They Went That Way!

Trails have always interested me.  It may seem strange to most people, but I wonder things like, how many times did an animal have to  pass over that same stretch of ground for the trail to become obvious?  Was it one animal or, multiple animals?  How long did it take for it to become a developed trail?  Do they have road crews that survey the path and remove any obstacle? -- maybe add gravel or, pavement?  Okay, maybe not the part about the road crews, but the rest of the questions really do cross my mind when I see game trails in the woods or, the pasture.

Animals are as much creatures of habit as are people.  It's something that hunters learn because those habits make the animal predictable.  It's also something landowners learn because trails cross fences too -- or, more likely go under them.  I've seen where the feral hogs have crossed under a fence to the point they create a deep mud hole that can become so bad cattle will exploit the opening.

Why do we tend to follow the same old pathways time and time again?  I was strongly reminded of that fact yesterday as I spent a good portion of my day on Interstate 35.  It is a pathway chosen by far too many people.  When I got to the north side of Waco (I was heading north) I decided I had enough of the fun and took the back roads the rest of the way home.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I could look ahead and not see a single car.

I definitely prefer the back roads.  I also prefer to get off the beaten path when I'm out in the woods or, the pasture.  I want to go places where there are few or, no tracks.  I want to see and do things never seen and done before.  I want to be the explorer, the path finder, the first to break the trail.  Hand me the machete and let me cut through the jungle on our way to some new place.

The trouble is, there has always been someone there before us.  Unless you were born at the dawn of the human race it is unlikely you will find anywhere on this planet that hasn't been fully investigated -- maybe not within human memory, but you can bet there will be evidence of humans if you look closely enough.  I envy the astronauts who will be the first to set foot on faraway planets at some distant time in the future.

I guess I've always had a tendency to go my own way.  Sometimes I get strange looks from others because of that proclivity, but that's okay with me.  If you tell me "they went that way," I'm likely to strike out in the opposite direction.  I like to make my own paths.  I suppose I'm just a contrarian by nature.