Terra Incognita by Bonfire Photography

After my brief visit to Decorah last week I immediately made plans to revisit the area again on Saturday. The title of this blog is terra incognita which means uncharted or unexplored, I treat every new place I visit as unexplored (at least by me it is) and this weekend’s trip was going to be just that. I just developed a recent fascination with cold water springs and located two more to make my next geographic journey to. One of them is called Twin Springs just outside of Decorah on US52 and the other Malanaphy Springs north and west of Decorah about 4 miles. This was the adventure part of my trip as this required a mile hike one way over unknown terrain.
I awoke early Saturday morning and made coffee and drank down as much as I could before my departure time of 5:45. It was about 90 miles to Decorah and I wanted to get there around sunrise. It was also the first sub-freezing weather of the season as it got down to 28F and I grabbed my leather coat. The drive was uneventful for the most part as I chilled and listened to music all the way up. With about six mile to go I saw two adult Bald Eagles near the roadside and they flew up as I approached them. The orange glowing disc of the sun was also just making itself visible over the rugged hills near Decorah.
I made the last six miles to my first stop and turned into the park area known as Twin Springs. The cascades were letting off steam and mist due to the consistent water temperature in the 50’s and the air temperature around 32.
I saw a few small trout using the stream as their home and watched one dart into the mouth of the springs which had a culvert in it, I wondered how far into the dark he swam. Never did see him exit the spring.
Viewing this stream looked like something one would see in a Game Of Thrones episode. It was relaxing as I went up and down the length of the stream to take various time exposures to show the water flowing. The second picture shows the source of the springs. Glad my GPS guided me to this spot by accident a week earlier, sometimes mistakes are good.
I was done after an hour of wandering up and down the length of the banks and decided it was time to pack up my gear and move on.
It was a ten minute drive to the next location and I was treated to a spectacular view of the bluffs along the Upper Iowa River lit up by the morning sun and in full autumn colors

The entrance to Malanaphy Springs was a small parking area, probably enough for five six cars max, one gentleman was there in a pickup truck but left before I was able to get out. I could clearly see where the trail was and grabbed the gear I needed for the hike in. I had no idea what the path was like and how long it would take me to get there. It was only about one hundred feet or so and I was surrounded and in the midst of an amber colored Maple forest. The fallen leaves had already left a thick carpet on the floor with many more to fall.
The trail was solid limestone which was fairly flat and reminded me of a rough cobble stone. I came across three trees that fell across the trail and had to traverse them in various fashions. Over under and around, I traveled in at a steady slow pace listening to the surroundings and could hear very little. It was eerily quiet and even the woods was devoid of wildlife. Must have been the chill in the air. My mind wandered to the Blair Witch Project movie a few times as I ventured deeper and deeper into the woods.
There was little evidence of people using the trail as it was covered in leaf litter. One tree I came across was interesting as it was wedged in between the crotch of another and held in place. It had been there a long time as initials had been carved into its trunk.
Hard to tell how long it had been in that position but I would guess a decade had passed since it fell. Another hundred feet or so I was able to hear the sound of rushing water. I picked up the pace a little and went up a small hill and stood looking down upon the spring.

The picture does not do justice to the size and length of the spring, and man the sound of it reverberating down the slope as if some weird kind of amphitheater. I will conclude this blog tomorrow stay tuned…