HERRICK MEMORIAL TRAIL
The Trail
The Herrick Memorial Trail is a picturesque hike featuring 133 steps descending into the ravines created by the Richardson Branch Creek on its way to the Des Moines River. Stretching over a 1/4 mile in length, you’ll begin in the upland woodland, continue down into the lowlands and ultimately end up in the seasonal wetlands below. The trailhead can be found north of the Adele and Dean Bowden Treehouse Village. Surrounded by broadleaf trees small and large, this trail offers visitors an opportunity to walk through time and topography.
As you advance down the trail look closely at the plants around you as it demonstrates a unique ecosystem teaming with life and biodiversity. Represeting the north-facing slopes in Iowa’s woodlands, you should see dozens of species, some native only to this ecosystem type. Looking from below, you get the rare opportunity to see the blooms normally hidden beneath thick vegetation. Delicate and tiny, some plants are best observed up close, presented closer to your eyes along the steep ravine slope. You can sense the composition of plants change the further down you go, as sunlight levels, wind protection, and moisture level starts to change.
Once you reach the bottom, this trail offers a closer look at one example of Iowa’s wetlands and the natural processes that influence the organisms on the ground.
What is a wetland and why are they important? A wetland is a low-lying area of land that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally. Much of the plant species you will find in the wetland play a significant role in the filtration of water, creation of shelter and habitat, as well as provide food and breeding grounds for other wildlife. For example, migratory birds use wetlands as a stopover when on their journey. This wetland is the result of thousands of years of erosion, creating deep ravines with rich deposites of organic matter. Surface water here is permanent and almost always moving, cutting into the limestone bedrock and removing the foundations of the surrounding uplands.
Some species you may encounter include native Iowa hardwood trees and rare spring ephemerals. Some species of note include snow trillium (Trillium nivale), autumn coral-root orchid (Corallorhiza odontorhiza), and showy orchid (Galearis spectabilis).
Though the trail comes to a dead end, it is worth every step. In the near future Herrick Memorial trail will connect visitors to the northwestern slope of Walnut trail, where they may continue their adventures through Iowa’s woodlands.
A Sense of Place
“Recreational development is a job not of building (trails) into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind.”
-Aldo Leopold
Imagine yourself looking down the trail as it pours over the edge, down the summer slope to the valley below. You’ve followed the trail from the parking lot, along level ground to the board painted-Herrick Memorial Trail. Off into the mixed greens of various growth lays a series of railroad-tie box steps. They accordion down gently between two big glacial boulders the size of bean bag chairs. You amble down to sit. Gazing down through the curtain of green you find a window exposing far to the forest floor. The walk to here was fine, but you wonder-will I have the energy to reach the bottom and return up all these steps? There’s a gentle breeze, rather pleasant for this time of year. A few bugs, but they stay where you found them as you move on. A casual visitor-a tourist to this place you feel foreign, but invited. You keep moving, listening, feeling you’ll see the songster around the bend. You follow the sharp switchback, dropping fast in elevation. You almost have to hold yourself back from dancing down the short steps. Stopping on the level landing, you find a rock wall cushioned by tender mosses. Still the staircase flows and winds-to where? What about the climb back up?
A SPLASH, sucks your senses down below. Watching your steps, you daydream through the names as wildflowers rise up to your nose. Now, at the bottom, following the creek as it sings to the rocks; you smell the soil. You find the bank that just recently deposited itself into the running water. Settled from its slide, it rests below a bench built on the hillside. You plant yourself within the scene, watching the water wiggle round the bend.
The maiden hair ferns form coiffeur clusters as you search up the steep slopes recalling your seat at the top a short time ago. Staying on the trail, across a dry sand wash, you find the last rest area. A bench built from a fallen red elm frees the body for the mind to lift from the rustic railing, up the massive rough trunk. Your neck cracks as you rest your head back on your shoulders to drink in the pods of the Kentucky Coffee Bean.
This chiropractic manipulation leaves you listless. Just as you totally relax, your body jerks to a shriek as your mind raises through the possibilities. Lifted into place, the red-tailed hawk hangs on the blue of a beautiful day. Your daydreams dissolve into privacy and you awaken to a story you want to share.
Returning to the steps, you realize you don’t have to scale that steep slope by hanging on to trees and shrubs. You remember the poison ivy somewhere in your past and stick to the trail. You’ve been gone longer than you planned and the list of things you have to do at home grows with each step. They seem so monumental until you realize you’re almost at the top. You turn around to remember where you are and give thanks for your story. Those stairs, like an escalator, have raised you to the bird’s eye view. You see your tasks in perspective, one step at a time. You feel the energy emanating from you and this magic place. Your heart heaves between holding on to this wonderful feeling and having the breath to tell your tale.
This trail and the work involved was done to protect and preserve our natural resources. It is only by immersing yourself into the natural surroundings that you can appreciate its beauty and want to ensure its future. We are part of the trail protecting ourselves. We are that part of the trail recently coming into view. Happy Trails.
-Mark Edwards; Mark Edwards designed and constructed the Herrick Memorial Trail at the lowa Arboretum and Gardens and served as a consultant. He was employed as Trail Construction Supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
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