SEC T I ON T H R EE
ABOVE: DREW YOUNGEDYKE
day in April! How often do I get to do that?
So I decided to turn this epic four-day fastpack that
wasn’t into an overnight snowshoe backpacking trip, and
save those two days off for another adventure.
I sat up from the stump, strapped on my pack and stepped
back on the trail. I no longer resented the snow; I
appreciated it. Ahead on the trail, I saw a movement
and the light tan rump of an elk drinking from the
headwaters of a small stream where it crossed the trail
before flowing down into the Pigeon River. It was either
a cow or a young bull that had shed its antlers, but
it looked “bullish” to me. So I stood still and watched
it until it moved uphill and off the trail. While I was
waiting, a raccoon sauntered from tree to tree below me,
which I appreciated since “Ranger Rick” is the mascot of
my employer, the National Wildlife Federation. Further
down the trail, I heard the “woosh” of wings and looked
up to see a bald eagle flying overhead.
logging site – and slung my hammock and tarp between
two trees, flushing a woodcock along the way. The
flats are a wetland complex cut by a meandering stream,
surrounded by hills. A pair of ducks flew from the
wetland. A pair of geese honked before flying overhead.
I watched a Cooper’s hawk land on a snag and survey the
flats before alighting to hunt whatever it was it saw
from its perch. A northern flicker flew over my hammock.
A bluejay landed on a branch. A squirrel scrounged for
food on a sunny patch of bare ground on the hillside.
Though I didn’t complete what I had planned to do
that weekend; I did something better because I listened
to nature instead of my own ego. By being versatile
and adapting my adventure to the conditions, I saw
an amazing diversity of the forest’s wildlife and
thoroughly enjoyed our public lands for a weekend.
I backtracked the trail to the Cornwall Flats – an old
HORI ZONS | 39
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