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Trail of the Month Program
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Hikers' Comments on Asher Creek Trail
Lake Wappapello State Park

	Month Hiked	Comments from participants of the 2007 Trail of the Month Program
	October 2007	This is an enjoyable trail with lots of wildlife and a great view of the lake. Start by going right, get the big up hill out of the way first thing. Plus, you will be rewarded at the end of the hike with a bench by the lakeshore to rest and enjoy the woods.
	August 2007	Stop by the bench near the end (if you started on the right side). The view of the lake is nice. I saw a big fish jump totally out of the water when I was there.
	August 2007	This trail is also quite strenuous. At the very beginning, you hike uphill for maybe a third of a mile. We were glad to get that part over with. After that, it was smooth sailing. There was a nice view of the lake near the end.
	August 2007	A summer rain caught me while I was hiking. It was refreshing to say the least although I had to shower to get the splashed up mud off my legs. The first hill was the worst. Also, I saw a dragonfly caught in a huge spider web!
	July 2007	It is a wild trail surrounded by a lake with much human activity. I hiked this trail in the early evening and heard plenty of wildlife scurrying. The highlight of the hike was my encounter with a 4.5-foot long black rat snake. He was very photogenic.
	June 2007	Do this hike at sunrise like we did. We saw a great blue heron soaring above the calm waters of the lake as the sun was coming up. We also scared up a couple of sleeping deer. We saw turtles along the trail and heard woodpeckers in the forest. A pretty hike.
	June 2007	This trail winds through the forested hills next to Lake Wappapello. We had several deer sightings. This trail features some long climbs and descents and really gets the blood pumping. It was hot and humid when we hiked this one, and we had problems with gnats. Nice trail though somewhat forgettable.
	June 2007	It was a little confusing when trying to find the trailhead. We ended up going to the park office and they told us it was near campsite 56. A moderately challenging trail but it had some good views of the lake. We saw some deer and a box turtle along the way.
	June 2007	I love uphill hikes! It means there's a downhill in your future! Very scenic, and we enjoyed watching a great blue heron at the water's edge.
	June 2007	It's uphill at the beginning if you walk the trail counterclockwise. You will be rewarded with a less strenuous hike in the final stages of the trail with nice vistas of the lake. Spray for ticks.
	June 2007	The path follows the lake with very nice views. The path is not well traveled so we were covered with ticks by the end of the trail even though we used plenty of tick repellent. We saw lots of baby frogs along the trail.
	June 2007	We would have done well to stop by the park office and grab at trail map, or at least to have paid more attention to what colored arrow meant what. We were a little confused by the red and white arrows.
	May 2007	The trail starts off cleared of leaves and shortly into the trail it becomes covered. It would have been very difficult to follow the trail if it wasn't for the ribbons on the trees. The trail was covered some much that we stepped on a small snake the blended into the leaves. I looked up the snake and it wasn't poisonous -- it was a prairie ring-necked snake. The trail has moss growing on it that was so thick that it felt like very thick carpet and boy was if soft. We ran into a box turtle that moved a lot faster that I thought it could. At the end of the trail, you walk along Lake Wappapello with some great views.
	May 2007	The start of the trail wasn't well marked. We stopped by the park office and they suggested starting at the campground. As it turned out, the loop actually started and ended at the campground. The official starting sticker/sign however is off a main road at the start of a connector trail. The trail itself was also hard to follow at times and the leaves were so deep that the path was at times hard to make out. Luckily the red ties/flags were marked often on the trees along the trees. There was also a lot of mosquitoes along the trail. At times we would find 10+ sitting on our legs and arms at one time and we had put on Deep Woods spray prior to starting the trail. We also spotted a couple of snakes on the trail and with the leaf cover I’d guess there was several that we missed. The overall trail was nice with lots to look at. It was up and down with lots of curves and a nice view along the lake towards the end. I would like to do this one again later in the year.
	May 2007	Saw a deer and a turkey. WOW. Trail was well maintained and marked. Nice view of lake as the trail meandered along the shore.
	May 2007	When the trail splits almost a mile in, stay to the right and take the upper trail even if you don't see the blue blazes. We missed it the first time and had to backtrack about half a mile from where the lower trail was washed out. It does feel like a lot more than two miles, but I think part of that has to do with the rugged terrain. There are many steep and steady ascents and declines along the back of the trail, so make sure you're up for it before going in.
	May 2007	Saw a variety of birds and really nice view of the lake.