Distance: 7.2 miles
Time: 1:04
Effort: Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Sunny and warm(ish)
Completely uninteresting (compared to what, oh Exciting One!?) jog around the Meadow View loop at Elk Meadow Open Space. Ran today with Steve F. Definitely feeling the effects today of a series of lunges I did post-run yesterday. My
The easy pace had me looking around at a summer's worth of trail impacts.
The crushed gravel Painter's Pause trail, which already was a good four feet across and smooth, now has a hard dirt singletrack trail running alongside it, separated from the main trail by about three inches of grass. Seeing that got me to wondering...why do people walk on the side of perfectly good, smooth, well-maintained trails? Surely I'm not the only one that likes single track singletrack, am I? Don't other people hate seeing braided trails? Don't others' hearts sing when they see a single ribbon of dirt heading off through a meadow, over a hill or across a vast stretch of tundra? Am I in the minority on this?
Which leads me to another question I've been wondered about for a while. Why are there not regular volunteer trail days at individual JeffCo Open Space parks? (I know they have occasional volunteer days here and there, such as the recent one at North Table Mountain.) Elk Meadow has a resident ranger. That park is the centerpiece of North Evergreen. Surely there are many people like me that would jump at the opportunity to donate some sweat equity several times a year to our beloved trails system.
820 feet o' elevation gain.
I have wondered actually why the adopt a road system has not moved to certain segments of trail.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed the separate trail thing, I'm guessing it's because bikers don't want to ride on gravel. Saw the same thing the other day at Boulder Valley Ranch.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder why people who are out to exercise and enjoy the outdoors do massive damage to some trails by shortcutting switchbacks to shave off 10 feet of walking. Mind-boggling.
I've thought about volunteering but am petrified of wrecking my back lifting a rock. I've seen such injuries last a lifetime and forever impact well-being. I know that's weak, because I'm sure I could find something else to do, such as adjust the volunteers' leg irons to make them more comfortable, or pass out gruel ;)
LOL on that last line!
ReplyDeleteMost of the people I've seen using the adjacent "trails" are hikers. Weirdness.
Hi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry I am leaving a comment, I can't find your email. I am writing you in the hopes that you want to participate in an e-book we are writing about ultra runners.
We want to tap into the collective craziness (we mean that as a compliment:-)) of this community to challenge and inspire other non-runners to make their own life an ever-greater creative expression of their own goals and dreams… without limits.
Progress so far: We have currently contacted more than 250 ultra runners and received more than 60 answers.
We would ask you to answer a question about your experience with ultra running. Please note that these questions are related to your mental state and require that you are able to explain quite specifically what is going on mentally when running.
If you'd like to participate please shoot me an email at dreamit@juliossol.com.
Thanks!
All the best,
Jannick