May 28, 2007 Out of Gas in Pierson’s Creek Valley

I got quite a late start today. As is expected, yesterday’s weather forecast of cloudy and 73° was wrong again. The day is beautiful, clear and sunny, so I decided to do one of the great hikes in northeast Ohio. The Pierson’s Creek, Old Valley Trail loop at the Holden Arboretum. This is a beautiful hike of around 3 miles with lots of up and down. Moving quickly you can do this hike in about 45 minutes. Today it will take me twice as long.

A few days ago I added a third again more weight to my pack. I ate lightly yesterday and just had some cereal for breakfast today. A mile into my hike, at the bottom of the north stairs I knew I was in trouble. My legs were rubbery and I was in ketosis.

In spite of struggling with my energy level, the walk was beauty. The valley does not seem as lush as in years past. Perhaps the cold has had its’ effect here too. Most of the expected bird species were found. Acadian Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Dark-eyed Junco were nice. No Phoebe. It was very cool and still humid in the valley. But the air is heavy with the smell of plants, the perfume of flowers and rich with oxygen. Still, I was struggling.

From my perspective, one of the nice things about this hike is the up and down. You start at roughly 950 feet elevation and descend to around 750 feet at the bottom of the northern stairs. There are stairs along the trails to limit the effects of human traffic on the valley sides. People tend to cut across switch backs and this facilitates erosion along the human paths. The north stairs descend roughly 14 stories into the valley and are the longest of the 3 sets found along the valley. Today the up and down caused me difficulty. On rubbery legs one has to concentrate on walking and cannot pay as much attention to the surrounding beauty.

Out of the valley around blueberry pond I found several odinates. Variable dancer, Dot-tailed Whiteface and Common Whitetail. A large Northern Watersnake was sunning itself on a rock. I do not want to get too close to this ill tempered reptile, but I do get a couple of nice pictures.

Although I have now had something more to eat and the temperature is in the 70’s I am still cold. The residual effects of using up all of your available energy. It is beautiful and sunny. I think I will go out and be like the watersnake. Catch some sun to warm up a bit.