Sehome Hill Arboretum and Western trail illustrated map. Soleil de Zwart // AS Review
By PJ Heusted
As a transfer student who wasn’t able to attend any proper campus tours and hasn’t been able to properly explore campus since coming to Western, this spring I made it my priority to get out and explore Western more than in the past. I took advantage of having Memorial Day off from Zoom calls and assigned readings to walk through campus and bring the readers of the AS Review with me.
I started my loop under the bridge leading into Fairhaven College. I knew that I wanted to poke around the Outback Farm and made that my first destination. The trails that run from Buchanan Towers up into south campus became a staple part of my walking commute to class during my freshman year and revisiting them in solitude was a nice way to ease into my exploring.
While walking through the more heavily wooded parts of campus I am always sure to keep my eyes peeled for deer, raccoons or any other animal friends that I may come across. I didn’t see anything terribly exciting, but did come across what must have been thirty or fourty dark-eyed juncos, small dark-headed birds, that jumped around the gravel path around me. I tried my best to get a photo of one of my new feathered friends, but they wouldn’t hold still long enough for me to get a clear picture.
As I left Fairhaven and the trail behind, I almost slipped on the wet concrete down the hill behind Buchanan Towers. I managed to regain my footing, shuffle down the hill into the grass and make my way into the Outback.
I spent the first year and a half of my time at Western thinking that I wasn’t supposed to go into the Outback given the fences that surround the space. Since then I have learned that the fences are to keep the deer from eating the food growing here.
In the last few weeks, I have been thoroughly enjoying taking trips into the Outback to explore the maze of trails and various surprises, like a large net for hammocking or a few simple shelters made from broken branches that are tucked away in the woods.
I followed the paths back out into the Fairhaven complex before making my way up to the Huntoon Trail in the Sehome Hill Arboretum. While I love to hike, I have spent very little time on the trails in the arboretum as I often opt for more remote trips, but with quarantine shutting down many of the trailheads that I frequent I have had to expand my horizons.
I stuck fairly close to campus, not wanting to completely lose myself in the wooded hills, but still found the trees blocking campus to create a sense of remoteness that I didn’t think was possible while still in the city limits. With the end of spring upon us, the plants within the arboretum have all turned a technicolor green that feels almost unreal.
While working my way back down towards the familiar brick buildings, I nearly slipped and fell, again, after a downy woodpecker flew out from a tree and scared me. The woodpecker yelled at me for a moment and then flew off to hide amongst the branches of another tree.
Most of my focus remained on the sights and sounds around me, but it was while walking by a tree coated in sap that I realized the importance of smell. It isn’t often that you’re walking through the arboretum and smell something other than the smoke from a lone student hiding behind a tree. However, today I found myself overwhelmed with the sickeningly sweet smell of tree sap more than a few times.
I made my way out of the Arboretum in one piece and was greeted by the familiar sight of Miller Hall. I took my time working back through campus and followed the same paths that I walked nearly every day for the last year and a half.
It feels strange to be greeted by an almost completely empty campus on a Monday at lunchtime. Instead of weaving in and out of other students, dodging skateboarders and cyclists and waving to cute dogs, I found myself nearly alone and in relative silence. The only real sounds came from my own boots splashing in puddles, the loose bricks moving under my feet and the rain hitting trees and buildings. I worked my way back towards Fairhaven once again to complete my loop and while the rain soaked through my jacket and pants, I felt lucky to spend a bit of time alone on campus.