The trail through the treetops

Imagine you were a squirrel. You could climb up and down trees at lightning speed, leap from branch to branch high above the ground, munch on delicious acorns and beechnuts, and live in a drey. But you’d need sharp claws and would have to weigh no more than 400 grams.

By now, you’ve probably realised that this won’t be possible for you. But people are inventive. For example, they invented climbing irons that let you climb trees. And to let people walk through the treetops, treetop trails have been built in some of our forests. One of these trails is in a wooded area in Saarland, near the town of Mettlach, right beside the famous Saarschleife.

A treetop walkway is a wide path with railings along the sides. The “Saarschleife Treetop Walk” is 1,250 metres long in total. Made mainly of wood, it winds through beech, oak and Douglas fir trees at heights of 3 to 23 metres towards a tower, which offers a magnificent view of the Saarschleife.

Along the way, you’ll pass numerous learning and activity stations. Of course, visitors aren’t squirrels, so the trail has been made as comfortable as possible for them. It’s even suitable for a stroller or wheelchair. You won’t see many animals. The deer, birds and other forest inhabitants are shy and keep their distance from people. But you’ll be much closer to the trees. In the picture above, for example, you can see branches of the Douglas fir.

This conifer grows up to 60 meters tall in Europe. Its wood can be used for furniture, windows, doors and construction. The treetop walkway itself was also made from Douglas fir wood. The needles are 3 to 4 centimeters long.

Douglas firs grow quickly and can live to a very old age. You can tell how old a tree is by counting its annual rings. The rings also show how much it grew in a year. Some rings are narrow, which may mean it was very dry. Others are thicker; in those years, there was enough moisture and warmth.

When trees are damaged, water and fungal spores can get in, causing rot. Conifers, however, protect themselves well against this. They secrete resin and let it flow over the wound. Resin cannot be washed off with water, by the way; rain beads off it.

On a treetop walkway, you can learn a lot about trees and the communities of life in a forest. You can look at these oak leaves up close, high above the ground.

Not far away, you can spot the fruit of oak trees—the acorns—still firmly attached to their cups.

You’ll find all kinds of bark that trees use to protect themselves. Here you can see the smooth bark of a beech tree. Some trees have tinder fungi growing on them. These are fungi with a hard surface that are firmly attached to the tree.

Before lighters and matches existed, tinder fungi were used to start fires. People scraped off fine particles of the fungi and struck sparks from flint into them. The tinder caught fire quickly, and when dry grass or birch bark was added, a blazing, warming fire soon followed. The spiky capsules in the next picture contain the fruit of the horse chestnut.

Once they are fully grown, the seed capsules fall from the tree. When they hit the ground, they burst open and the fruit tumbles out. If it is then covered with soil, new trees will grow. There is, of course, much more to discover on a treetop walk. The highlight of the walk along the “Saarschleife Treetop Walk” is climbing the tower.

From this tower, you have a wide, wonderful view of the surrounding area, especially the Saar Loop. And the Hamsterkiste has another learning story about the Saar and the river that gave this state its name. - Images: Hamsterkiste