A new Wellness Path is slowly emerging from the woods. Deadfall and other obstructions are being cleared, opening a route that rises and falls through different forest types, past erratic rocks and wet ground. The turns are frequent enough that the next stretch is not always visible from the last.
Drone view near end of Wellness Path.
I have favourite places where I expect the stations will go. The longer I spend on the trail, though, the more little pockets of wonder I find. They are not necessarily the places that would attract the next hiker. Environmental psychology offers some useful pointers on what people tend to find pleasant in a landscape, but those general preferences can only take us so far. Wonder has a way of turning up where the guidelines might not think to look.
Perhaps one station will explore this, or perhaps the invitation will be to notice what happens between stations. The spaces between the planned stops may have something to contribute of their own. At the far end, a small creek marks the approach to the final station, planned beneath tall pines overlooking the wetland known as Grey Owl Pond. A bridge will eventually cross the creek, and benches will provide places to stop along the way. For now, deadfall is being removed and the route is taking shape.
The creek itself eventually becomes the cascading falls many visitors enjoy near the Blueberry Mountain Trailhead. It has a little more distance to cover before it gets there. More photos as the trail takes shape.