More on Morton Forest,
the newest Dane County Park,
near Mazomanie. If you go, look
for Reeve Road
across from the Subway store on Highway
14. This ride through the hills is in
itself interesting. You'll be near the end of
Reeve Road before you come to
the parking lot. It appears that the newness has worn off;
there was room to park in the lot today (a weekday).
Now that I'd
been there before I knew enough to lead my two companions on the
trail behind the small cabin/nature center. It's the one that's the
least challenging. The trails
in this section of the park were done by the Steve Morton family.
They're wide and well-groomed
after many years of use. There are some
plantings along the way but they have also been there for years so
they blend right in with what nature has done. We moved along
chatting and approving of this choice for a hike. We had a great
canine hiker with us (dogs are welcome but need a Dane County Park
permit). There are many off-shoot trails but we chose
to stay on
the main trail to the top. There is signage but I found it
to be a bit confusing;
that could have just been me. Regardless,
most of the trails loop back or head downhill. The timber frame shelters with a
bench are a piece of art in their own right. There
was plenty of
room for all of us to sit and take in
Mother Nature’s
fall master piece.
The overlook views in
this part of the park are amazing.
Check the other photos
I posted on October 21st.
We headed back
down to the trail that would take us across the road to the second
section of the park. On my first trip here I had taken a more
challenging uphill
path that now was perfect for taking down to where we needed
to be. Once you reach the bottom, this
path is flat and winds its
way around a wetland
area. I would think that earlier in the year it
could be a great birding site.
From here we
wanted to check out the additional new section that Dane County has
purchased to add another
hilltop
viewing point. Once you’re
near the road there's a left path taking you up to the road (which
you want) or straight ahead takes you back to the cabin area. You
need to take the road a short distance to the right. We noticed a
dirt climb from the ditch leading to a path. It could be a bit
troublesome if wet but once we reached the upper path there is
a gated entrance a short distance
farther down the road. I'm going to attach a web
site to this entry;
I believe this is what
they’re talking
about when they mention a
challenge. The dirt path is new and goes pretty much uphill.
We took a couple of breathers.
The overlook here has another awesome shelter. They have cleared some
trees and underbrush to open
the view. My guess is that in the spring there will
be some more grooming done here.
While we were
resting, a much younger and more fit couple that we
had talked to at the first overlook came
up the hill. They had made it without a breather but they were
puffing and he was covered in sweat. Needless to say the rest of the
downhill hike back to the car was a snap.
The attachment is
worth reading. It details the history of this very generous gift
to the Dane County Park System and all of us for years to come.
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