Follow the Hemlock Trail Pt. 1 by bmxer197 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

I won't lie, I absolutely love this photo. The place this was taken at was amazing.

The trail in this picture carved through a valley that featured Lake Ramona, and as the trail left the lake it went on the side of a hill that was filled with boulders covered in the greenest moss I've ever seen, and with towering hemlocks that shaded the forest floor. Deer hid in the tangles of hemlock branches, the occasional snake slithered across the ground, and salamanders inhabited the space under every rock. The air was filled with the eerie sounds of American toads and the lively songs of spring peepers. The best part was that there was no man-made sound anywhere! All the sounds were of the sounds of nature. This is the only place I've been to where you were totally free from all man-made sounds of every kind. Every now and again a tufted titmouse would sing out with its "Peter Peter Peter" call as they followed us down the path, inspecting the new strangers to their woods. Chickadees flitted about, and the whole sense of the woods conveyed the happiness of the new beginning of spring, the fresh start of life.

My first hiking trip outside the county of the year, and what a great trip it was. Clear Creek Metro Park is a place you must visit if you are in the Central Ohio area.

Part 2 can be seen here: [link]