Hiked in Red Rock Canyon on Saturday with my mom, who's visiting from the San Diego area. She falls more deeply in love with the park every visit.
Stretches of trail that see a lot of midday sun have some snowmelt and resulting mud, but most of the trails were snow-covered.
Trails that follow roads were the slickest where tires had tread - or hundreds of feet had walked the tread tracks. Walking the ridge between the tracks was easier going.
Remember, even if it's a bit muddy, stay on the trail. Going off trail does not help the trail system.
Areas of the Goddesses/Contemplative trial were slick, too. Yaktraks help. We saw a few people using trekking poles, too, for added balance.
We hiked Red Rock Canyon to Roundup to Goddesses. Gorgeous. With today's sunshine and relative warmth and Wednesday's predicted freeze, however, look out. It could make hikes a bit more treacherous.
A LOT of unleashed dogs running around. All of them friendly to us, but that's not the point. More than one eager pup jumped up, which could have been a problem if we'd been standing on an icy section of trail.
And while I'm on the topic of dogs -- take along waste bags. There was a fair amount of dog poop in the middle of trails. Frozen dog poop is not more aesthetic nor easier to get off your hiking boot than it is in dry conditions.
8 comments:
We covered this before but I still call that place Dog Poo Park.
Winter seems worse since the grass & weeds are not around to cover it up and the dogs don't run off trail to go in the snow. The City needs to spend a weekend out there writing tickets.
Stratton's even worse. My wife won't go running there because there's so much crap. I'd like to throw it at people, but I'm afraid they'd sic their dogs on me.
Suggestion for winter hiking. Ski poles. They will help when the conditions are slick.
Maybe the parks department should put up a sign saying that a ban on dogs in the park is under review because people aren't cleaning up after them. Enforcing the fines would help too.
Help control the pet population - spay and neuter your pet today.
Hey, that's Drew Carey's line now!
If you throw dog poop at me you'll have worse problems than my dog.
If I'm ever without a bag I try at least to kick it off the trail. I use the "zero sum" approach: if I can't bag it I'll clean up some other dog's leavings next time.
Also remember horses are allowed on the trails and there's no mandate for owners to clean up their waste.
My horse was gassy. Must have been the Beef-A-Reeno.
Do they provide bags at the trailheads? I suggest setting up bag dispensers (like you see around condo complexes in Summit County or along the Centennial Trail to Manitou Lake in Woodland Park). Then add a sign notifying dog owners that they are required to pick up after their pets, and violators may be ticketed. If bags are provided I think most people will be conscientious.
On any trail it is common courtesy to move the pile off trail, but I would guess Red Rocks sees too many hikers to allow that anymore.
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