Elastic Woods -Not "Wood" but "Woods"

When I was around 16 years of age, I went hunting in the far North near Phillips, Wisconsin, with a group of friends, which included Uncle Clyde.  Uncle Clyde, who was only about 3 years older than I, was purported to have a heart murmur, whatever that was.  Mother admonished me to be sure not to let Uncle Clyde do any strenuous exercise, such as “dragging deer out of the woods”.  To  be sure, after at least a 2 mile hike into the midst of a windfall swamp, Uncle Clyde sat down and shot an eight point 200 pound buck within a few minutes of arriving at our stands.  Need I say more?

After about two hours of dragging the miserable load of venison over ten thousand windfalls (perhaps slightly exaggerated), I made it back to the road where it could be transported back to camp.  Why do I bring this up?  For the same reason people question if I really did walk 5 miles to school through stupendous snow drifts and run home for lunch just to avoid mash potato sandwiches in my lunch bag.

I remember enjoying a one mile hike to a deer stand in Shawano, Wisconsin.  It was over numerous windfalls and usually some wet swamps.  But anticipating the opening of the hunt made up for the “inconvenience” of the journey.  Did you ever notice that the older you get, the longer the hike?  “Even over the same path”?

Our Waushara County topographical map shows variances in elevation of two or three hundred feet, but I really never paid much attention.  But lately I notice that it takes more effort to traverse from the White Pines, past Bench 3, up past the Cottonwoods to the Southwest Corner.  It is only a leisurely fifteen minute walk, but my body makes it seem longer.  Do you think the earth’s surface may be stretching and the distance is actually further?  Or could it be shrinking and shriveling the surface, making the hills higher.  The elasticity seems to be making the hikes a little longer…..but so what if the trails are longer?  What better place to be than in the Woods.