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Sunday, June 15, 2014

The Little Things



The top section of the Yellow Trail on a perfect Sunday in June.

Visit #876, Sunday 15 June 14, 4:30-6:50PM, 4.5 miles.
Temps in the low 80's, sumptuously sunny, warm, dry, breezy, and bug-free.

After tending to some trails for the past six years, I'm starting to see the results of my efforts. Less maintenance is required, particularly mid-season, when plants are in full bloom. The vegetation just doesn't swallow up the trails like it used to.

One trail that did need attention is sandwiched between the bank of daffodils adjacent to Mirror Lake and I-691. I brought my repertoire of lightweight tools with me to trim the trail section back, roughly 200 yards long.

That section consumed an hour of my time then it was off to complete a clockwise loop of the rest of the trail system below Castle Craig. Enroute to the walkbridge over I-691, I found some vines and branches had fallen into the trail. With my toolset I quickly cleared away what was really a minor inconvenience.



I'm pleased to report the two flags attached to the walkbridge are still there in good condition.


There wasn't much trash to pick up as I was expecting more than I found. The worst were the remnants of a small party at the Halfway House which included a campfire, a can of pineapple juice, an empty package of hotdogs, and a condom wrapper. I'm sure there's a story in there somewhere; I just don't want to think about it ;-)


I forgot to mention that, as you can see, my backpack has returned from zipper replacement and it works spectacularly, if you can get excited about such things. I had the semi-circular zipper you see in the photo replaced by Rainy Pass Repair, from Seattle Washington. Worth every penny. If you have any outdoor gear in need of fixin', check them out.

Cheers!

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