By the numbers
Cars in the parking lot at Tie City when I started my morning ski: 0
Approximate wind speed in the parking lot: 70+
Time on trail: about 50 minutes
Piles of dog poo I saw on my route: half a dozen or so
Along the Meadow Trail I spotted a gardening spade hanging from a tree. Seemed like a weird implement for a snowy trail. But then, as I was heading back to the trailhead, I realized that maybe whoever'd been carrying the spade had had the same idea I was having: sure would be nice if somebody would clean up the poo. Maybe somebody brought along the spade to pry up cold, frozen turds from the trail! Maybe next time I head out for snowshoeing, I'll take along a spade and a bag and be a good samaritan.
My first inclination was to be annoyed by people who didn't clean up after their pets. But I'm going to take the optimistic view, that these dogs were trailing along 50 yards behind their human companions, stopping to sniff around and enjoy the outdoors, and that their owners didn't even realize that Ralph or Scooter or Molly had stopped to crap on the trail. I think that's the only way to look at it, since I don't want to believe that people could intentionally overlook their pets' dooing on the trail.
It also occurred to me, on this trip, that I need to join the Medicine Bow Nordic Association. A one-year membership is $15, which pays for about one day of grooming on the trails, according to their website. I feel so damn lucky for the amazing outdoor opportunities around Laramie, and $15 seems a small price to pay to support the effort to protect and develop those opportunities.
* * *
In entirely unrelated news, it sure is easy to spend money. Hopefully I can get the credit-card bill straightened out, though: I don't need businesses spending any more of my money than I do on my own.
Approximate wind speed in the parking lot: 70+
Time on trail: about 50 minutes
Piles of dog poo I saw on my route: half a dozen or so
Along the Meadow Trail I spotted a gardening spade hanging from a tree. Seemed like a weird implement for a snowy trail. But then, as I was heading back to the trailhead, I realized that maybe whoever'd been carrying the spade had had the same idea I was having: sure would be nice if somebody would clean up the poo. Maybe somebody brought along the spade to pry up cold, frozen turds from the trail! Maybe next time I head out for snowshoeing, I'll take along a spade and a bag and be a good samaritan.
My first inclination was to be annoyed by people who didn't clean up after their pets. But I'm going to take the optimistic view, that these dogs were trailing along 50 yards behind their human companions, stopping to sniff around and enjoy the outdoors, and that their owners didn't even realize that Ralph or Scooter or Molly had stopped to crap on the trail. I think that's the only way to look at it, since I don't want to believe that people could intentionally overlook their pets' dooing on the trail.
It also occurred to me, on this trip, that I need to join the Medicine Bow Nordic Association. A one-year membership is $15, which pays for about one day of grooming on the trails, according to their website. I feel so damn lucky for the amazing outdoor opportunities around Laramie, and $15 seems a small price to pay to support the effort to protect and develop those opportunities.
* * *
In entirely unrelated news, it sure is easy to spend money. Hopefully I can get the credit-card bill straightened out, though: I don't need businesses spending any more of my money than I do on my own.
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