Ben Wiehl - Experience of a Natural Setting #2

After our class trip to the Noland Trail, I began to feel as if the set up at Lion's Gate Bridge was a kind of "grey area" between a true nature experience and one mimicked by man in order to impress the people. I feel as if most people would consider a walk on the trail as an authentic natural experience, although this is not really so. The trail has been constructed by man to run through that area. Even some of the plants that are present are remains from the yards of houses that had previously been located in a spot where the trail now runs through. It was also tougher to experience nature when you have a bunch of joggers running around you constantly. But looking past all this, there is still a great deal of nature that can be viewed around the trail. In particular a fallen tree that reached far out into the lake caught my eye. Right before the spot where the tree was enveloped by the water, there were three turtles just hanging out basking in the sun. Not far from this there was also a long-legged bird slowly stalking around the edge of the lake. I suppose that it was looking for a nice meal. I did not find many spots littered with trash along the way, which was a pleasant surprise. As a result of this visit, I now see as the area around Lions Gate Bridge to be a sort of "liminal space" between real wilderness and an easily accessible recreational trail there for anyone to get a taste of what nature is really like.