Normally, every month one of of us in the Greenway Association writes an article. Well, for the month of May, the Greater Hansville Community Center has decided not to publish the Log, as all events have been cancelled due to social distancing concerns.
I suppose I’ll just add a little something that we in the Association have been discussing. The other day I heard that some mountain bikers were complaining that we were raking the trails and that exposed the bare ground so that when they rode the trails it caused the dirt to change to mud. There are a couple things wrong with this. First is that only rarely do we rake trails with the exception of Alder Wetlands which is a handicap-accessible trail that must remain smooth. Next, the small amount of organic matter on the trails (leaves and needles mostly) do not armor the trails. If bikers ride the trails in the rain, there will be mud!
Each steward is responsible for their own trail section. They usually kick branches off of the trail and report bigger jobs that they can’t handle. They cannot remove all “hazards.” None of us can. When you walk in the woods, you accept some responsibility for your own well-being. We will get rid of the larger debris on the trail. You can kick branches off in the event of a windstorm and that will help us. The remaining hazards include rocks, roots, erosion by hard rain, etc. So, please be careful and keep an eye on the trail when you walk.
If you find a hazard, please report it to us. We will respond as quickly as possible–but we are volunteers and many times have other stuff to do. But we care very much about the Greenway and want you to have a great experience out there enjoying nature!