Program has hikers hitting Juden Creek trail

Joyce Miller has hiked all over the world. She's scaled Mount Whitney, Mount Fuji and the Grand Canyon. Betty Henson has also climbed Mount Fuji and the Grand Canyon. Sunday, both women were enjoying the scenery of Southeast Missouri during a hike on the Juden Creek trail, sponsored by the Department of Conservation.

"I love this trail," Henson said. "I plan on hiking it again, bring my brother out here so we can do it together."

Miller agreed. "I'd like to come back when it's not so hot, and go even farther."

The hike was one event in a monthly series sponsored by the Department's new Conservation Campus in Cape Girardeau, called the "Adults Only" Programs. In July, the program will focus on aquatic investigation, and determining the quality of a pond or stream by the insects that live there. In August, a workshop on using GPS units is planned.

Steven Juhlin, assistant manager of the Conservation Campus, said that he hoped these adult programs would "provide awareness of different outdoor activities throughout the region.

"The goal of today is experience, and a little education, about the area. Juden Creek is a very unique place in Missouri. A lot of people don't know it's even there."

Miller and Henson, both avid hikers, didn't realize the trail existed. "I even knew about the Twin Trees park right next to it," said Miller, "but not the trail."

The 1.5-mile trail in the Juden Creek Conservation Area is "a good trail for beginners," said Sara Scheper, an education specialist at the campus and one of the leaders of the hike. "It's not very steep and shaded."

Inside the trail, hikers are immersed in the natural world. The only evidence that they are in Cape Girardeau is the muffled sound from nearby Highway 177. Juhlin likens the trail to parts of the Appalachian Mountains. He said that few places in Missouri support the community of trees that Juden does, including American beech and poplar trees.

The area is managed by different groups, including the conservation department, the Audubon Society and Southeast Missouri State University. The Audubon Society has made the area a bird sanctuary, and the calls of birds like the red-eyed vireo, the yellow-billed cuckoo and the Carolina chickadee can be heard by hikers. Southeast professors occasionally do research in the area.

Juhlin plans on sponsoring a class for volunteers in the fall. He hopes for adult volunteers to lead hikes off site from the facility, and mentions the possibility of a hiking club.

"It will be a good opportunity just to get people outside."

nstanfield@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127