Hiker Discovers New Trail Only to Learn It's Just a Deer Path to Nowhere

Amateur explorer Dale Hendricks announced the discovery of a 'previously unmapped trail' in the Green Mountains of Vermont on Tuesday, only to have a wildlife biologist confirm it was a deer path leading to a small, unremarkable pond. 'I followed cairns,' Hendricks insisted, pointing to what the biologist identified as 'naturally occurring rock piles' and 'deer droppings.' Hendricks, who had named the trail 'Hendricks Pass' and submitted it to three trail mapping databases, spent four hours following the route through increasingly dense undergrowth before arriving at what he described as 'a pristine alpine lake' and the biologist described as 'a puddle where deer drink.' 'There were clear signs of regular traffic,' said Hendricks. 'Worn earth, broken branches at consistent heights, a definite path. If that's not a trail, I don't know what is.' 'It is a trail,' confirmed biologist Dr. Sandra Vine. 'A deer trail. Made by deer. For deer purposes. You can tell because it's three feet wide, passes directly through several bramble patches no human would willingly enter, and ends at deer water.' Hendricks has refused to retract his mapping submission, arguing that 'a trail is a trail regardless of who made it.' He has also proposed installing a trail register at the pond, 'so future hikers can document their experience.' 'Future hikers meaning deer?' asked Dr. Vine. 'Hikers of all species,' Hendricks clarified. The Vermont Trail Conservancy has declined to officially recognize Hendricks Pass, though they noted it was 'one of the better-maintained submissions we've received this year, which says more about the other submissions than about this one.'