I was glad to descend from bright sun and bare rock to the cool hemlock shade of the Peters Kill, which cascaded in rapids and falls and gathered in tea-brown pools where the geometric shadows of water striders shadowed the bottom. My return route from the Peters Kill parking area of Minneswaska State Park was by way of the white-blazed Bull Wheel trail, beginning near the base of an old ski trail, and climbing up to a heath-like plateau where blueberry flower-bells dangled above reindeer lichen encrusting the bedrock outcrops, while brown rock tripe lichen stuccoes the boulders and cliff faces. The park has placed signs here advising hikers to stay on the trail, due to the ecologically sensitive nature of the terrain. Like the Enderlys and other early settlers in this area, the lichens that grow here are pioneers, the first to colonize the obdurate surface of bare conglomerate. These primitive plants, both fungus and algae, are symbols of life’s tenacity and toughness, growing where nothing else can. Yet their foothold is fragile as well, so we who pass among them must tread lightly and with care, or we risk scarring this land with our hiking boots as those who came before us did with their stone boats, grazing animals and crosscut saws.
Richard Parisio is a lifelong naturalist, educator and writer. He currently leads field trips for school classes at Mohonk Preserve, teaches courses about John Burroughs and conducts tours of Slabsides and the John Burroughs Sanctuary for groups and individuals by request. Rich is New York State coordinator for River of Words, a national poetry and art program on the theme of watersheds, and teaches River of Words programs for school classes, grades K-12, by request. Contact Rich ([email protected]) with questions, comments, or suggestions for Nature at Your Doorstep.
