It’s April and it still snows….Friday evening we had 2 to 3 inches of snow, but that would not stop us from “Splorin’tine”. We were heading back to Brunet Island State Park — we were ready for some snow on the trails and were hoping it would not be an icy mess like Hoffman Hills. Little did we know we were in for a HUGE treat — it was an awesome morning of hiking! We like to get to the parks early in the day – we beat the crowds and many times have the place almost to ourselves.
We hiked the trails from one location this time — we parked by the Ranger Station and headed off down the Nordic Trail that starts right off the parking lot. It was gorgeous. With the freshly fallen snow we were the first ones down the trail….well, not really….there were animal tracks EVERYWHERE! It was amazing to see evidence of how active the woods must be when so many times you don’t see a single animal. Along the trail we saw deer tracks, coyote and/or fox tracks, turkey tracks and BEAR!!!! tracks!! Mike was geeked about the bear tracks — the bear crossed the trail that we were hiking five or six times — but alas, we never saw it. If it were up to him, we would have followed the tracks off the trail, but Tammy made her own tracks and said NO!! Maybe somewhere in the future we will see one (foreshadowing!?!).
On this same trail, we saw lots of little water holes that were frozen just on the top and some were breathtaking in their beauty.
We also encountered little streams, frozen drops of water on branches and just amazing scenery in general.
The Nordic Trail did NOT disappoint. We were captivated. A day that we thought might end up being a little bit of a bust from the snow and quarantine stuff turned into a wonderful day of hiking!!!
We then made our way out the the actual “island” part of the park. Going across the bridge to the island we saw some wonderful water shots.
Once on the island we made our way around the Jean Brunet Nature Trail. It didn’t disappoint. This trail leads you along the water and several spots where you have amazing views.
Making our way through the middle of the island the trail was easier to follow this time than last time we were here — Mike didn’t almost get lost this time. 😉 Some more beauty of the trees in the park.
This is a “smaller” park so we were done way too quickly. This was definitely a day of splorin’ for the views and the company and not necessarily the miles, elevation gain, challenge. On the way back to the car we stopped at the boat landing and watched a loon continuously diving for it’s lunch. Wish we could have heard his song, but instead settled for the quacking of a few Mallard ducks.
We were back to the car and on our way home to …. no #SupperClubSaturday again. ;-(. We will persevere!!!!
Splorin' Saturday 