Actually, the snowstorm we were predicted to get last night was quite a blast, and those in the storm’s path saw some significant snowfall… but not here. The storm’s trail slid to a more southerly route before it reached this far east. I’m actually a little sad – as you might know from previous posts, I love snow! Oh well, this just gave us an unexpected opportunity to walk again today, and I won’t argue with that!
Today I chose the Lake Independence Regional Trail, which stretches for nearly 16 miles from Crow-Hassan Park Reserve, through Baker Park Reserve, ending on Old Crystal Bay Road in Orono, just shy of Noerenberg Memorial Gardens. Crow-Hassan and Baker Park Reserves, and Noerenberg Gardens are all part of the Three Rivers Park District, and you can find maps for these areas, including the Lake Independence Regional Trail, on their website.
On the portion of the trail we walked today we did see a couple of trail markers, but there were forks in the trail where there were no markers at all, so I would recommend taking a map with you if you aren’t familiar with this trail.
Lake Independence Regional Trail is advertised as a paved trail, however we did spot a dirt horse trail alongside it that is also available for hikers. I’m not sure how far the dirt trail parallels the Lake Independence trail – that will take a bit more exploration. The paved trail was largely covered with slush and ice, and required some concentration as these areas were quite slippery. We weren’t the only ones on the trail, however, and the many human and dog footprints we followed suggest it’s used often. Just be aware that, right now, there is a lot of ice on this trail. In fact, on the way back we used the Baker campground tunnel under County Road 19 to get back to our car, and found the pavement inside the tunnel is covered with solid ice and very treacherous – I don’t recommend using that section of trail until that ice has melted.
We wandered about 2.1 miles along the trail, starting at the Baker Park Campground parking area and strolling southward, between Lake Independence and Lake Katrina. This portion of the walk is forested and pleasant and, once the trail veers 
away from CR19, very peaceful. Yesterday we spent some time looking for nests, today we looked for footprints – footprints, that is, belonging to creatures other than humans or dogs! We did see a few White-tailed Deer prints here and there, but mostly we found Wild Turkey prints. I’m surprised we didn’t actually see the birds, as we 
were finding their arrow-like prints everywhere!
Because we were obliged to pay such close attention to where we were placing our feet in order to avoid icy patches, we weren’t able to spend as much time gazing upward and outward as we usually do. But we did take some breaks in order to soak in the quiet and the serene landscape. This was a lovely trail and I do plan to try it again when the ground is drier.
Oh, and even though this wasn’t technically a part of our wanderings today… we were thrilled to see a beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk fly over the road in front of us on our way home! Nature really is all around, if we take the time to see it!