A Series of Remarkable Experiences and Hiking Life
Lessons by Blue Blaze Bugsie
Another beautiful, crisp and
windy day today’s trip left me not only with a sense of being “watched”, but a
reminder that in a world where we’re led to believe that nature is controlled, I
am just a guest.
Exiting Bedford
Reservation from the Taylor Road side the BT took me up over a rail road track
then back onto a bridle trail that skirted houses and roads, keeping me just
inside the shelter of trees.
Immediately
I had this sense that something was out there with me and upon close
observation I discovered it was a herd of deer, which for most of the hike appeared
to be following me…or maybe they thought the same thing about me?
Almost any time I looked there was a group
foraging just out of range, silently watching and chewing, but once
acknowledged would flee off into the woods beyond my line of sight.
Once under the I-480/271 overpass I entered
the Bedford Metro Reserve.
and the lovely fall scenery full of dancing colors
and the babbling of Tinkers Creek captured my attention begging for me to take a
photo.
I began taking photos of the
creek as the sloping path led me down to it.
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| Tinker's Creek |
As I turned to take the shot up-creek out of the corner of my eye I saw a
figure huddled on the side of a tree, frozen there watching me, but it was too
far away to see clearly.
Cautiously I
approached taking photos until I finally could make it out.
Three feet up the tree was a huge knot that had
been paint enhanced to reveal a baby-sized bear clinging to it, down to marbles
for eyes and cross tipped screws for nostrils.
More tree art that literally made me catch my breath.
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| What is that??? |
 |
It looks like a baby bear to me!
|
 |
Marbles for eyes and cross tipped screws for a nose
|
 |
| Some more of my friends |
 |
| Acknowledged! |
Leaving BMR I hoofed it up Richmond Road to the next bridle trail which I followed into South Chagrin Reservation, final destination, Squaw Rock.
As a life-long West-sider names like
Richmond and Solon Road, or Chagrin could’ve been as far away as the moon to me
and I amused myself with the thought that I was getting to know the East side one
step at a time.
My lunch is only ever a backpack
away, but not liking to stop during my hikes, lest I sit down and not want to
get back up again, I wait until it becomes unbearable to finally reach for it, so
of course I end up thinking about it a lot.
At one point I started craving apples, which I did not pack today.
I actually tilted my head back, closed my
eyes and begged for a juicy apple!
Not
too long after my request an old, gnarly abandoned apple tree answered the call.
It would have been an interesting spectacle
to watch as I struggled to release apples from the tall tree, but I duly offered
up my thanks as the sweet juiciness of the pear-like apple hit my tongue and sprayed
my face as I bit into it.
Lesson #19:
Always enjoy the “fruits” of nature while you’re out in it.
There is nothing that compares; a sun-kissed
apple straight off the tree is always a whole lot better than one picked from a
drawer in the fridge.
I came out of the shadows of the woodsy
bridle trail to see the bedazzled waters of the ironically- named Shadow Lake.
The sun was shining brightly and in the cool
breeze the rippling water reflected it like sparkling jewels.
It is here that I finally gave into the urge to reach for lunch and as I sat on the deck I enjoyed the company of a mallard couple as they bobbed and fluttered about in the search of their own fare.
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| Enjoying the ironically named Shadow Lake |
I finally made it to Squaw Rock. It was only when I crept to the edge of the cliff and peered down to see the huge sandstone boulder made famous by its historic carvings that I realized I’d been here before and I wished my husband could have been there to see it with me. From my vantage point I couldn’t make out exactly what I was looking at, and being far too tired to go all the way down to see it up close, I took a few photos from the ridge and then headed toward the car and my waiting hubby, who I finally located beyond the parking lot further up-trail.
On the drive home he mentioned
that while trying to locate me to walk the last mile together, he said, with a
wry grin, that he’d run into this huge sandstone boulder by the river, but someone
had carved it all up!
