent nature school classrooms with the NRF are below:

Classroom1:

Bass Hollow State Natural Area, Mauston WI

Birds and Blooms of Bass Hollow SNA        May 16    8am -noon

Extreme: Very steep terrain. Venture off-trail to explore spring wildflowers and migrating birds passing through this forested 100 foot deep natural gorge. Enjoy an inviting view, brimming with  many microhabitats. 3 miles, steep hill.

Bass Hollow ledges

This four-hour hike with two seasoned DNR biologists introduced a huge number of birds and plants to hikers. We climbed down a steep (and I am saying steep) forested hill picking our way through and over fallen trees and limbs until we reached the bottom of the gorge where Seven Mile Creek flowed.  

Along the pathless way, we spotted and learned about many spring ephemerals, some rare, and identified birds. Our guides took the time to point out rare plants and discuss them and our hiking companions added to the discussion with their knowledge. 

Ladyslipper

Once we crossed the creek, we hiked up to amazing 100 foot ledges in a hemlock forest.  We saw patches of yellow lady-slippers, a flower seldom seen in this area as well as rare forbs like the rattlesnake plaintain orchid,and Parlin's pussytoes as we hiked near the ledge rim.

Hiking through valley
below the ledges

We then descended down into the valley made by the ledges.  The valley was lush with rare ferns and spectacular views of the rock formations. Best of all for phenology-mad-but-poor-memory-me, the guides gave us each a list of birds and plants they had identified the previous week. I only had to check them off to remember what we had seen and talked about. The deep knowledge of the guides and slow pace made time for questions to be answered and curiosity satisfied.

Squirrel corn

The final walk back was through a faint path that crossed and re-crossed the creek until we once more bushwhacked our back up the steep slope. It was definitely a great morning at nature school.

**************************

Classroom 2:

Baraboo Hills Hike, Baraboo WI

Geologic History of the Baraboo Hills         May 31           9am-4pm

Challenging: rugged steep hills. The Baraboo Hills are among the oldest rock croppings in North America and a geologic marvel of the Midwet. Hike with an expert to learn how geologic forces, from mountain building to glaciers have shaped this unique landscape. Caravan with stops to hike and explore Van Hise Rock, Abelman's Gorge, Parfrey's Glen and Devil's Lake. 5 miles, rugged steep slopes, stream crossing.

Baraboo Hills Quartzite

This was a true immersion into the incredible pink, maroon and purple-colored quartzite rock formations that dominate this region of Wisconsin. Extraordinarily resistant to weathering, these  formations tower over the softer rocks of the Wisconsin River Valley. An hour-long lecture (with helpful handout) at the beginning of the day introduced us to the history of this rock and the way, over billions of years, it has gone from ocean floor to being folded, lifted, eroded and shaped into the geological formations we see today. 

Vertical rock once
on the ancient ocean floor

At each stop along the way, our guide showed us examples of the massive forces that shaped the rock and the places where horizontal layers of rock had been pushed up into vertical walls. We could see the sand ripples of an ancient ocean bottom that made up part of the walls next to an old quarry.

Learning about the 
Great Unconformity

While we saw plenty of ephemerals along the hikes during the day, it was the rocks and their formation that we went to school on throughout the day. It was exciting to see the concept of a syncline with our own eyes. Seeing evidence of the Great Unconformity in the rock layers was truly eye-opening. Our guide, Philip Fauble, was patient and had a great way of teaching  us without being didactic. 

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When you finish guided hikes like these two and want to turn around and do it all over again, I’d say that’s an A+ experience.

Bushwhacking through Parfrey’s Glen
on the geology hike
Image - a sister hiker

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters