Katy Trail at Portland: More Opossum Tracks

Yesterday there was still snow on the ground, but it was melting and the ground was getting soggy, so instead of slopping through a muddy trail somewhere, we opted for the relatively tidy Katy Trail.

We walked on a part we hadn't been on before: Portland, Missouri, and a few miles east from there. A nice section of trail! Some parts of the Katy go through crop fields; others through woods. Here, as with other popular parts of the trail, rocky bluffs rise on one side, and the Missouri River and various jungly bottomlands spread out on the other. I suspect this section of trail isn't traveled as much as areas near large population centers.

Also, I love driving the section of Highway 94 near Portland--it curves through forested hills that open up occasionally to offer more expansive views. It's not an interstate--you know what I mean? Hooray!




Anyway, there is lots of evidence of wildlife activity in the area, notably beavers near Big Tavern Creek where it joins the river.

But what I especially wanted to share with you are a few more possum tracks in the snow. These tracks were right on the hiking/biking trail.




There were tons of various tracks all over the trail, by the way, but ours were the only human ones. It is so illuminating how the snow makes visible the hundreds of comings and goings of critters that otherwise leave little trace.

In these pictures, you can see the marks the opossum's tail made as it walked.




Hmmm. I'll bet their skinny pink tails get really cold in the winter.