Sieche Hollow or Sica Hollow

We needed to do some geocaching on Tuesday to help fill out the month of April. We chose to head north to a little state park called Sica Hollow. I have never understood how s-i-c-a is pronounced see-chee, but that is how it is pronounced. It has been many, MANY years since we have visited the area. It is a popular place to visit in the fall to see the changing colors. There are a variety of deciduous trees, sumac, and a bubbling creek that meanders through the 20+ miles of trails. 

Our goal was two fold: collect some Letter Box geocaches AND beat the wood tick season doing it. We collected 44 caches and only 5 wood ticks. Success!

The weather was perfect for wandering through a wooded area - lots of sunshine and no wind. The mid 60º temps were perfect for the 7+ miles of trail trekking. There were lots of hills to climb and crossings of the meandering stream. We were two very tired people when we quit after six hours.

It was very interesting to see the park so early in the spring. My experience is of the colorful leaves in the fall. There were plenty of things to photograph while we walked the trails, climbed the hills and crossed the streams. It has been a LONG winter in SD. Spring is arriving slowly. Enjoy Sica Hollow in early spring...

Still not sure how, when or why the spelling changed

Sica Hollow

A little waterfall

The stream water was so clear

A rare bit of color in the landscape

These guys startled me

I was not expecting garter snakes along the stream

This one posed for me

There must have been a den as I counted 5 of varying sizes

I really enjoyed the sound of the bubbling creek

Someone thought this was clever

A large tractor tire swing

Rare small patches of very short mossy grass

A snow shelf still hanging around

On the north side of a stone bridge above the stream

And a little ice covered puddle

One of several stone bridges

A plant peeking through the fallen leaves

Some bright green shoots

Mushrooms on a fallen log

Deer tracks in the mud