May 13, 2023
I decided that I wanted to take a hike this weekend, so I did.
I actually started by wanting to take a trip to Mars Hill Church just outside of Ottumwa. I’d heard legendary ghost stories about it and wanted to check it out for myself.
Early Start
I knew it was supposed to be hot and muggy on Saturday so I wanted to get an early start. I woke Brandy up at about 7:30 asking if she wanted to go with us. She said she did, so by the time she got up and gathered herself up, it was 9:00. We headed out to Menard’s for a carabiner clip to replace one that had broken a while back, then we made the drive south on highway 63.
Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church is a historic log cabin that was built in the 1850s. Legend has it that it was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the early to mid-19th century. Brandy, having grown up in Ottumwa, told me that it was an allegedly ghost-ridden place. I can see why, steps from the front door of the church is a small cemetery.
The road to the church is a long and winding road. It’s a gentle uphill slope up the hill. As we headed up 100th Ave and turned a corner to the left, there stood the church, looking over our next destination, the Pioneer Ridge Nature Area.
Now, granted, it was 9:30 in the morning, in broad daylight, so the spooky aspect of the building was not clearly evident, but I could definitely see, given the right circumstances and lack of light, how it absolutely could be a scary place to visit at night.
I pulled into the driveway and hopped out to take some pictures. After taking a couple of pictures of the church itself, I headed into the cemetery to take some pictures there.
After I got my fill, I hopped back into the car for the drive to our trailhead.
Pioneer Ridge Pink Trail and Red Trail Loop
The drive from the church to the trailhead was a quick on, heading west back out to the highway then up to the main entrance of the nature preserve.
Pioneer Ridge Nature Area is the headquarters of the Wapello County Conservation Board and as such, is also a public hunting ground.
We made our way about halfway into the preserve before pulling up to the trailhead. It was quiet, we were the only people there.
We got out and sprayed ourselves liberally with bug spray as we knew there would be a ton of bugs to contend with. I got out my hiking poles and we started off.
We made it about and eighth of a mile before we determined that we’d gone the wrong way. We headed back toward the car and we were already swarmed with bugs and sticky with the humid air. Brandy decided to tap out so after finding the correct trailhead, I made the hike with just Ash.
The Hike
The Pioneer Ridge Pink Trail and Red Trail Loop is listed on AllTrails as an easy 1.8 mile loop trail with a minimal 118 foot elevation gain. All of the hiking trails within the nature preserve are named after colors. In addition to the Pink and Red trails that we followed, there are also a Blue trail, a Green trail, a Purple trail, an Orange trail and a Yellow trail. The Red trail, if followed off the loop that we hiked, continues on to a short loop trail that circles a pair of lakes on the west end of the park. That’s a hike I’d like to take some day.
But I digress.
Ash and I headed off up the pink trail. The trail starts as a grassy walk cut through a prairie with woods immediately to the left and a ways off to the right. Before long though, the trail makes a hard left and we found ourselves in the woods on a dirt trail like those we’ve hiked so many times before.
In mid-May, the trees were nice and green, like so many of the other hikes we’ve taken in Iowa. We followed along the edge of the public hunting ground as denoted by signs every so often demarking the area. Recent rain made the ground soft, but not muddy. I spied the occasional hoofprint left by what I can only imagine are deer.
As we continued on, I started to smell burning wood. Like a campfire, or a fireplace. Before long, we happened upon an area that I assumed had recently gone through a prescribed burn. The scarred foliage came right up to the edge of the trail to our right while the area to the left was completely untouched by flames. The scent was powerful so this must have a pretty recent event. Later investigation revealed that the conservation board prescribed a burn in late March or early April.
We continued along when just over a mile in, the inclines began. At first, they were gradual, small increases, slight grades, but ever increasing. Eventually we got to the point where were were scaling sheer cliffs to get back up to the parking lot where Brandy waited for us. I didn’t know if I was going to make it, it was too difficult. The air was thin and I was on my last breath.
Of course, I am wildly exaggerating. The inclines never got steeper than like 3%, but between being as out of shape as I am right now, this being my first true hike since Tucson, and between the temperatures in the mid-70s and humidity hovering in the mid 80s, it was very hard to breathe. I did have to stop for a bit to catch my breath and drink from my hydration bladder.
Finally, about 40 minutes after our departure, we made it back to the parking lot. Brandy backed the car out of the swarm of bugs that had swarmed around our ride and Ash and I climbed in and we made the half hour drive back home.
Aftermath
As we walked into the house, Brandy spied a small, black spot on Ash. “Is that a tick?!” she cried. Upon closer inspection, I determined yes, it was in fact a tick. I pulled it off, split it between my fingernails and started checking him for more.
The poor dog was infested.
We took him to the back deck and spent the next half hour or so combing through his fur, pulling dozens of ticks out from the crevices and folds between his legs and his body, from his ears, from all of the places ticks like to hide.
I’m pretty confident we eventually got them all, and I’m thankful I treat him monthly with Simparica Trio.
Unfortunately, Ash will be grounded to the house for the remainder of the summer.
Conclusion
Between the heat, the humidity, the bugs during, and the aftermath, it was a fairly miserable hike. I sure am glad I did it though. I love facing and overcoming adversity, like camping in the rain or snow. I do plan on hiking some more at my upcoming destinations, including Madison, WI, East Grand Forks, MN, and Crested Butte, CO. I already have a few trails picked out and I can wait to write about them!
In the meantime, I have a few pictures from this outing over on my Photo Diary, and as always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you.
-Phil