Trail Of Learning

Years ago now, I worked at a Boy Scout camp in the Nature Lodge. I believe I wrote about this some time ago. Among the tasks which fell to me were leading nature hikes. You lead a group of people around a short circular trail, stopping at various points to describe the flora of the area. I led that hike many times, and it got ingrained in my memory. That's passed though, and I would be rather rusty if I tried again today.

Still, I remember one or two things. That was evident when we took a similar self-guided hike here in Big Bear Lake, which I expect to have left by the time you are reading this. The trail was not as varied as the one I led, but I suppose it made the most of what lay in the area. It had sixteen items on it, which I think may have been fewer than the one I had led. Really it was rather informative, providing plenty of information that I hadn't known.

One thing we were agreed on, this printed trail guide and I, was the pine tree. I remembered perfectly well that the pine smells of vanilla, and I informed my cohorts of the fact. Incredibly enough, there was no small amount of doubt about the matter, and some wouldn't even try it out. It seems to me that perhaps three did beside myself. and they were all rather pleasantly surprised to discover the truth of my assertion. Later the guide backed me up.

I did not try much to build on this success, though I did bring up the point of the cambium layer that conveys water throughout the tree. Here I sensed myself getting onto less certain ground, and so I resolve to stop while I had still an increased reputation in the eyes of my friends. It's just as well, since the group began to lose interest in the entire idea of learning about the flora from the printed guide by the time we hit the 10th item.