Trail Talk – December 2021/January 2022

With the advent, or shall we say, return of Autumn rains this October, we can breathe a bit easier heading into the colder days of mid-winter. Shortly after the publication of this piece, as we celebrate the season, we’ll sense the days lengthening and a quickening as new growth arises in our drought-ravaged forests. While no guarantee of a cold wet winter that will pack snow at higher elevation, a wetter fall than last is cause for hope. The folks who study such things have warned us that we won’t know the long-term effects of our recent lengthy dry spell until next spring, when we’ll learn which trees have lost their resiliency to recover.

But we who spend time out-of-doors are eternal optimists, having seen cycles of dry and wet come and go. We have observed the tenacity of green things pushing through seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We marvel at the young fir growing from the old stump along Norling Trail, the young pines pushing through the granite hard pan on the Jackson Ridge Bike Trail, and the young oaks spreading throughout the Britt Woods. It’s always a pleasant surprise to see new madrone stems sprouting from a “dead” stump, and to become aware of the complex community of life-forms on the cryptobiotic soils of the abandoned mining areas. There is so much life out there, “finding a way,” if we but pause to consider the world around us.

As visitors to these wild communities, we are reminded to take only memories and leave only tracks. Trails have been provided to allow us to move unencumbered through forests, meadows, canyons, and glades and it’s our responsibility to be mindful of these routes to not disturb the surrounding habitat of the indigenous residents. That’s the take-away; consider ourselves as visitors, as guests, in the homes of others.

How we behave in our woodland areas has an oversized impact on the other creatures there. For a few generations now, we’ve come to realize that the wild places are not ours to ravage, to conquer. Our society has standards that frown on littering, on destroying native plants, and on disturbing wildlife. As users of a developed trail system we have an obligation to maintain that system. This implies that we respect the trail tread and corners by traveling responsibly and under control. And it certainly requires that we not hike or bike through closed areas. The softer soils in the wetter season will carry the evidence of our wrongful activity for generations. Please stay on the trails.

In local trail news, a new platform and bench have been installed on the slippery bedrock at Volkswagen Falls on Canyon Falls Trail in Forest Park courtesy of a donation from Kristina Alvarez of Hummingbird Estates Winery. Also look for additional information posted at kiosks throughout our woodland areas. Some bear sightings in Forest Park and a cougar sighting in Britt Woods remind us that we are not alone in the woods and precautions should be taken to avoid negative encounters.