Clear Creek Metro Park: Cicadas and Trail Damage

On June 6th Joan and I drove down to Clear Creek Metro Park for a shakedown hike, to get our feet adjusted to our hiking boots and our arms reacquainted with trekking poles. When we arrived and opened the car doors, what a noise there was! We hadn't been thinking about the emergence of the 17-year cicadas, Brood V, in eastern Ohio this year. If you haven't heard them before, the noise resemble the monster-ant noises from a grade-B 1950s sci-fi movie.

A series of thunderstorms had passed north of us and south of us over the last three days, so we expected some muddy trails down at Clear Creek, but we weren't prepared for the wind damage. We had barely started on the Hemlock Trail, and encountered our first blockage.

Some obstructions required stepping over fallen branches, some demanded minor detours, and others forced us to go off-trail for a couple of minutes.

After cresting the first climb up on the Hemlock Trail we were in the midst of cicadas.

Sometimes they were several to a plant.

Here's a head-on photo.

The cicadas shed their exoskeletons shortly after emerging from the ground.

Joan and I continued on to the waxing and waning of cicada accompaniment.

Sometimes the trail barriers were just fallen branches;

sometimes whole trees. This one stretches from the far left of the photo to cross the trail at the far right. (As always, click on the image to enlarge.)

Most of the fallen trees were not a victim of saturated soils, but of sharp winds that overpowered the sturdy trunks.

This photo, taken on the Fern Trail, shows how the first tree crashed into a second, causing it to break and smash down a third tree.

 Joan gives the carnage some scale.

Being hit off-center can cause a severe twisting of the wood fibers ...

Our hike was more exciting than we expected. I'm glad we weren't here when all this happened!