Let's Go on a Weird Girl Hike

Dylan and I were on the trail that encompasses Lincoln Lake a couple of times in March and April. One of those times, we attempted to hike the whole 4.5 miles up and down the steep hills and rocks that encompasses the lake, and I accidentally traumatized Dylan. I had a great time though, and have been waiting for a time when I could return.

I figured I would be alone for my next hiking adventure, but lately I had been feeling guilty that I hadn't taken Tori on any small trips since before I left for Destin. So when I set the date, I included her in my packing list.

Packing List

- Hiking Backpack with filled water bladder- Hat- Collapsible water bowl- Protein shake- Tori snack- Tori cooling shirt

- Tori harness and leash

Tori and I would be staying the night at Dylan's before we left, so I also packed Tori's breakfast and my hiking clothes and shoes.

Tori and I got up around 6:30 and quickly got ready. I wanted to hike as early as possible before it got super hot outside! We drove 20 minutes to the lake and set off at a good place.

I had fun taking pictures of Tori in the morning sun, but she was excited to get going. There was no one else there the whole time we were hiking. It was very nice and peaceful.

Taking the trail clockwise is the popular route, and you climb up a bunch of rocks before reaching the more forested trail. Tori jumped from rock to rock like a champ.

After you reach the forested trail, it is about half a mile to the "Dam", which is a large man made lump of land that cuts off the lake, but is walk-able. It has a pretty view and we saw some bunnies run across the trail into the bushes. Tori and I took our first water break after we crossed it.

While walking the next mile, we came across a neighborhood of Turkey Vultures. There were a ton of feathers, big and small, and I saw two of them fly from the rocks that hugged the trail. Holding the feathers for a photo may be controversial after knowing the type of bird they came from, but I've definitely touched more disgusting things than a scavenger feather.

Let's get the field notes on these birds! Here is what I noticed before googling the source of the feathers:

- The birds came from the top of the rocks, not the trees. - The feathers are a dark grayish-brown, and white near the base.

- I have seen these feathers many times in the forest of my Dad's backyard in Central Arkansas

Turkey Vultures are pretty common, but I still didn't know too much about them other than the qualitative features I've seen over the years. Here are a few new things I learned about them:

- They fly with the thermals in the sky, using sudden changes in topography to carry them into the sky with the updrafts.

- While vultures in the Americas look very similar to vultures in other parts of the world, they are actually not closely related.

- Turkey Vultures have an extremely acidic stomach, meaning they can digest almost anything and also don't get sick from eating diseased flesh.

They're disgusting but I thank them for keeping the forest clean. Someone's gotta do it.

The next mile of the hike was on a downward slope for the most part, so it was smooth sailing. Tori and I wound back and forth until we ended up at one edge of the lake where we took our second break. There was a lot of beautiful autumnal colors, though I think this is due to the lack of rain rather than cooling weather.

It was starting to warm up so I dumped whatever water Tori didn't drink on her back and that method worked well at keeping her cool for the rest of the hike.

I would say that was the easiest part, because we were climbing upwards at various inclines for the other 2.5 miles. The higher elevation we got, the more we encountered these huge dark rocks. They are the same type of rock that the vultures we saw earlier nested in, but in a lot more abundance. In my mind, this is where a clan of trolls would live. These rocks are popular for local rock climbers as well, but I have never seen anyone climbing them in person yet.

A little about the rocks themselves, they are layered sedimentary rocks, made of limestone. I'd say this is the most abundant rock in the Ozarks. I saw a lot of this in the caves in Branson, Missouri.

Before our three mile break, I came across some nostalgia with these fallen seeds. When I was in first grade, there would be tons of these strips of seed pods at the back of the recess field. When they are all fuzzy we would call them "deer skins". When I looked these seed pods up, though, they are not the same as I saw as a child. The fuzzy pods were probably from Wisterias, where as these pods are most likely Honey Locust seeds. The curl of the pod is the best tell. Here are some facts about the Honey Locust:

- They thrive in well drained soil- the rocks help with that!- They are resilient to weather fluctuations.- Native Americans used the wood for tools and crafting.- They are native to North and Central America.Once we passed through the thin forest, we came across a herd of deer on our way up back through the large limestone rocks. They were camouflaged so well, Tori and I didn't even realize how close we were until they started to scatter away. Mostly does, they were beautiful and huge! Sadly, I didn't get a picture.We stopped for our third water break after that, and it was increasingly getting warmer. All Tori really cared about were the treats I brought, but she did good staying hydrated. Once I poured the rest of the water on Tori's back to keep her cool, we climbed up the steepest part of the trail. Even though this was the hardest part of the hike physically, it was my favorite because of the views. With all of the fallen leaves, it really felt like a mock-Autumn. There were also rocks placed down in different spots to help the trail, and that just made it feel magical to me.Tori started to get annoyed that I was taking a lot of pictures and telling her to pose, lol!It wasn't too much further, though, until we reached the best view of the lake. It's crazy just how different a landscape can look depending on the season. Last time I looked out over the lake at this spot, it was mid-March, and the trees were just starting to bud.I tried to prop my phone up to take a photo of Tori and I, but the photo came out a little lopsided and there's a tree in the way, oops. I still think it is a cute pic.From there on, it was downhill. We passed over more rock paths and we found some more fun spots. Tori really liked watching the birds near the water from up above.When we made it back to the car, it had reached "hot" status, and we were grateful to get back in the car and turn on the AC. I think Tori had a lot of fun running through the forest and exploring, especially because it was just us two on the trail the whole time. I plan to keep going back and doing the whole trail, I'd like to complete it by myself one morning. Do you have any beautiful trails near you? Let me know, and I will see you all soon!*Full version with photos will be available on findingwithout.blog in October 😋. This is my first test draft with madebyhumans, I really like this idea!