It is still dusk and the first birds are already awake. A cuckoo sounds in the distance and the frogs croak their morning song. In the background the sun rises slowly, while the dew hangs over the fields. They are the perfect ingredients for dew stairs.
About ten early birds gather between Exloo and Buinen to dew-trap with two guides. A tradition that now belongs to Ascension Day. “Dew pedaling is walking barefoot through nature very early in the morning,” explains Eric Machiels. He is a guide at Het Drentse Landschap. In the past it was thought that the dew had a healing effect, it has nothing to do with Ascension. But every year with Ascension, people everywhere go out for a modern version of the dew tramping.
And that means: with shoes. “Yes, we go on both paved and unpaved paths, so that’s nice,” says Machiels. “I’ve always wanted to do this, walk at sunrise,” explains one female participant. “So when I read last week that it was possible here today, I thought this is my chance.”
The route is about 4.5 kilometers long and goes right through the LOFAR area. A piece of nature with seepage swamps and special birds. The tour ends at the large LOFAR mound, which the participants can also view if they wish.
The group stops several times along the way. One listens to the birds, the other peers through binoculars. And the early time has its advantages, Machiels knows. “You hear birds that you don’t hear during the day, because there are a lot of other sounds then.”
And when the sun breaks through a little later, the day can’t go wrong for the hikers.