Fort Ancient, Sun Oct 22, 2013

It's too cold for hiking today (1/7/14): I don't walk outside unless it's above 15 degrees F including wind chill factor. So I'm posting some photos taken on a Sunday afternoon hike at Fort Ancient back at the end of October.

Glad I got some trekking poles from my brother's family for Christmas. Even one stick helps when walking outside. There are some hikes scheduled this weekend with Tri-State Hiking but we'll have to see what the weather holds. I guess the Hamilton County Park District didn't have their winter hike series this year on Saturday mornings from 10a-noon with hot soup and cookies afterwards. I miss those!

Here we are walking up from the Loveland Bike Trail near Morgan's Canoe Livery to the top of the hill.

 And here's the view from the top. Seeing these fall colors makes me realize anew what a snowy cold winter we're having this year. Good thing it doesn't last as long in Cincinnati as it did in Findlay, Chicago, and St. Paul!

When we saw this tree in the woods at Ft. Ancient, it looked like a totem pole to us. Wonder if natural trees like this are what inspired people to carve totem poles? It seems likely.