Ridley Creek State Park Hike

January 17 was almost as cold as the pervious weekend at the Klondike Derby. The big difference was the temperatures actually rose to near the freezing point making for a balmy winter day. The trail conditions were challenging with a fresh blanket of soft snow. The trail consisted of three loops. The first loop was the longest and roughly followed the circumference of the park. We started hiking at 9:15 with a downhill trail to Ridley Creek. This trail followed the frozen stream for about a mile. Then it was up and over a steep hill and into a pine forest along the boundary of Tyler Arboretum. The southern portion of the trail incorporated a multi-use trail that is paved for bicycles, roller blades and walkers. It featured some wide-open farmland and grassy areas. The next part of the trail was back into the woods and eventually around the old mansion that is the “centerpiece” of the park. In this area we spotted a fox in the woods about fifty yards away. From the mansion the hike returned to the beginning point using the grassy shoulder of an access road. With over five miles completed the hikers took a short lunch break. By this time the hikers had broken into two groups. The faster hikers were Mr. Partlow, Kenny H. and Brian P. The slower group was lead by Mr. Houseal, Mrs. Houseal, Mr. Lamar and Mr. Kilcoyne. This group had Webelos Scout Andrew H. along with Boy Scouts Chris K. and Andy H. After the lunch break Mrs. Houseal, Mr. Kilcoyne and Andrew H. retired from the hike. When each group finished their lunch break they started the second loop of the trail. The second loop used mostly forest trails and circled through the interior of the park grounds. It had very hilly terrain and rougher trails. This part of the trail was harder to follow as it changed trail-blazing colors many times. Again the trail returned to the starting point for a brief break. The third and shortest loop once again followed the creek but for a longer distance followed by a very hilly return to the parking lot to make a trail total of over ten miles. The two groups hiked the last loop in opposite directions but never saw each other due to the faster Scouts missing a trail turn resulting in an unintended detour. Both groups ended within fifteen minutes of each other at 2:10 PM. This was only ten minutes later than the targeted finish time. The hikers did very well considering the winter conditions and the new fallen snow. It was very interesting to hike in a park in a very built-up suburban area but at all times you felt you were in an area as remote as the Appalachian Trail.

Yours in Scouting,

Mr. Houseal