October is, in my opinion, the best month for hiking through forests of the American Heartland. Then again, in my opinion, it's the best month for just about anything.
The cool air, warm sun, colorful vegetation and relatively dry trails offer ideal hiking conditions. While most of our summer birds have departed for the south, winter residents, such as juncos, yellow-rumped warblers and white-throated sparrows, drift down from Canada, joining the cardinals, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, woodpeckers and other permanant residents. The raucous jabber of blue jays now dominates the birdsong but the yank of the white-breasted nuthatch is perhaps most typical of the autumn woodland.
The seasonal chill also increases the activity of our resident mammals, making them more conspicuous among the colorful trees. The fragrance of fallen walnuts, at times mingled with that nostalgic scent of woodsmoke, drifts through the forest and the sound of acorns, dropping through the canopy, envelops the hiker. For the naturalist, these sights, sounds and smells of autumn are especially inviting and, reluctant to leave the October woods, his pace slows to an amble.
