South Branch WMA & Clover Hill Park

South Branch WMA & Clover Hill Park (12/3/2011)

It's a good thing I wore orange today. The hunters were out in force in this 500+ acre wildlife management area. It's the first time we ever hiked in this area and we covered every trail noted on this map (a few more than once) in addition to a long southerly stroll between two fields crossing under the powerline cut, which saved us the need of walking many of the trails twice, forming a sort of lollipop. Nothing is marked in this area, but its impossible to get lost. Lots of the "trails" are old paved roads, others just lanes of tamped down grass between fields.

We parked at the Hillsborough Road entrance where there's room for at least a dozen vehicles. There were already a handful of vehicles there, all those of hunters because we heard nearby gunshots as soon as we left the car. And within 20 minutes, upon leaving the trail to jockey for position for a good photo, I was a bit startled when I nearly stepped on a freshly killed gorgeous red fox. It had been left off the trail by a hunter who was just getting started. Not being a hunter myself, I was saddened to see such a beautiful creature lying dead on the side of the trail, eyes still open. There's a whole other world out there, apparently.

We covered 4.7 miles today in about 2.5 hours.

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