Hhop's Nature Walk: Winter Campout

Last weekend was the last weekend of January; and as almost always, was the Klondike Derby for the Scouts. The event itself officially starts Saturday morning and ends that afternoon. The troop I am associated with though, goes out Friday night and camps in our tents till Sunday morning. We have had temps as warm as the fifities; to another extreme of one weekend when the high temp was -5 and the low was -20.
This past weekend was ideal; with high in mid thirties and lows in low to mid twenties.

The event was at Camp Robert Drake, located just a few miles west of Catlin, Illinois; along the Salt Fork Vermilion River.

I ventured off by myself for a hike Saturday morning and a few pictures of that are also included.

Our camp

A nice hot fire is always welcome and we burnt a lot of wood.

Just a couple of more views around camp.

The official activities always conclude with the big sled race. Several heats are run and a trophy is awarded that is held till next year.

A few views overlooking the Salt Fork Vermilion River.

A squirrel started barking and I spotted him in a nearby tree. Squirrel season is still open until the middle of February. He provided a perfect shot if I had been hunting.

There were several areas where the deer had dug through the snow and leaves, probably foraging for acorns.

Walking down a small stream to the river.

Out to the river and onto the ice. I do not recommend walking on river ice, unless you are VERY sure of the ice conditions and are familiar with the area. I knew that this was the shallow side of the river, with a sandbar exposed here during the summer.

The ice was a well traveled area by the local inhabitants.

The deer obviously had a bit of problem with the slick conditions.

Coyote and deer tracks on the ice.

Coyote tracks

The next two pics show mink tracks. I had not had the opportunity to see a mink's tracks for a few years. They will typically walk a stream bank, looking for food. One of their favorite prey is muskrats. They are typically smaller than a muskrat, but ounce for ounce are quite a ferocious little animal. Years ago when I ran a trapline, I had a couple of instances where a mink had come upon a muskrat I had caught and killed it.

Raccoon tracks

These are mouse tracks, but not on the ice. They were in the woods along the trail I was following.

This is just the nicest shed antler I have ever found! I was quite surprised to look down and see it. It was located at the edge of a small stream, about 100 feet from the river.