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!