Because firearm season started on Sunday here in Michigan, I avoided Rose Lake, my usual hiking haunt, not wanting to risk any damage on the first day of hunting season. Instead, I went to Van Atta Woods Park near Grand River and Van Atta in Okemos.
Van Atta Woods is much smaller than Rose Lake with a very limited trail system. In fact, there is only one trail, though the signs list two, the second is just the long trail with a cut-off trail.
If you hike on this trail, bring your boots – every time I’ve walked on the trail, which is admittedly only 6 – 10 times, it has been flooded to some degree. This time, the marshy areas were rather dry, and were easily crossed using the makeshift bridges of dead branches.
And being Michigan, I saw a few deer on my walk. It’s a pretty common occurrence – I see deer in my backyard, along with turkey and coyotes. But I stopped and watched them anyways. My high school biology teacher read to my class from Sand County Almanac and one of the passages questioned how much time did men spend watching geese as they flew, honking on the way to wherever they were headed. I wonder how many hikers do the same with passing deer.