As summer begins its steady withdrawal, making way for the coming fall, the most exciting season for hiking is now comes into view. Hiking in the autumn brings with it everything that Mother Nature has to offer…it is her “Grand Finale”. I am feeling very connected to the autumn this year, as work and family have largely kept me off the trails this year.
The morning air is crisp and bites at your skin as you swallow the last of your warm beverage before grabbing your pack and blaze orange vest, then easing onto the trail. The sky and trees are filled with the calls of birds that are anxiously waiting to begin their southerly treks to their wintering areas. Geese call from all directions as they take flight like so many planes from a busy airfield, joining and maintaining formation in an attempt to cover a few extra miles to move closer to their warmer southern winter homes.
On the ground the crunch of newly fallen leaves fills the air with each step. The trees are painted with the colors of the sun; leaves in bright red, orange, and yellow colors. Squirrels and chipmunks scamper every which way, almost in unison to the bird songs that serenade you from above. On occasion, a chickadee or blue jay streaks through your sightline as it heads toward a newly discovered feeding place. Under some trees, late blooming flowers add scattered color in the midst of the brightly colored leaves that have detached from their parent trees, having glided gently to the ground, ready to become part of nature’s renewal in spring.
No mosquitos or horse flies to buzz annoyingly in your ear; just the occasional fly will happen to scoot by. The smells of the forest change from the heavy, humid smell of summer to a crisp, clean, sweet smell only occasionally interrupted by the smell of a leaf or wood fire. The thinning ground cover allows one to see a handful of deer making their way to a nearby stream, or the wayward moose that happens to cross your path. Stay sharp for the scat of bears on the trail; one does not want to interrupt a hike by startling a grazing black bear.
If you are out early enough you may catch a glimpse of Orion’s belt hanging just above the western horizon, a sight that to me signals winter’s arrival is close at hand. A cloud of breath is an expected companion while on an early morning hike in autumn. Seeing your breath is a much better feeling than being covered in sweat already, isn’t it?
Yes, there is no better season to explore your wilderness than autumn. The crisp, clean air and the flurry of last minute winter readiness activity already have my boots quivering in anticipation.
The morning air is crisp and bites at your skin as you swallow the last of your warm beverage before grabbing your pack and blaze orange vest, then easing onto the trail. The sky and trees are filled with the calls of birds that are anxiously waiting to begin their southerly treks to their wintering areas. Geese call from all directions as they take flight like so many planes from a busy airfield, joining and maintaining formation in an attempt to cover a few extra miles to move closer to their warmer southern winter homes.
On the ground the crunch of newly fallen leaves fills the air with each step. The trees are painted with the colors of the sun; leaves in bright red, orange, and yellow colors. Squirrels and chipmunks scamper every which way, almost in unison to the bird songs that serenade you from above. On occasion, a chickadee or blue jay streaks through your sightline as it heads toward a newly discovered feeding place. Under some trees, late blooming flowers add scattered color in the midst of the brightly colored leaves that have detached from their parent trees, having glided gently to the ground, ready to become part of nature’s renewal in spring.
No mosquitos or horse flies to buzz annoyingly in your ear; just the occasional fly will happen to scoot by. The smells of the forest change from the heavy, humid smell of summer to a crisp, clean, sweet smell only occasionally interrupted by the smell of a leaf or wood fire. The thinning ground cover allows one to see a handful of deer making their way to a nearby stream, or the wayward moose that happens to cross your path. Stay sharp for the scat of bears on the trail; one does not want to interrupt a hike by startling a grazing black bear.
If you are out early enough you may catch a glimpse of Orion’s belt hanging just above the western horizon, a sight that to me signals winter’s arrival is close at hand. A cloud of breath is an expected companion while on an early morning hike in autumn. Seeing your breath is a much better feeling than being covered in sweat already, isn’t it?
Yes, there is no better season to explore your wilderness than autumn. The crisp, clean air and the flurry of last minute winter readiness activity already have my boots quivering in anticipation.