rogue trail maintenance...

rogue trail maintenance...

just as I pick up trash in the woods of Rock Creek Park I often take the responsibility to move a fallen limb or branch
so many people just walk around
which is understandable because not everyone can move the larger limbs
some people... like the young healthy runners could slow their pace and clear the path... but it is important for them to keep pace and not let their heart rate drop

when people walk around they make several cheat routes around the fallen limb/branch/tree
thus causing damage to the trail side
if people could all agree on one way to re-route to the trail it would not be so bad
but everyone has a different idea of the appropriate trajectory of the trail
I guess I am one of these people
one of these people with my own idea

one of my ideas is that most people do not have an idea... they are just moving through
so I try to guide them
this can work

it can help the old blue haired dog and its old blue haired owner to get where they are going
the larger tree trunks need NPS attention with a chain saw
honestly... it does not happen fast enough
the trail crew at Patapsco State Park are usually in the woods the day after a storm
while the NPS trail crew in DC is usually asleep in their truck

so...
I do what I can and I do what I do
sometimes with a guilty conscience
but after a few weeks pass and the changes take place
I feel good about what I have done

there are trails that have been re-routed in more logical directions as well as some terraced stairs that are now just part of the trail
not as if someone made it
it is just the way things are
so many of our trails are too steep and become too slick to go up or down on wet days
the terraced stairs have made these areas sustainable

we all have to give something back
it can not all be take take take

I feel I do not need to write my congressmen to get permission to take a trash bag into the woods and pick up some bottles and cans

the National Park Service allows Rock Creek Park to exist in its "natural state"
right now the "natural state" is heavily eroded and on the decline
I think that there needs to be some TLC on some of these trails
maybe some fertile soil and some indigenous plants