The mind plays tricks on a forest journey - hairy man, is that you?

There comes a time when you find yourself quietly alone in the depths of densely lit forest track when you begin to wonder if there is a stern focused glare of curiosity resting upon your back.

I usually do such a trek with audio lectures mumbling away in my ears as the sound of my water sloshes back and forth in my backpack and the stones under my shoes crumple against themselves with every step. Every now and then a more than daring stone will shoot forward, skipping down the path as a result of a lazy kick. Today was a little different as I left my electronic library in the car and I’d realised too far into the journey to warrant a turnaround. This act of forgetfulness forced me to succumb to the forest song and gifted me heightened awareness. There is a certain echo in the cold early spring air, noises like the chattering of strolling couples carry farther and every crumpled leaf was a sure fire way to get some attention.

Pushing past the entrance of the walk the voices fade away and the forest takes over. I run into the odd trekker, some trying to catch a quick snap of a darting Silvereye, "...the big ones are too easy to catch" the avid photographer told me, some with their hiking poles in groups of three, others just out against their wrist bit tracking the progress of each step. I was alone when I heard quite a loud crack come from my left, low and behold the mighty kangaroo beast and his female companion. I had never seen such a brawny red haired character up close. I would rather walk over hot coals than get in a tangle with those powerful thrashers.

From then on, I was aware that I was never alone out there, and so the mind began to wander. It will take anything as a sign, evidence that maybe the hairy man is living right by your back, by every step.

Exhibit A.... a scratching post, or an area of impact?

I'm sorry, but trees don't put themselves in these sorts of positions by themselves. Is that a shelter in the distance, possibly for the use of camouflage?

.

Oh WOW! I almost stood in some evidence, I couldn't leave this one to chance I had to get a photo as proof, these are definitely the droppings of a large beast!

The singlet of someone caught off guard... or a 'do not trespass' warning flag?

Up the track closer to the dense vegetation where you can smell the decay of damp overgrowth, I heard a quarrel of crows, obviously unhappy about whose won the free for all meal on the ground. Looking up to observe their outlandish behaviour, hah! I saw a bum perched ever so perfectly between two eucalyptus branches. What a cutie patootie Koala bear. Sometimes I wish I could sleep like that, maybe those eucalyptus leaves have a powerful sedative in their sap.

A rustle under a log right by my shoe had me looking down at a long slender body of a brown snake. It’s time to leave. Perhaps it's best I stop prodding the sleeping beast and testing mother natures forgiveness. I’m sure this place is a Scout’s haven as it’s never too far from civilisation and the abundance of hidden narrow tracks branching off into yonder marked by inconspicuous flagged trees, tells me the place has been thoroughly explored. Goodbye bunnies, butterflies, bees and koalas, goodbye roos and ravens, and last but not least, goodbye hairy man - wherever you are.

Just a bit of a disclaimer: this is not a serious quest for Sasquatch, Yowie or any sort of hairy man. Also I remained a silent visitor in these parts and did not vandalise or harm any flora or fauna, all images are captured as I came across them. Happy trekking!

** Trickster stuff