First Hike of 2009

We got our first hike in this year. Today was so beautiful for being outside. We did get a little rain on us but not enough to worry about. The hike was a little over one mile and we discovered how out of shape we all were! I guess the winter was longer than I thought!

The trail we took was the Beaver Pond Trailhead off from Cass road in Traverse City. There are actually several trails back in the woods there and it just depends on which way you go what you will see. We did not see much wildlife today, however, we did see tell tale signs that the beavers are truly busy!

There are several places that show beaver activity, this picture was taken at the beginning of the hike.

Although it's a little blurry I'm sure you will agree this is quite a good sized beaver house! We never saw any of the critters about but I can assure you they are there somewhere!

We did see one thing we were not expecting at all! We had a little garter snake cross our path. Of course Thomas our photo man had to stop and get a picture of it.

The little guy actually seemed to stop moving long enough to be photographed. I must admit he blends into the scenery pretty well! This path that we took today is really a well done path. It has wood planking that goes over the swampy areas and several wood bridges that go over the creek and the river which seems to twist and turn in all directions . We had a few medium climbs to contend with but I believe this would be a great hiking trail for even the beginner or someone with younger children.

The only other animals we saw back there were some ducks and a pair of swans. One swan was sitting on the nest and seemed very content even when we were taking pictures of it!

When we were walking in what seemed like secluded woods far from civilization I happened to look over to my right and notice that I could still see traffic going along the road. So many people travel up and down the roads and yet never take the time to stop and return to the simple things in life! What a shame!

Of course not all critters are friendly- and I wouldn't want to disturb what lives in that nest dangling from that tree branch! So now we have taken our first hike of 2009 and they are predicting rain for the next three days! Go figure!

While we wait for the next sunny day we will be blowing up air mattresses to check for leaks and relining our fishing poles! Until next time- get out and enjoy a little nature!