October in upstate New York is for leaf peeping. You can drive around and view the foliage from a distance along the roadside, or you can go straight to the source. On this particular crisp Saturday morning, I chose the latter with a trip to Beaver Lake Nature Center’s Deep Woods Trail.
The Deep Woods is probably the trail I walk the most at Beaver Lake. It’s a short distance with subtle elevation changes that allow for a nice, moderate stroll. This trail isn’t about getting a workout; it’s about exploring and soaking in the details.
My nickname for the Deep Woods Trail is the Brothers Grimm Trail. Walking through it conjures up memories of all those unsettling Teutonic fairy tales involving children in peril out in the wilderness. Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, a wolf disguised as grandma, or a cottage housing three bears would all fit right in along this dense and sometimes dark wooded path.
Today’s hike wasn’t as fanciful as all that, but it was incredibly atmospheric, and exactly the fall experience I was looking for. My pictures don’t really do the scenery justice, but here they are, nonetheless:
I like how they put that owl on the sign, just to make the prospect of delving into the deep woods that much more foreboding.The occasional rail fences along the trail evoke images of Robert Frost’s version of rural New England.The foliage was generally greener than I expected for mid-October, but there were some splashes of warm color.If the fences remind me of Frost, these fallen logs look like they could be concealing ambushers, lying in wait for Natty Bumppo in one of the Leatherstocking Tales.At some points on the trail, the branches overhead form a tunnel of sorts, adding to the immersive deep-woodsiness of it all.As natural as it is to focus on the trees above, the real signs of autumn are scattered along on the ground.I crossed paths with at least a dozen gray squirrels and one red squirrel, but most scampered away before I could catch a photo. This guy was the only cooperative squirrel of the lot.This blue jay was as camera shy as the squirrels. He kept flitting around while I tried to focus and I could ultimately only manage this blurry shot of him from behind. It’s a shame, since his blue plumage was quite striking.Unlike the other wildlife, this chipmunk practically posed for me. Thanks, Alvin.Beaver Lake in its autumnal glory.There’s that owl again, in case you forgot that he was up on that limb, sitting in silent judgment of you from above.Speaking of spooky old owls…when I was a kid, if I had seen somebody who looked like this out in the woods, it would have scared the hell out of me.
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 
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