Denmark Lake District Hiking - Day 2
The photo above is of a Common Fallow deer we spotted as we walked through a deer preserve on our 14 mile hike from Gammel Rye to Silkeborg. The Common is one of four coat colors: Common (tan/fawn), Menil (paler coloration), Melanistic (black) and White. According to a cab driver we drove with after our hiking trip, the Fallow deer are sometimes referred to as the 111 dear because of the three black vertical stripes to the left, on, and to the right of the tail.
The first couple of miles of our walk were retracing the end of our previous afternoon’s hike, up the back side of Himmelbjerget before descending to the edge of Lake Julsø. As we reached Himmelbjerget, rain started to fall. We took the opportunity to purchase cups of hot chocolate and sit under an awning at a cafe near the top hoping the shower would quickly pass. Sadly, after our drinks, it was still raining as we descended. Without the low hanging rain clouds, I believe this photo would have shown Lake Julsø.
However, shortly after our route reconnected with the lake, the shower passed by and the sun peaked out from behind the clouds.
Partway through the day, we could hear trees being cut down in the distance. As we hiked, our route brought us closer and closer to the sounds until we came across the work being done. This ended up posing a problem for us since our path went directly under the cutting machine. The operator was facing the other direction, so he could not see we were in the area. He was generally cutting to the left, so we decided to bushwhack to its right near the edge of the lake to avoid risk. Just as we were getting past the machine, it started moving along the path in the same direction as us forcing us to continue to bushwhack as we paralleled its movement. Eventually, the machine approached a parked vehicle, stopped, and the driver got out of the cab. At that point, we were finally able to pass safely by and rejoin the path.
As we hiked through the forest, we came across this lean-to. In addition to this lean-to, we have seen many living roofs here in Denmark, especially among some of the newer buildings. Looking down from Becca’s apartment building, perhaps a third of the nearby buildings have living roofs.
This summer has been extremely wet here in Denmark. As a result, we have seen many slugs. This one caught my eye because of its bright orange color. As I got my iPhone close to the ground, the slug saw me and started to curl up into a protective ball. This slug is about the length of my index finger but thicker than my thumb.
Many sections of the forest we hiked through are timber farms at different stages of growth. Here, this uniformity created a visual pattern and structure that I found interesting.
As we approached Silkeborg, we passed this broad beamed boat. While it looks relatively new, to me, its design feels like it must come from centuries ago.