Leading a Hike on Deer Leap Trail

Start by hiking the main road to the Gas Cut so that the less interesting part is first.  Plus, if they burn off some energy by a faster pace on a wide road, they may be ready to slow down and enjoy the woods part.

The best introduction I have ever heard to field biology went like this:  "When you are first starting to identify plants, it's like your first day in a new school.  Everything and everyone looks alike!  You don't learn to recognize everyone right away; it comes slowly, one individual at a time.  Learning trees and flowers is the same.  You won't get them all at once - so don't try.  First just walk slowly, observe carefully, and notice things in the field and forest.  Eventually one or two things start to become familiar, and THEN you learn their names." 

This method gets you off the hook for not knowing names of everything.  In fact, you can encourage them to make up their own names, if they need names.  You just get them to LOOK and compare.  Say whatever YOU feel comfortable with.  They will pick up on your confidence.

When you get to the Gas Cut you could point out that it first looks like a bunch of grass.  Grass has a single blade or stalk.  How many differnt kinds of plants can they find that are NOT grass?  If they have leaves, do the leaves come of the central stalk in opposite pairs, or alternating, or whorled around? 

You will undoubtedly scare up some dragonflies.  Tell them that they do not hurt. They do like to eat other bugs - they are hunters, but they do not sting. 

Tell them to look for animal holes where they are stepping and nests in the overhanging tree branches.

When you get to the trail, see if the girls notice how much cooler it is in the woods than in the field.  Why is that?  What do they like better?  How can you get cool if you are hot, or heat up if you are too cool?  Are there animals that prefer cool and shady vs. warm and sunny?  How about plants?  [answers: yes and yes.  A lot of large insects need sunshine to keep their bodies warm enough to function (think butterflies).  Plants are usually adapted to one or the other.] 

A good place for a bunch of girls to hear the story about the "Hunter & the Deer" and "Oviatts Used Ovals, Kirby Used Concrete" would be just after you cross the little creeklet in the mossy part of the path. There is a little moss-covered hill overlooking the creek.  That moss is as soft as a cushion - so it's a great place to rest and listen.  AND - bonus - the old boulder retaining wall is just on the opposite bank from that point.  Tell them the mystery: what would they have been trying to protect from erosion?  Let them try to pinpoint where the deer finally laughed at he hunter. 

The Seely outhouse will be at the end of the trail so you might want to stock it in advance with TP and sanitizer.  The group can wait on Seely porch until everyone gets a chance to pee.  You can give bravery prizes for even just going into the outhouse alone, whether they pee or not.  It's not like you are checking. 

From there, you can take the path that cuts behind the boat house, and point out logs that beavers gnawed.