All Hail Trails Day!

Hey, Intrepid Trail Trekkers!

Today is National Trails Day! Read this post and then lace up your trail shoes to get out in the beautiful outdoors! Nature trails offer an awesome venue for folks with all kinds of interests—from hiking to biking, to horse riding and ‘mocking! No matter what you’re into, there’s bound to be a nearby trail for you to enjoy Trails Day!

As opposed to the never-ending feel of summer camp, park trails give us miniature escapes from the bustling city life. The natural world offers us fresh air, exercise, and peace. I’ve been logging a good amount of miles lately. My brother Mark (https://everythingsummercamp.com/blogs/news/employee-bio-mark) and I recently made a day out of visiting Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s local trails and altogether, we completed 20 miles!

And, boy!—were our legs tired!

Each of these Park Trails are maintained by a volunteer-based organization called CORBA. Each park has its own distinct charm and natural character.

Otter is the smallest of the parks, yet it offers the steepest climb—Feel the Burn. We used this park as our ‘warm up’ for the day. The ferns and canopy at Otter Creek create an isolated feel despite how smack-dab in the city it is. Mark and I caught the attention of a couple deer that morning and hiked about three miles there.

This is the largest of the parks and sits on the edge of town. A magical escape, Lowes offers a variety of trees and settings. We both saw our first beavers that day—three of them. And we discovered our favorite trail of the park, Split Rock, where you walk rocky trail along a steady stream. We went roughly 13 miles there.

Back in town, we finished our goal on trails with lots of roots, rocks, and other detail in the terrain out at Northwest Park. We know the trails at Northwest the best, so we tried to get in some “speed miles” and found that we really had to push ourselves by the last few miles. Our record time for completing a single mile was 13.5 minutes. It was a hard pace to keep up!

Immerse yourself in the scenic landscape of the natural world today and celebrate National Trails Day! Mark and I will both tell you that it feels great to exhaust yourself out in the Great Outdoors. Enjoy the therapeutic company of the wilderness around you and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John