Only a crazy person would go outside in single-digit temperatures on a national holiday when there was an endless diet of college bowl games on television and refrigerators full of left-over holiday food to eat.

I guess that explains why we went hiking.

Our crew decided that one can only ingest so many calories before becoming a human slug, so all we agreed to head outdoors before the slime trails from kitchen to living room became noticeable.

Our destination on this insanely cold day was the McCloud Nature Park of the Hendricks County Parks Department.

The 232-acre park is located at the Hendricks/Putnam county line and is bisected by Big Walnut creek.  With restored prairies, a nature center, play areas and five miles of hiking trails, the area is wonderful for a short get-away.  On this New Years Day, when we arrived at 4 p.m. only one other group had decided to likewise brave the cold temperatures.

McCloud park is not wilderness by any stretch of the imagination.  At no point could anyone possibly become lost on the network of trails but it did provide a nice excuse to exercise fat-bloated holiday legs.   There is enough area to explore that the trip can easily consume half a day or more (if the weather is a little less life-threatening than during our visit).

A cold day for hiking

There is ample parking and the trails that traverse a variety of habitats.  The only critters we saw stirring was a lone mouse but with forested hillsides, prairie and fields transitioning back to woodland, there is undoubtedly a wide variety of wildlife that utilize the area.  During warmer weather, Big Walnut and No Name creek would offer many opportunities for nature study, fishing and general poking around.

If you happen to see a large bridge off through the trees, it is not a road.  We didn’t walk up to the bridge but I did a little research and learned that it is a historic bridge purchased from Pulaski County and rebuilt on the site.  When opened this spring, the bridge will offer great views of Big Walnut creek and provide access to the large parcel of land west of the creek.

Hikers should be aware that there is only one footbridge in the park while several of the trails cross No Name creek.  If you plan on hiking the entire length of the trail, either waterproof boots or a disdain of cold feet is required.
After an 1 1/2 hours, we had seen most of the park and enjoyed the solitary experience of hiking in the bone-numbing cold.  We gathered up the assorted body parts that had frozen and fallen off, then headed back to civilization for a round of coffee and hot chocolate.  It was a wonderful way to start a new year and decade and the experience made us feel so alive.

At least, most of us felt alive.  My toes are still missing and presumed dead.

Website: McCloud Nature Park

McCloud Nature Park

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