“What will you do when it floods?”

As we talk about the MYPath trail along the White River, we get asked that question. A lot.

The smart-alecky answer is, “Not hike that day.”

The longer answer is a little more complicated. People in Spencer and Owen County are serious about floods. They didn’t ask “if” it floods. They asked “when.” Flooding is an unpleasant part of life in the lowlands along the White River.

Locals have seen and splashed through many floods over the years. From the MYPath perspective, we used part of one of our grants to place a marker on the corner of Wayne and Main commemorating the flood of 1913. If you visit that corner, you will see that our new sign is next to a limestone block that was the original high-water marker. If you look closely, you can make out some of the letters. The new sign says the same thing as the old marker.

This year, the heavy rains fell on April 10 and 11. This was not a massive rainstorm, considering Spencer’s history. But it was big to us. We were scheduled to lead a hike on February 12. This was not just any hike. This was an important hike with one of our key partners, McCormick’s Creek State Park.

Each year, McCormick’s Creek State Park hosts Wildflower Weekend. It is a fun event, featuring special wildflower-themed hikes. Participants can find and learn about these natural beauties.

For the past few years, McCormick’s Creek has started its Wildflower Weekend with a Friday evening hike at MYPath. It is quite an honor to host this event at the MYPath Riverfront Trail. Last year, we were even able to host this hike when the park had to cancel the rest of the weekend events because of the devastating storm. We take our responsibility for hosting a Wildflower Weekend hike very seriously.

This year, I had been out to the trail to make sure we had ample wildflowers along the trail construction activities. Sure enough. We had many wild violets, phlox, buttercups and even some spring beauties. In addition, I was ready to talk about the Monarch Waystation near the trail and the eagles’ nest, across the river, but visible from MYPath. It was going to be fun.

Then the rain came and the river rose. And continued to rise.

Friday morning, I checked the river level. I’ve seen it higher. But it was not predicted to crest for several hours, a couple feet higher than it was that morning. Begrudgingly, I cancelled the Wildflower Weekend hike at MYPath.

It was a good thing. The flooding was worse than I had seen in the last three years. The water crawled over the bank and flooded the lower areas of the trail. Elliston Creek backed up, completely flooding the site for the new bridge and a significant portion of the New Meadow along River Road. Even the DNR boat launch on River Road was invisible under deep water.

Back in the McCormick’s Creek, Wildflower Weekend continued as planned on Saturday and Sunday. Visitors enjoyed beautiful wildflowers and informative hikes along the way. It was wet there, but nothing was under water. Kids could win a Smoky the Bear sticker for identifying wildflowers on a bingo card.

Though everybody was having fun in the park, my mind kept going back to MYPath. I was able to follow the flood levels from the National Weather Service. Water levels were slowly dropping. But not far, or fast, enough.

The next Wednesday, our Weekly Walkers ventured out to see the damage. There wasn’t really much damage. Water rose. Water receded. Some mud was left, a snapping turtle, and fish that had ventured a little farther than they should have.

The next week, crews from Milestone Construction were back on site, preparing the shore along Elliston Creek for a future bridge. The trail itself was fine. A dead fish was still there, dried out on the trail. A lot of tracks from a lot of animals made their mark across the mud. And wildflowers were blooming.

The following week our weekly walkers discovered that two other fish survived at least a week in a shallow mud puddle. Those fish were returned to the river.

So, the lesson of flooding is pretty much what we thought. We won’t hike that day. We will wait. The water will recede, nature will reappear, and trail life will return to normal. Except for the fish.

Kyle Hannon is the project manager for the MYPath Trail System. He has served in many community development and trail connection roles throughout the state. On many weekends, he serves as an interpretive specialist at McCormick's Creek State Park.