My Window on the River: Lower Blackhawk Ridge

My timing and the weather finally came together so that I made the hike through the lower part of the Blackhawk Unit of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway. In fact I went there twice. The first time I stopped on my way from work (no camera) and I was just as pleased as I was with the upper trails. So I let it be known that I needed to go again soon for photos. A couple of days later gun deer season began so that was no place I wanted to be. A regular hiking companion took the bait after the hunting season closed. The phone call began that she needed to get out in nature for some exercise and tranquility.

I had promised to help a friend clean up some dead trees that had fallen across the trail in her restored prairie, so that came first in the morning. It was a windy, crisp start to the day but the sun was bright. Along the way through the prairie there were songbirds making short flights from seedhead to seedhead in the tall waving Indian Grass. When we arrived at our destination the wind of a couple of nights before had added another tree to block our path. Soon the chainsaw was making manageable pieces of the now bark-less trunks. It's sad to lose a tree, but now before they return to the soil of “Mother Earth” we left them in mounds to provide shelter to the prairie and woodland creatures that would soon make them home. This was a great outing in nature but I wasn't done for the day.

It was mid afternoonwhen I made the

return call about going to Blackhawk.

“Are you still up for a hike?”

“I'll be ready in ten minutes,” was the reply.

Soon we were standing in front of the

historical marker telling of a sad time

in our nation’s past. Sadder yet, it sounds

all too similar to what's still happening

around the globe to this day.

From here we headed into where we

would be taken away from all of today’s worries.

From here we headed into where we would be taken away from all of today’s worries. The paths are wide and well-groomed. It helped that I had been here the week before, so I just led the way. I should note that the signage here is very well done. I chose to take the trail away from the Indian Mounds; it would eventually wind its way back to them. After a short time of crossing prairie we entered a shadowy tunnel created by the tree canopy and descended down a fallen-leaf-covered path. Down in the valley we could hear the gurgling of a small creek making its way to the wetland beyond.

The clear water of the creek was bordered

on each side by a bit of muddy goo which

someone had covered with a now slippery piece

of plywood. Our hiking skills served us well;

we both made it across without getting muddy butts

(we did as well on the return crossing).

From here we were again on groomed paths. The late day sun was setting on the rock outcroppings, sending rays of warm light into dark cave-like openings. My companion suggested perhaps someone should check to see if there was something in them. My return comment was, “Go ahead. I'll tell them that you disappeared down the rabbit hole with Alice.” In the end, being the older of the two of us, my wisdom won out. We'll never know what’s down the rabbit hole. That's what time in nature will do to you – you become childlike again.

The loop now took off around the hill, up the hill and over the dell. Before we knew it we were back at the path to the mounds. I was there a couple of years ago but the mounds were hard to pick up on; now some of the brush has been removed and they are well defined. I did some research about the five mounds and this is what I got from the DNR site:

“The property’s archaeological and historic features are rare in the United States and represent significant past events worthy of special note. Five linear effigy mounds located on the south boundary of the Wisconsin Heights Battlegrounds were constructed during the Late Woodland period between 600 and 1300 AD. Early Indians built these earthworks, which are only found in a region bounded by southwest Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, eastern Iowa and northern Illinois. Numerous mounds along the Wisconsin River are in the form of birds, animals and reptiles. Typically aligned with the sun at summer solstice, linear mounds may be burial mounds or simply hut foundations. Their real function remains a mystery and is under study.”

The sun was getting low in the bright blue sky but we continued on up the hill. This part of the trail is also used by horses so we needed to look down more often. This side headed south toward the other parking lot, but from the time before I knew there was a connecting loop back. These paths are well-packed dirt, winding around the hill, and covered a more beautiful landscape with larger rock outcroppings. No exploratory thoughts here from my companion. In a more damp part of the woods we both got caught up in the amazing lichens, brackens and colorful things that were growing on the rotting tree trunks. We didn't see any horses this day but we were greeted by a couple of dogs that were having as much fun as we were as they dragged their owners along the path. The now very low sun in the sky cast its radiant light on some of nature’s most brilliantly colored but simple forms.