I knew that thinking I had "enough time" to hike the Schoolhouse Gap Trail was stretching it a little when I parked in the lot, but I had to know. Turns out this trail was loaded with almost every wildflower I had seen throughout the park. If you only have a short time in the park and you want to see wildflowers in April my suggestions are Chestnut Top trail and this one.
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| Catesby's Trillium |
I looked at my watch every five minutes. I broke into a trot now and then as I kept rounding curves. I felt like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.
The trail description link above says the rhododendren are blooming here in mid-May, along with Pink Lady Slipper and Fairy Wand. I knew May would be a great time to come back.
I made it to the Turkeypen Ridge crossing and was greeted with a large pile of bear scat.
The trail to Turkeypen Ridge was tempting and I dashed up it for a minute. I ran into another photographer who gave me a brief rundown. The good stuff was just too far ahead. Another trail for another day.
Going from Schoolhouse to Chestnut Top (or vice versa) sounds like a good combination for a shuttle situation. I'm sure my hiking friends will oblige...
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| Yellow Ragwort |
There's a lovely bridge right at the parking area for this trail. The park has several nice bridges along Little River Road, take the time to stop and have a look!
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| Dogwood blossoms |
I was exhausted from sprinting up and down the trail and for once was ready to head back. I couldn't believe that was my last hike until next time and that I'd have to leave.
Tonight I'm camping at Kettle Moraine for 2 nights and another wildflower hike on Saturday morning. I'll have lots of time to finish catching up on reading the blogs I follow. I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to, I know a few folks are hanging out in Utah or Sedona and others are making their way west and north for the summer. I'd be jealous but our whole family is off to Newfoundland for a short visit next week!
I loved the photos. I wish blogger allowed for comments under each individual photo. :o( The photo of the bridge is outstanding!! It reminds me of a beautiful jigsaw puzzle picture from my childhood! Oh how I would love to be heading to Newfoundland for a week (or for the whole summer!)
ReplyDeleteLots more for you to discover in future visits.......There's a great nine-mile loop that can be done starting and ending at either Schoolhouse Gap trailhead or Turkeypen Ridge trailhead. Maybe next year we'll both be prepared to do nine miles. By all accounts, it's an easy nine miles and actually uses the Finely Cane Trail which you and I did last October. BTW, can't see it really well, but I think the large pile of poop you saw may have been horse rather than bear.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. I really need to get to the east coast and spend some time out there. Such beautiful places!
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