Clear Creek Metro Park In Winter

Although Joan and I sought out new hiking locations in 2020, or ones we've visited rarely, Clear Creek Metro Park is always on the menu, particularly if we haven't been there for a few months. Recently we have visited it twice, after winter's onset.

On our first trip, December 23rd, we began at the Creekside Meadows parking area. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

From there Joan and I took the riverside walk that leads to the Cemetery Ridge trailhead. The year's prairie growth was, of course, completely brown. Half of the trail was still in shade, so we were in time to see some marvelous ice crystals on the plants. On sticks,

on emptied seed pods,

and on tired, dangling stems.

A cluster of wrens was enjoying the sunny portion.

Joan and I prefer to take the Cemetery Ridge trail only when the trees are winter-bare, for otherwise it's like walking through a green tunnel with an occasional gas pipeline right-of-way at the eastern end. It starts with switchbacks climbing to the ridgeline, and then heads west.

What's this? Netting on a tripod?

It's protecting a rare plant species against vegetarian predators.

Further on we reached the old barn,

which, when the leaves are out, you can miss when heading west-to-east, as we have done before. This historic barn

makes me wonder, how could it be possible to successfully farm up here on the ridge? The bottom lands on the Hocking River would have been much richer, but also more expensive. You can circumambulate the barn and peek into the interior.

Just outside, some moss-drenched log stumps caught my eye.

Moving on, Joan and I spotted a red-eyed vireo nest. Now that we can recognize them and the leaves are gone, we're spotting them more often.

When we reached the end of the Cemetery Ridge trail Joan and I paused at the bench there for a snack, and then made a loop on the Fern trail. Joan spotted this sap or resin glistening like a gem on the side of a tree as we walked the section of Fern that's on a meadow's edge.

While climbing back up Fern to the intersection with the Hemlock trail we met a group of volunteers inspecting hemlocks for the woolly adelgid, an insect pest not native to eastern North America that hijacks sap and, over a few years, kills the tree. Early detection is vital to have any chance of saving the hemlocks, beloved by hermit thrushes, which have breeding populations in only two isolated locations in Ohio, one of which is here at Clear Creek.

We took the Hemlock trail, finding some putty-root orchid leaves in a spot where we've occasionally seen them in other years. Joan showed them to another passing hiker who had never seen them before.

From the end of Hemlock we walked back to the car, largely on the creekside.

On an even frostier January 13th (it warmed up as the day wore on) Joan and I explored some of the western end of Clear Creek, parking at the Valley View Picnic Area.

We began by hiking downhill to the edge of the man-made Lake Ramona, where we had a huge surprise. Earlier in the year we'd spotted some beaver activity that didn't appear to have come to fruition.

But now, several yards further upstream, a completed dam stretched across the entire low-lying area. The arc of the earlier effort is at far left.

A closer look ...

Zooming in on the highest population of sticks ...

The beavers have been busy!

The trail rises gradually at first as it heads away from the lake, and the patterns of ice, debris, and reflections were striking.

The Lake trail ends back up on the top of the ridge, where we turned left and tromped through a goodly portion of the Chestnut Ridge trail before turning around. As we grew close to the parking area we turned onto the Tulip trail loop, a rough parallel to the Lake trail, and directly across from it, on the other face of the ridge. Along this section we were treated to a group of foraging golden-crowned kinglets, who are small, hyperactive birds. They were impossible to capture on camera but we persevered with our binos and managed some good looks.

This trail also took us to what we call the "living room," a grove of hemlock trees and excellent sitting logs. In season the hemlocks often attract hermit thrushes, absent in winter. Here is a photo taken back on June 15th as we approached the living room.

After snacking again at the living room Joan and I continued on the Tulip trail, and reached the point where a spur trail led to the E. E. Good prairie, which we hadn't visited in a long time -- it's out in the open and too hot in the summer for us. This time we took the spur. The trail loops around the prairie, and we were treated to two pairs of bluebirds checking out a nest box. In this photo, taken from some distance, two females are at the box simultaneously. Click on the image to enlarge.

In this one, there's a male hanging around in the upper left as the womenfolk continue their inspection.

It's too early for serious nesting, but these bluebirds were certainly checking out that box.

After a short climb to the parking area our day was complete. If you dress warmly and keep your eyes open, there are still sights to see in the winter landscape.