Clearing The Way

One of the disadvantages of living on campus while going to school is that if you're not careful, you can let your entire college career go by without really getting to know the surrounding area.

I made that mistake and now I'm constantly amazed at all the things I missed out on because I lived in an NDNU bubble. Annual events, fun shops, community activities ... the list goes on.

I had heard of this Water Dog Lake place and the trails that are in the vicinity, but until I consulted a map a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of a trail maintenance day, I didn't even know where it was.

As I poke around on Belmont Patch, the various stories compel me to get more involved in the community. So I shot an email over to Kevin Sullivan and told him I'd join him for some trail maintenance on May 24 at 6 p.m.

Having read some previous posts on the subject, I figured I might be the only girl and that was a bit daunting, and I felt even sillier when I realized on the drive over that I didn't bring gloves (luckily Kevin had an extra pair).

But I ended up not being the only girl, and Kevin is very amiable, so I felt very welcome. Suddenly I was trekking on this foreign trail with loppers in one hand and some funky looking tool in the other, and it was like I had entered the Secret Garden, a whole other fairy tale world of green and fresh air. To think that this wonderful place is practically in my back yard, only a few minutes away by car!

Our mission that day was to clear some of the brush on the uphill side of the trail to remove obstructions that were forcing hikers and mountain bikers toward the downhill edge. So I grabbed my trusty loppers and lopped away, sort of making up the process as I went along and praying to God that I wouldn't wake up the next morning covered in poison oak (I didn't). Believe me, poison oak is not a good look on me.

There were just a few of us but we covered a good stretch of the trail (and managed not to get hit by passing bikers as they thanked us for maintaining their trail), and by the end of the two hours I felt a little more buff (to my delight).

I'd urge you to check out the trails if you haven't before, and consider volunteering to make them a little safer for your neighbors that use them. The upcoming dates are:

Tuesday, June 7 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 18 at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, June 21 at 6 p.m.

Email Kevin Sullivan for more information or to let him know you're coming!

Happy trails!