10-17-10 Espenscheid Forest Preserve

I accidentally printed out the wrong trail map, so when I got to the preserve, I did not have a map I could trust. So I looked real closely at the map they had posted on their sign. It appears to be obsolete as it only shows a trail along the bluff above the creek. I am always a bit nervous about walking around in the woods without a map, but I figured I could walk along the bluff above the creek and down to the river without getting lost since the river is visible the whole way, so that is what I did. I started in the parking lot not far from the canoe launch and walked up to the trail head and up the bluff to the trail. It runs atop a bluff along the creek, perhaps 20 feet above the creek.

It was a very short hike, no more than perhaps 1/4 mile on the trail, and another 1/4 mile on the road to the trail head. Some day we will come back and hike the rest of it, or maybe start here and go to Black Hawk Springs FP to the south that the trail connects with.

The view from the bluff above the cliff is pretty nice. I left the camera in the car so these are cell phone camera pictures.

The gravel area in the background on the river bank is either the old or the new canoe launch.

I guess beaver have been eating some of the trees.

We took the trail down to the river and then head back toward the canoe launch. There is a wooden foot bridge over the creek where it empties into the river. It's pretty wide, so I guess they figured they did not need railings. Seems odd though, given its a 6 or 8 foot drop to the creek below.

The creek beagle got some play time and a drink in the river. She played in the creek a little too when we walked up the road to the trail head.

I am not sure if the gravel is the new canoe launch or the old one being covered up.  The area I saw being used as a canoe launch is just beyond the gravel. It seems like a better bet as a canoe launch, but who knows.

I guess if you are an infant, you should not drink the water. We brought our own, so was not an issue, and neither of us is under 6 months of age anyway.