Front Nine Trail

 

Last Friday's walk was a 1.7 mile fairly easy hike on a paved trail (former golf cart track), although it was a bit hilly. The Front Nine Trail is one of two trails in the former Cherry Valley Golf Course Tract of the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The wildlife refuge has other sections as well in the Cherry Creek Watershed. As the name suggests this was a golf course, purchased by the Nature Conservancy about five years ago and then deeded over to the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 

The signage along the trail discusses some of the steps taken to transition the golf course into a more natural landscape appropriate for a wildlife refuge. Over five hundred shrubs were planted along the creek as well as other restoration techniques to provide habitat for native fish as seen in the photo above. Controlled burns and seeding with native plants were both used to jumpstart the transition from golf course to meadow. The area surrounding and interspersing the golf course had many trees, but young trees continue to be planted; we noticed both tulip poplar and American sycamore saplings. 

Very close to the start of the trail, we passed a large patch of what we think are false sunflowers or Heliopsis helianthoides, one of the native perennials that we have in our pollinator garden at home. Along the trail we identified crows, bluebirds, blue jays, and a bald eagle circling above. We came across a tree filled with a group of small birds that we didn't know. They flew away just as Renee opened her Merlin app to try to identify their calls. 

We noticed another pollinator plant in a different field, boneset, probably late boneset or Eupatorium serotinum.  Bees covered it, harvesting pollen. Boneset is not a plant we have in our garden yet, but we were both impressed with the bee activity for this time of year. 

The next time we visit, we will try the Back Nine Trail, the other golf cart trail. 

Woodland Trail

 

Yesterday's walk was another one in the Mt Airy Trail Network, the Woodland Trail. It is a pleasant 1.1 mile "lollipop" trail (out and back with a loop at the end) that starts just across the road from the casino/resort. The trail runs along the Forest Hills Run, but upon starting the loop section it traverses some mixed logging areas. Reading "reviews" of the trail, I am uncertain whether this was commercial logging or cutting out severe Emerald Ash Borer damage. Some locals writing comments have now referred to it as "Wasteland Trail," due to the logging. None of it was true clear cut, but the stumps suggest that some rather large trees were cut. 

At any rate, it was good to get out for a walk before today's deluge started. We have had a lot of activity with workers coming in to work on our bathroom, so we haven't kept up with our exercise program, but we are both enjoying the walks once we get out there.