I’ve been finding strange things along hiking trails recently. But I suppose if you walk enough miles in the woods, you’re bound to see a thing or two.
While hiking Whitecap Mountain last week, I came across a giant bone, one larger than my forearm. My best guess is that it was a moose leg. It’s either that or part of a sasquatch.
The bone had been placed on the branch of a fallen tree so that it stood vertical to the ground. Anyone hiking the trail couldn’t miss it. It makes me wonder: Who found the bone and placed it there? Did they find the rest of the moose skeleton? Was it lying in the underbrush nearby?
Similarly, someone placed a deer skull on a tree branch along a trail in Bangor this spring. I came across it while looking for birds to photograph. It was an interesting sight, if a bit spooky. I wonder how many trail walkers noticed it hanging there by the path.
Sometimes, when people find an interesting natural object near a trail, they place it in an area where other hikers are likely to see it. I’m guessing that was the case with the giant bone and deer skull. I’ve done the same with bird feathers and fallen nests. It makes me smile to think of other hikers stopping to inspect them.
Many trailside oddities are man-made or have some sort of human influence. While hiking, I’ve come across elaborate fairy houses, shrines to beloved pets, a garden gnome and a beached shipwreck. Deep in the woods of a Brooksville preserve, I was surprised to find two rusty, old Chevrolet cars.
But other strange sights in the wilderness are entirely natural.
Last week, for instance, I was puzzled to see a turtle perched on a hillock of moss beside a woodland trail in Ellsworth. Maine is full of turtles, but I typically see them in or near ponds, lakes and other bodies of water — not in the middle of the forest, sitting at the edge of a trail.
When I first spotted its shiny, dark shell, my hope was that it was a wood turtle, which is uncommon and listed as a “species of greatest conservation need” in Maine. I’ve never seen one in the wild, but I’ve read that they wander the forest eating mushrooms, leaves, berries and insects. I’ve also read that they will stomp on the ground, mimicking rain, to trick earthworms to emerge so they can snatch them up.
As I drew closer to the trailside turtle, I was disappointed to discover that it was not a wood turtle. It was an eastern painted turtle, a species that’s abundant throughout most of Maine. I see them all the time, basking on logs along the edges of ponds and streams. Seeing it in the woods, without a body of water in sight, made me reassess my assumptions about turtle mobility.
Whether something is strange, surprising or odd is often a matter of perspective or experience. Perhaps a reptile expert would know enough about painted turtles to not be shocked to see one lounging in a mossy forest. But for me, it was unexpected.
Some extraordinary trailside sights are easily overlooked if you aren’t paying close attention to your surroundings.
For instance, earlier this year, at the tail end of winter, I noticed an awe-inspiring tree growing on Benny’s Mountain in Lubec. But if I hadn’t been focusing on photographing the many beautiful birch trees on that mountain, I may not have noticed what made the tree exceptional.
It was an old, yellow birch tree, and it was dead. But sprouting from its thick trunk, several feet in the air, a living birch grew — or perhaps it was one of the original tree’s branches? Whatever the case, the living wood had sent a mess of roots down the dead trunk to reach the ground. I’d never seen anything quite like it. It’s amazing what trees will do to survive.
From many years of hiking, I’ve observed many strange things. So I wonder, what unusual things have others seen?
If you’d like to share a trailside oddity, send me an email or leave a comment below this column. What’s the most interesting or confounding thing you’ve found along a trail? If I collect enough stories, I’ll share some in a future column.
I bet a lot of you have tales to tell. If you spend much time in the Maine woods, you’re bound to come across something peculiar and perhaps even inexplicable. I’d sure like to hear about it.
