Hike #6: Wildwood Trail, Firelane 10, & Newton Rd

It's been a couple of weeks since I last got out to Forest Park for a hike, but today I took advantage of the cooler temperatures and hiked 5 miles.

I started out at the trailhead for the end of the Leif Erikson trail, right off Germantown Road. I was amused to discover that there's a gym for Pokémon GO at the trailhead.

I took the Cannon Trail (which I have completed before, in Hike #3) to the Wildwood Trailhead, where I came across a Pokéstop. I closed the Pokémon GO app after this, I promise! I just thought it was hilarious that there were gyms and stops all the way out in Forest Park.


From there, I crossed Germantown Road and continued along the Wildwood Trail. I came to the junction of Firelane 8, and my map said it was only .10 miles long, so I decided to hike up the trail and back down to the Wildwood Trail.


Then I came to the junction of the Wildwood Trail and Firelane 10. I went left on Firelane 10, which took me to the parking lot and trailhead for Newton Road.

From here, I walked along Newton Road until I came to a junction with a trail that connected Newton Road and the Wildwood Trail. I took this short trail to the Wildwood Trail and basically made a figure eight, walking along the Wildwood Trail to the junction with Newton Road, taking Newton Road back to the connecting trail, and then continuing along Wildood in the opposite direction.

While walking along the Wildwood Trail, I heard several birds making quite a ruckus. After staring into the trees for a few seconds, I realized what all the fuss was about: There was an owl, and the smaller birds were not happy about it being there.

This brought me back to the junction of the Wildwood Trail and Firelane 10, and I turned left to walk along Firelane 10. I saw probably 50 slugs during my walk along the first 100 yards of the trail.

The Keyser Trail is a short little trail off of Firelane 10, so I took the Keyser Trail back around to Firelane 10, and then kept heading northeast on Firelane 10. When I came to the junction with the Linnton Trail, I continued along the remainder of Firelane 10, which was about .60 miles, all uphill. I was quite sweaty by the time I reached the end.

And below is the map of my hike! I had to draw in the connecting trail between Newton Road and the Wildwood Trail, which would have bumped me up to 5 miles total.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Hike #5: The Hike of Many Trails

I hiked a lot of trails today. I mean, a LOT of trails: Leif Erikson Drive, Dogwood Trail, Keil Trail, Wildwood Trail, Wild Cherry Trail, Birch Trail, Holman Lane, and Aspen Trail. Here I'll explain the zig-zaggy route I took to complete this hike.

I started at the Leif Erikson Trailhead, which is the start of the 11.2 mile Leif Erikson trail. I had to walk about 1.5 miles just to get to the trailhead from the streetcar.

The Leif Erikson Trail

Mile marker 0.

The start of the Leif Erikson trail.

I walked along the Leif Erikson for about 3/4 mile and then turned left onto the Dogwood trail. After a short but relatively steep hike, I came to the junction with the Wildwood Trail.

The junction of the Dogwood and Wildwood Trails.

This is where my route got a little wonky, I basically did a spiral. I continued heading up the Dogwood Trail, where I met up with the Kiel Trail and went right. The Keil Trail took me to the NW 53rd Trailhead for the Wildwood Trail, and then I took a right to get on the Wildwood Trail.


This took me back to the junction of the Dogwood Trail and the Wildwood Trail, and this time, I continued walking along the Wildwood Trail. This brought me to the junction with the Wild Cherry Trail, and I turned right to hike up the Wild Cherry Trail all the way back to the Dogwood Trail.

Wildwood Trail

Yay, All Trails Challenge!

From here, I walked along NW 53rd Drive towards Holman Lane. On my way, I passed the entrance for the Birch Trail. My map said this trail was only .22 miles one way, so I figured, why not! So I walked down the Birch Trail to the Wildwood Trail and then walked back to NW 23rd.

I walked along NW 53rd until I met up with the Holman Trail, which can be a little tricky to find if you don't know what you're looking for. It looks like someone's driveway, and it technically is! When you see the "Private Property" sign, make sure you stay to the right, and you'll eventually find the gated entrance to the Holman Lane trail.

This trail was downhill the entire way, and I only ran into one other person on the trail.

I crossed the Wildwood Trail once again before exiting onto NW Raleigh Street. On my way to Thurman Street, I realized the Aspen Trail was just a little ways up the road. My map said it was only .23 miles one way, so once again, I figured, why not! So I walked up the Aspen Trail to the Wildwood Trail and back. At the junction of the Aspen and Wildwood Trails, I saw a large woodpecker sign affixed to a tree that startled me until I realized it wasn't real.
And that was the end of my weird 'n wacky hike! Of course, I saw many slugs during my hike.

Here is the Google map of my route:

The health app on my iPhone says I walked a total of 10 miles today (including my walk to and from the streetcar)... whoa! It's no wonder I am exhausted right now, but it was worth it.