By Annette Hinkle
It’s official. The holidays are over and winter is settling in. While some folks see this as a sign to hunker down and hibernate until spring, for a whole other group of intrepid East Enders, winter is an ideal time to get out into the woods and see what nature has to offer.
Among them is Crystal Possehl of the Bridgehampton based South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) who leads a hike through Big Woods in Southampton this Saturday. The preserve in North Sea near Big Fresh Pond is owned by The Nature Conservancy and though things admittedly aren’t very green at this time of year, Possehl notes the lack of leaves offers a whole new set of possibilities.
“You can see how the land changes and how the plants change with the land,” explains Possehl. “Big Woods has upland forest, wetlands and salt marsh — three habitats on a one mile loop. There’s so much variety at this time of year.”
Winter is also the ideal time to spot signs of animal life, such as old birds nests and, after a snowfall, animal tracks that indicate who has passed through the area in recent days. Possehl slows down in winter and encourages hikers to take a few minutes to stand still and allow the woods to wake up around them.
“It is a lot easier to find tracks in winter and see what animals are active when you’re not there,” says Possehl who’s hoping for at least a couple inches of snow in advance of Saturday’s walk. “You can see tracks of chipmunks, deer, turkeys. In snow you see everyone who’s gone through — feather marks, maybe of an owl that came through and caught a mouse.”
Another benefit of hiking in winter? No ticks or chiggers, particularly for hikers like Possehl who like to go “off trail” and poke around in the woods a bit.
“My fiancé calls me a tick collector. In winter I don’t need to worry about that,” she notes.
Rick Whelan of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society led the first hike of 2011 on the East End last Saturday — an annual 10 miler through Hither Woods in Montauk. He’s done the hike on the first weekend of the year for 22 years now.
“I prefer the winter,” says Whelan. “You don’t have heat and humidity, chiggers and ticks — that’s a consideration. The views are generally also little better. I also like hiking in the snow.”
In 1996, the New Year’s hike went off as planned, but Whelan notes he was the only person attending because it took place in the midst of a blizzard.
“One thing you learn about snow is it’s very variable,” he says. “The Eskimos have a hundred words for snow, and you can see why. In the ‘96 storm, the temperature was in the low 20s, and the snow was light and dry. It was like walking in powder and wasn’t even slippery.”
Whelan also likes to lead full moon hikes from November through March when there are no leaves on the trees and the brightness of the moon lights the way. These hikes, he notes, are not scheduled and tend to be impromptu outings because they depend on clear skies.
When asked if he notices a difference between summer and winter hikers, Whelan says, “I would say you do get a hardier breed of hiker in winter. Sometimes the temperatures can be in 40s and fairly comfortable, but I remember one hike in the Grace Estate after a snow storm that was extremely difficult. We went four miles in four hours and were post holing the whole way though very deep snow.”
And when the snow’s too deep for hiking, there’s always cross country skiing, which Whelan did just last Friday morning at Jacob’s Farm Preserve on Red Dirt Road in Springs.
Joe Lane of the Southampton Trails Preservation Society takes a decidedly poetic view of the woods in winter, and for him, hiking in the quiet of the season is akin to meditation.
“I like walking in woods in the snow,” says “You almost feel like it’s a new world. I like silent walks. You can hear people coming before you see them.”
“I think it’s like going within when you go into the woods,” he adds. “It reminds me of all those poems and writings about losing oneself in nature.”
Lane often devises themes around the walks he leads for the trails society, such as poetry hikes or silent walks — though he admits the latter are harder to pull off given people’s natural propensity to fill any void with words.
“It’s about getting away from some of the crazy things going on in the world that people get overwhelmed by and lose yourself in the moment,” says Lane. “Try and get it out of your head for a while. It sounds good, but I’m not always that successful at it myself.”
Though he likes hiking in all seasons and finds metaphors for life throughout the year, Lane does see a special beauty in winter. “In the winter, you see the architecture of the woods — including the valleys and hills you never saw before,” he says. “I like to say the trees are the bones or skeletons of the woods. It has a beauty all its own.”
The Big Woods Walk with Crystal Possehl begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 8, 2011 and is open to adults and children six years and older. To register and for meeting location, call SOFO at 537-9735. Other hikes this Saturday include the Paumanok Path, a four mile hike with Southampton Trails Preservation Society beginning at 10 a.m. at Sag Harbor Industries on the Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, and Lighthouse Loop, a five miler with the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society at 10 a.m. on Camp Hero Road in Montauk.
Some Favorite Winter Trails: Northwest Woods — Highlights: Winter Harbor Hill’s seasonal water view and the white pine forest which is magical when it snows. Begin on Route 114 just south of Edwards Hole Road, between Sag Harbor and East Hampton. Trout Pond to Sag Harbor Industries — Highlights: Hiking a serpentine trail over the glacial moraine amid evergreen mountain laurel. Begin at Trout Pond, Noyac. Morton Wildlife Refuge — Highlights: Birds in winter eager to eat seed from your hands. Noyac Road, Noyac. Seal Haulout Trail – Highlights: Seasonal seal visitors basking on rocks in the bay. Begins on the north side of Route 27 near Camp Hero Road, Montauk.
