Patrick Swanson has been restoring a Harrison County prairie.
The fourth iteration of the multi-day LoHi (Loess Hills) Trek was held October 16-20 in Mills and Fremont counties of southwestern Iowa. This was my third LoHi Trek, joining about 45 others hailing from Colorado to Ohio, Minnesota to Missouri, and various points in between on this unique supported camping and hiking adventure.
Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), assisted by many other partners and volunteers, organized the event and recently posted an excellent synopsis and great action photos of the daily activities. Here I will offer my own experiences as a complement to what has already been written, and reflect a bit on this journey and how it compared to the two previous treks I attended in 2021 and 2023.
We spent the first two nights camping in southern Mills County on private land by permission from the owner. Our first day of hiking took us along dirt and gravel byways, passing through stunning vertical road cuts and deep valleys.
Sunrise on day 1
Walking through road cut
Caterpillar crossing dirt road
The chilly morning gave way to a windy midday that put a little bite on the cheek, making our lunch stop at Waubonsie Church a special refuge. There, we were treated to spontaneous singing by some of our group members, a catered lunch, and a talk by a local community member about the history of the church and early settlement of the area.
That was followed by an especially poignant conversation about the life and importance of Chief Waubonsie from Tara Mitchell, Deputy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, who drove two hours from Kansas with her son just to provide this history lesson to us. She was also most gracious in describing her role in the tribe and sharing details of her life on the reservation. After lunch, stiff southern breezes progressively warmed our walk along the roads that led us back to our host’s property and the trails leading to our campsite.
On day two, we broke camp and convoyed to the edge of Blackburn State Park. We set off through the park and the adjacent Green Hollow Wildlife Management Area (WMA) on a mix of mowed paths and foot trails. This hike provided a pointed contrast to the previous day’s road walks. Keen eyes among the group spotted a small brown snake (Storeria dekayi) along the path, generating some excited pointing and conversation.
We found elements of earlier settlement that are slowly being reclaimed by nature, like this abandoned well.
We also saw first-hand and learned about the spread to two invasive species in the WMA: tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), with its peanut-buttery scent and aggressive suckering, and bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), with its shrubby growth of red-berried stems and greenery that last well into late fall. These exotic plants are increasingly smothering our wild areas, and are a necessary focus of control efforts.
Almost on cue, our lunch break featured an informative conversation with Iowa Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Matt Dollison, who described the origins of Blackburn State Park and discussed at length strategies that the DNR and agency partners are using to eradicate problematic invaders like tree of heaven and bush honeysuckle, and to help restore the native grasslands and forests of the area’s parks and WMAs.
After a short afternoon hike back to our parking area, we traveled to Waubonsie State Park and pitched our tents. The shower facilities were greatly appreciated after a long day of hiking! The Wa-Shawtee lodge served as our accommodations for dinner, after which an open reading of poetry was held for any group members wishing to contribute. We started a campfire upon returning to the campground, and many of us lingered into the night, sharing stories and laughter by the light of the full moon.
Day three had us tackling a long hike that wound through the park’s equestrian trails north of Highway 2, shuttling across the highway to Mincer Orchard and Farms for a mid-morning dose of cider and ragtime piano songs played expertly by the proprietor. From there, we trekked through hills and vales punctuated by groves of American pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) with still-green leaves that lent an almost tropical feel to our day’s trek, further amplified by temperatures that climbed into the eighties.
In the pawpaw patch
Our lunch destination was a large picnic shelter near the state park overlook, where we were treated to a spread of sandwich materials and other goodies prepared by students in the Hamburg Community Schools’ Culinary Arts program. Waubonsie State Park Manager Matt Moles, who was also one of the trek’s main trail guides, provided an overview of the artist-in-residence program that he started at the park. Afterward, program alumnus (and fellow trekker) Anna Stoysich related her experiences in the program and showcased some of the paintings she produced during her stay.
Following lunch, we looped along scenic park paths, getting stunning views of the valley, and then veered off-trail through the adjacent Eli Slusher WMA until we reached its parking lot where we caught rides back to the campground.
Waubonsie ridgeline
After dinner at the Wa-Shawtee Lodge, the musical duo Kelly Oh Brian, who had traveled from Lincoln, Nebraska, entertained our group. The clear skies also afforded views of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.
The final day brought us out of the hills and into the Missouri river valley to hike through Draper Bottoms. We followed a levee along a drainage ditch and wet prairie until we reached a crossing road, which we took into the town of Hamburg.
We stopped for lunch at Old Hamburg High / St Cornelius Orthodox Christian Retreat Center, where our hosts provided a wonderful homemade meal and a tour of the renovations they are making to this old high school. The vision, creativity, and craftsmanship involved in repurposing the space and existing materials were really impressive, and definitely worth a visit to see for yourself.
After lunch, we shuttled to O.S. Wing WMA, where we embarked on an intentionally silent walk up to the ridgeline overlooking the Nishnabotna river as it flows south into Missouri. Our descent took us to the parking area at the Iowa-Missouri border, where we gathered for final pictures and said goodbyes to our fellow travelers before departing homeward.
I have posted reflections on the two treks I attended in 2021 and 2023, both of which took place in late spring. This year’s fall trip afforded a quite different perspective. The lush, verdant landscape of the early growing season in my first two hikes was replaced by rich autumn hues of red, bronze, and gold, and the crunch of dry foliage underfoot (enhanced by a prolonged absence of rain).
