Today marks my return to the trails for the first time in over a month. Being away for so long, my lack of trail time could have easily turned into a two month absence and who knows how long the absence could have grown from there. Today, despite spending most of the day working outside, I made time to hit the trails. I was accompanied by my older brother, and we decided to check out the Perimeter Trail at Doe Run Lake.
The trail measures 2.7 miles and as it's name implies; it follows the perimeter of Doe Run Lake. Today we did not get started until mid-afternoon. We could finish the hike if we rushed through it, but our desire to enjoy the scenery and take some photos negated that option. Having never been on the trail before and being somewhat crunched for time, we decided to hike in, periodically re-assess our distance and determine whether or not we have the time to complete the trail or if we should turn back. The temperature was above 90 degrees and our only hope was for a comfortable shaded hike through the woods. There is just something special about the sight of a large body of water or the sounds of the water as it laps against its banks or flows through the streams that feed it. Before we had even started our hike, the serenity of nature and the rejuvenation of my soul from being in nature began to take hold.
"You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well."
-- Emme Woodhull-Bäche
The trail starts with a bridge crossing over what was today a relatively dry rock run-off leading into the lake. The trail is well kept with occasional side trails leading down to the edge of the lake. We came across another bridge, at approximately the 0.2 mile mark, once again crossing over a dry rock run-off. I can only assume that with some rain and the size of the hills that feed these run-offs, the water can flow fairly strong during a strong storm or steady rain. After crossing this second bridge, the trail veers to the right and follows a slow curve to the left before following a fairly straight path to third bridge we would encounter at approximately the 0.5 mile mark. This bridge actually crosses over the flowing Doe Run Creek just south of its entry into Doe Run Lake at the southernmost point of the lake. At the point of the bridge, the creek switches back and forth over a short stretch before entering the lake, leaving several exposed creek bed walls that are evidence to the true power of this creek when it flows at full strength. When crossing the bridge, the trail actually goes from a southwestern trek to a northeastern one. From the bridge, we followed the trail to the first open view of the lake we've encountered. At this point, the 0.8 mile mark, we assessed that we still had nearly 2 miles of trail to encounter and not enough time to actually enjoy it. We decided to turn back and completely the entire perimeter in its entirety on our next hike together.
Dry creek run-off
A stretch of the Doe Run Lake Perimeter Trail
Looking back at the southernmost bridge
The banks of Doe Run Creek
Bridge over Doe Run Creek
Bridge over Doe Run Creek
One of the many wild flowers along the trail
The banks of Doe Run Lake
Sunshine peeking through to the trail
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