A Brief Hike Around Deadman's Hill

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On May 27th My Insect Ecology class went to the Jordan river valley to catch and document any insects we found. It was 57 degrees (Fahrenheit) with a slight breeze, and it was only partially cloudy. The perfect day for a nice long hike at Deadman’s Hill. This hilly, hiking trail boasts a scenic view of the Jordan river valley and Mackinaw State Forest.

            So how did this place get its name? Well according to the legend posted on the plaque adorning the hill, a 21-year-old man by the name of Stanley Graczyk (Big Sam) tragically lost his life hauling lumber down the hill. On May 20, 1910, “Big Sam” was heading a team hauling a big wheel of lumber (a cart large full of logs, drawn by domestic labor animals) down a particularly steep hill, when he stumbled and was crushed under the wheels of his own cart. Though he was not the first person to die in the region during Michigan’s logging era, Stanley was so to be married, making his passing all the more tragic. This, however, is not entirely accurate to the events that transpired that day in 1910. For the man the perished that fateful day was not named Stanley. His name was Samuel Graczyk and he was 23 years old, not 21 (Mancelona Chamber of Commerce 2022). Why the sign reads Stanley is a mystery to this day.

Picture of Sign detailing Legend

            This morbid history was juxtaposed by a trail teeming with all manner of life. Tall pines dominated or surrounding as we emerged from the van and made our way to the trail. The ground was thoroughly covering in ferns, mosses, and the beginning of trees. As we made our way down the Deadman’s Hill, I noticed that the ground was densely packed with roots winding across the steep path. It was hard to walk through without one’s foot finding a root or a dip in the road. Meanwhile in the trees above birds were calling out to each other invisibly among the brush. When first we stopped Dr. Hoekman observed evidence of leaf tier caterpillars, these little guys wrap themselves in leaves tied down with silk to avoid predators while they feast. As we moved on, I noticed galls and additional leaf ties on more plants as we soldiered on. The next stop was at a dilapidated bord walk resting haphazardly over a small branching stream of water. It was here that Dr. Hoekman gave us the run of the place and eagerly, we searched for any signs of animal life. Braden at one point attempted to catch a toad and Dr. Hoekman caught a long-horn beetle (family: Cerambycidae) which took off before I could get a picture of it. After a few minutes we returned to the main trail.

Picture of small stream

            As we walked along, I noticed that significantly more trees had fallen in this area and the way forward was not as steep and the once tiny stream now surged into the Jordan River. We made our way through the densely forest, traveling over narrow walkways, root caked soil and over fallen trees, until we made it to the Deadman’s Hill pathway, where we had another brief look around. Here is where a lot of us managed to catch most of our insects for the day. The leaves were rife with weevils, which many of us caught. We saw aphids clustered among the leaves, craneflies mating, and some of us glimpsed a yellow-bellied sapsucker in the trees near the water. But we soon departed this time up hill.

Picture of Dr. Hoekman Holding Weevil

            We traveled up for a while taking a couple breaks as needed to look around and catch our breath. We found salamanders and some weird looking larvae under different logs, as well as some beach scale growing on some of the trees, but other than that nothing really note worthy happened until we reached the top of Deadman’s Hill. It is here that we got that promised view of the gorgeous Jordan River Valley, as well as the Deadman’s hill sign with the legend. Shortly after getting a nice picture of the valley, we returned to the van and left. 

View From Deadman's Hill

Bibliography:

Mancelona Chamber of Commerce. (n.d.). 2022 communities in schools of NW Michigan 5K walk/run. Mancelona Chamber of Commerce - Home. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.mancelonachamber.org/tourist/38-tourist/tourist/48-deadmans-hill

 Links:

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/aphids-trees-and-shrubs 

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/lifehistory

https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/54495/

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/caterpillars/caterpillars-leaf-tiers-bagworms-and-web-former.aspx 

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