A Walk On Nine Mile Creek (In January)

A Winter Walk to the Mouth of Nine Mile Creek

On Saturday, January 24, 2004, Pamela Deerwood and I went for a walk along Nine Mile Creek. We started at the entry off Morgan Rd. just south of 106^th St. near a church. A light snow had fallen on Friday, so we knew that any tracks we observed were fairly fresh.

Rather than walk to the creek right away, we followed a trail that stays near the top of the hill to a Goat Prairie when we see Pasque Flowers in the spring. We found Thimble Weed, Hoary Vervain and Lead Plant remnants still standing. We looked for some of the Gramma Grass stalks, but they had been broken down by the winter and were not to be found.

Then we backtracked to a set of wooden steps that runs down the hill to the creek. The place is a sliding spot enjoyed by many for its long run through the woods. Someone had left a green plastic sled that we thought about riding, but let our good sense and a wish for no injuries guide our judgment to not take a ride.

The trail leading down to the creek was a bit slippery at times and we could see the extended tracks in the snow where others had slipped. Our tracks also showed the occasional extension where we took longer steps than expected.

On our descent into the valley, we were watched by a towering tree snag with features that looked very much like a Polynesian Tiki Spirit. The spirits must have been with us as the sun was shining, the temperature was above zero and the wind was light.

At the bottom, we found more native plants in their winter state. The Tall Coneflower seed heads stood taller than our heads. The Echinacea seed head we found was either a Purpurea or a Pallida, since we were only out for an fun winter walk, it didn’t matter.

We heard the voices of White-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees calling. Woodpeckers could also be heard tapping on surrounding trees announcing their presence.

A short distance from the last bridge where the trail splits to either go up the hill or go to the river, there is a marvelous hollow Silver Maple tree that tree-huggers would appreciate by stepping inside, and having the tree hug the hugger.

After reaching the river and not wanting to turn around and head back, we decided to follow the river trail to the mouth of Nine Mile Creek. This is a long flat trail frequented by joggers, doggers and the rare but not uncommon mountain biker.

On we walked, both on and to the side of the creek. We were delighted by the sound of a Red-tailed Hawk that flew over our heads on its way up to the bluff. Looking back, I wonder if we had

interrupted its feeding when we reached a beaver dam. Climbing over the dam, we found tracks of a mouse or vole that ended abruptly with wing feather marks in the snow. Was the story of the Red-tailed Hawk filled in by this discovery, or were we seeing last night’s owl breakfast?

After speculating about the tracks for a while, we continued our journey. We started walking away from the creek through the woods to reach the trail back to the top.

It was a long walk, but the experience was worth every step.