The morning chorus of birdsong was decidedly more muted than those that greeted the day during my previous spring treks. The anticipation of “what will be” shifted to a reminiscence of “what has been.” Perhaps fall intrinsically favors a more reflective mood because the season of abundance has waned.
Having now visited parts of the entire length of the Loess Hills on these treks, a feature striking to me is the different ranges of the plants that inhabit these hills. For example, while soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca) can be found throughout the Loess Hills, from north to south, some plants, such as pasque flower (Anemone patens) and white penstemon (Penstemon albidus) are restricted to the northern reaches, whereas others, like American pawpaw, can only found in the southern hills.
Hence, the Loess Hills are not a monolithic landscape. Rather, they have a nuanced ecology from north to south that the observant eye must see from the ground to recognize and appreciate.
Yucca plant
What has also repeatedly struck me is the consistent challenge of connectivity and infrastructure in the Loess Hills to provide safe passage to human and other-than-human travelers and, for hiking groups in particular, gathering places that are well maintained for events. Four examples from this trek come to mind.
First, Mills County lacks public land amenable for group camping, which could be used to support hiking excursions in this part of the Loess Hills.
A second example is the challenge crossing Highway 2 from the northern to southern parts of Waubonsie State Park. To protect people and animals from vehicle collisions, a long-range goal should be to construct a large wildlife underpass on Highway 2 between the park units. Imagine yourself as the caterpillar I showed crossing the dirt road earlier, and you get a sense of the danger these crossings pose.
Third, there is no connectivity from uplands to lowlands, and from lowlands to the river. This is most clearly illustrated by the isolation of Draper Bottoms from the Loess Hills to the east by Bluff Road, and the Missouri River at the M.U. Payne and Hamburg Bend WMAs to the west by crop ground, highways and railroads. Particularly after the harvest, farms fields provide little cover for wildlife, which then concentrate in the remaining uncultivated landscape. During our hike, we saw many birds and what appeared to be a bobcat or fox running ahead of us along the levee at Draper Bottoms. More intentional improvements to provide viable wildlife corridors, perhaps most feasibly along the drainages, would greatly assist animals passing through these areas.
Finally, it is no secret that there is a backlog of infrastructure maintenance at parks in general, and Waubonsie State Park is no exception. In particular, the overlook pavilion we used for Friday’s lunch is clearly in need of repairs, most notably the roof and restroom facilities. Many of these structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps generations ago and deserve rehabilitation to honor the memory of those who built them.
Previous LoHi events sought to highlight local history and use local businesses for catering and other services, and this trek was no exception (a full listing of the presenters and providers can be found in the Golden Hills RC&D article). Notably, this year’s schedule included welcome conversations offering an indigenous perspective on Potawatomi settlement in the area, as well as fascinating stories about their revered Chief Wabonsie.
This iteration of the trek also more deliberately integrated the arts into the itinerary, providing opportunities for participants to contribute their creative expressions. From scheduled talks on the artist-in-residence program at Waubonsie State Park, to a group member leading morning stretching exercises, to others contributing poetry readings, or offerings of their books and artwork, this version of the trek thoughtfully combined the natural beauty of the setting with gifts yielded up from the community members themselves.
When Friday’s open poetry reading was announced as part of the schedule, I was moved to contribute a piece for the session. I had hoped it would speak to the needs of both people and place on this journey, while reflecting my own experiences in the Loess Hills. After I recited the poem, some came to me asking if I would be willing to share it. I decided to publish the poem here, as it perhaps fits best within the context of this reflection.
Loess Hills Life
I see you passing through my landscape
Immersed in your thoughts and conversations
Finding your path and assessing your place
Grappling with your emotions
Using me to work them out
I am here for you
But I am here too
Surrounding your journey
Stimulating your senses
Showing myself if you but look my way
I am Loess Hills life
Do you see me?
I have stories too
My many lives have names and faces
My many lives intersect in community
My many lives sustain life journeys
My many lives yearn to be understood
Do you know me?
I have struggles too
My foundations are weakening
My many songs are fading
My strands of life are being severed
My travelers find their passage perilous
Do you hear me?
I have needs too
I need cleansing fire
I need dynamic circles of life renewed
I need unburdening from nonnative species
I need my broken backbone mended
Will you help me?
Can we heal each other?
As much as the seasons provided contrast between my different treks, one constant has been the great folks I have had the pleasure to meet during these events. Four days of sharing morning coffee, meals, and stories on the trail and around camp allowed me to renew and deepen friendships with returning trekkers and get to know new members of our group. Of course, dry weather and seasonable temperatures certainly helped to keep us outside and not hunkering in our tents.
As has been customary for this event from its inception, the group gathered after our last dinner to provide an opportunity for members to share their own words of reflection on this experience. Gratitude to the organizers and leaders, and appreciation for being able to share the trek with other “lovely souls” were common expressions voiced by participants.
Based on my own experiences, and those articulated by others over the three trips I have taken with this group, I feel the LoHi Trek provides an inspirational example of an approach to connect people to people, and people to place in a way that is refreshing to body, spirit, and community, while honoring the uniqueness of the landscape in which it occurs. Consider joining the next LoHi Trek!