We came here many times before we retired, but we really didn't appreciate what a gem this place is tucked into southwest Oklahoma's landscape. This day we are on the Kite Trail, where our hike takes us beside a little creek . . .
that suddenly opens into a beautiful canyon.
We took a less-traveled path close to the edge of the canyon wall because we kept taking pictures. This is called the "40-foot-hole" on the trail map, and it seemed deeper that that to us.
When we first spotted the waterfall in the picture above, we knew that was our destination. We kept getting closer . . .
and closer. If you look in the very center of the picture, you can see Mark's blue-shirted figure standing on the rocks high above that waterfall. That could only mean one thing.
He would soon be scrambling down the rocks to stand right beside the falls!
Denisa much prefers to stay high and dry. From his perch by the falls, he can look back down the canyon to catch Denisa on top of the wall. She's in the upper left hand corner of the picture below.
We continued the Kite Trail over its rocky course until we got to the source of that creek. Mark is standing at the spillway of Lost Lake, at the northern end of the trail.
We've decided to make this into a loop hike. So after completing the 1.1 mile Kite Trail, we walked on the road until we got to the Lawrence house. Built in 1912, this was been a shelter for hikers and wanderers for the more than 100 years. The plaque out front reads that it was built "as an open refuge for passing travelers" and it is on the national register of historic places. We see this curious knobby-stone construction in buildings all over this area.
The house is at the trail head of the Narrows Trail, and we soon found the creek-crossing that the ranger warned us about. Because of all the recent rain, the only way to continue this trail is to get wet. We rolled up our pants and shed our shoes to get across the swollen creek. Denisa has made it half-way across by this picture,
but she still has another knee-deep wade in the cold water to get to the other side.
After we get our feet dry and our hiking boots back on, we can continue our hike into this narrow canyon for more views.
We have wandered into more of God's wonders today!
Our hike takes us up, and then back down to the creek. Perhaps during the dry summer it would be pleasant to ford a smaller creek and continue down into the canyon. But today this is the end of the trail for us.
On the return hike, we can look back down through the narrows to see the rocky water crossing we'll have to make again.
Hiking on these rocky trails is beautiful, but today we were reminded of the dangers here. We visited with another hiker and got some great advice because he worked for years as a professional guide on trails like this within the refuge.
He especially likes the rock climbing that these walls are known for, and his book, "Oklahoma Rock" is available at the visitor center. But Tony also told us about the day he was hiking by himself and got bit by a diamondback rattlesnake here in the refuge. It was a day he'll never forget. After hearing the details of his story, he walked more carefully on the trail the rest of the day.
We have been watching the ground all day, as this is perfect weather for a snake sighting. But something else caught our eye high in the sky. This blur of clouds had a strangely colorful center. It looks like an upside-down rainbow, but we haven't had any rain today. Perhaps it is the forewarning of the rain that is in our forecast for the next couple days.
By the time we made it back to the car, we had another six-mile hike under our feet without even one rattlesnake sighting. In fact, the only wildlife we saw on these trails were the collared lizards. We had to take more pictures because they were wearing their best turquoise-blue lizard skin suits today.
It's been another great day of hiking here at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, where trail heads are just a few miles from our beautiful camp site. This is a hidden gem in Oklahoma that many travelers don't know about and too many Oklahomans take for granted.
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