A Winter Hike at Castlewood

190 pounds!  Ugh.  I stood on the scale this morning, begrudgingly, after a month of birthday,  Christmas, and New Years celebrations to discover that I had gained 10 pounds in just the month of December.  The busy month coupled with a persistent chest cold had defeated me.  Fortunately, I went into work to find a very light schedule for once that allowed for me to duck out early and seek out a nearby hike.

Several months ago I had made a spreadsheet listing 60 hikes that I wanted to complete before September 1, 2018.  I have not made much progress on the list, so it was easy to find a good target for today – Grotpeter Trail at Castlewood State Park.  While the park is normally extremely busy, this was a weekday and temperatures were hovering at around 11 degrees at noon time so it promised to be a quiet day to hit the trail.  

I parked right past the visitor center and, just as I had hoped, there were no other cars in the lot.  The trail is very well used and very well marked, blazed in navy blue.  It starts out following along Kiefer Creek, which still had open water despite several days in a row of below zero night-time temperatures.  I was greeted quickly by a flock of Mallards bathing in the icy water, then shortly after by a mature Red-shouldered Hawk perched just a few feet above the trail.  Both species were brilliant in the afternoon sun.  As I continued along the flat path at the water’s edge, I flushed a Barred Owl as well as numerous winter birds rustling through the brush along the trail.  Life is good.  

After crossing a street that cuts through the park, the the trail goes straight up for several hundred yards, offering a steep yet welcome reminder that I needed a good workout today.  I skipped the well-placed bench at the top of the hill and continued the winding and hilly trail through the hardwood forest, full of many mature oaks, hickories and maples.  It was impossible to get lost, as every junction was well marked and the many large deer trails that cut through the park were marked with signs indicating that this is not part of the trail.

Of course I did see several deer, including a small spike buck.  I continued at a steady pace, but took time to look at tracks in the weeks old snow on the ground as well as study nearby birds with my binoculars.  The 1 ½ hour walk in the woods seemed to fly by, and before I knew it I was back at my truck, still all alone in the parking lot.

I only ran into 3 other people on the entire 4.0 mile trail, and the solitude was priceless.  The cold temperatures and crisp air were welcome and just what I needed to kick my rear into gear.  Today held  another great hike in the Missouri Outdoors, and I know that I am blessed to have access to so many wonderful trails close to Home.  Castlewood State Park is just another example of the many great State Parks in Missouri.  Get out and find the right trail for you, you will be glad you did.  Check out www.mostateparks.com for some ideas.

Have you hiked Grotpeter trail?  How about the other great trails at Castlewood?  I would love to hear about your favorite trail at Castlewood in the comments below.

By the way, for the birders among us, birds seen today included: Mallard, Red-shouldered Hawk, Barred Owl, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, White Breasted Nuthatch, American Crow, Bluejay, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee sp., and Wood Ducks.

 

Written by: Paul McCaslin