Warm!

We hit the mid-fifties here today; we hope you got out to enjoy them!
We're just back from a tramp through the slush: up the Holden trail to the far end of the Cascades trail, up the Cascades trail to the Newton trail, and back down to Cataract Street. It's clear that there's been much traffic out on the trails: everything is slush covered, muddy, and/or downright wet. You'll want the waterproof boots, and if you're heading out tomorrow, expect that all to be crunchy!
The brook is running at 4.5 inches under ice. The Cascades are well worth a trip by; they're frozen, but running underneath.
Enjoy the warmth!

Get out and move!

We took a short hike on the Holden Trail this morning. We ran into two dogs (and an owner) out for a hike in the sun, as well. It looks as though the Newton Trail has already seen plenty of traffic today (two and four footed) this morning. The woodpeckers were out (we only saw black-capped ones), as were sparrows. As long as you keep moving, you can stay fairly warm, 'though it make take awhile to feel your feet again!

At 9: 30 am (post hike) it is 21 degrees and rising
53% humidity and falling
Barometer is 29.8 inches of mercury and steady under bright clear skies
Fire danger is LOW
The brook continues to run under the snow, 'though it's only visible in spots.

The mourning doves are continuing to hang around. If anyone has any notions of why we're seeing them now, please weigh in. We'd love to know.

Erosion survey hike

We're late posting today, as we had a hiker come to the door to report continued use of ATV's on the trails in Cascades Park. We dropped everything and went out to investigate. It's clear that the trails off of Cataract Street where it's the Holden Trail have been reopened, plus someone's been coming up the Newton Trail from Cataract Street (by the bike rack and bench).

Two things all park users should know:

1. This is NOT OKAY. Use of motorized vehicles is prohibited in all city parks by city ordainance, PLUS Cascades Park (and Cascades East) is under a conservation restriction, which means it's against state law as well. And it's just really bad for the forest in all sorts of ways.
   
2. If you see anyone on an ATV, DO NOT CONFRONT THEM. However, please get all identifying information you can, and pass it on to us (gwlt@gwlt.org will do it).

In other news, we met at least four dogs on our hike, found wintergreen leaves, and found the upper Cascades brook in good condition.

As of 9:30 this morning, it was 52 degrees and rising.
80% humidity and falling
30.42 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger is back up to LOW

Hike report

At 8:06 am, it was 65 degrees and steady
97% humidity and steady
Barometer steady at 29.88 inches and a bit overcast

A hike this morning up the Holden Trail end of the Cascades Trail revealed that someone's been clearing it back a bit. (Junior Ranger question: "When are we cleaning up this property?" Cascades East was a private dump for years; let's just say it isn't high on anyone's list!) Japanese knotweed looking sadly healthy in its one clearing (at least it's only one!). No signs over ALB in maples we inspected (hooray!) New signs along Silver Spring, Cascades, and Newton trails are looking great. Checked out the West Tatnuck School spur trail. Took the unmarked trail off of the Newton trail to come out on Navasota. Gentleman we ran into along there reported four deer in their yesterday.

It isn't on the property, but we did find a huge quanity of turkey feathers along Olean Street between Dawson Road and the Holden/Cascades junction. Not much turkey, though.

Clear skies after the storm

Did you catch those thunderstorms last night? They were really quite something! Here at the Lodge, the thunder bounces off the ledge by the falls, so it really echoes.

Clear skies this morning. Looks like a lovely day.
At 10:30, it's 40 degrees. 47% humidity.
Barometer is still rising with 30 so far.
Fire danger (as of yesterday) is LOW.
Quite a bit of wind.

If it continues to warm up, you'll want to watch out for muddy areas of the trail. A stroll down the Holden trail yesterday afternoon was more of a skip and a jump in spots. All the little brooks along the old Cataract Street cartpath are babbling and burbling, however. And the falls are quite something this morning. Go for a walk!

Trail conditions and animal sighting

A walk up the Holden Trail (aka: the cart path end of Cataract Street, marked by white triangles) found it well used. It has been plowed by the city up to the roadblock; a well-beaten trail heads around the roadblock and down the remainder of the street. Watch out for a substantial snowbank on the northern end!
Before it turned to snow, this hiker nearly stepped on a busy little mole? shrew? out for a snack in the warmth of the day! About three inches long, brown, with a pink nose, he scurried off into the snow at the side of the road and dove into a footprint to get away. His appearance may clear up a mystery we've been pondering here at the Lodge: tracks of a small mammal with a tail that showed up before dawn two days ago. A mouse from the house or something outside? Perhaps small things outside are stirring.

UPDATE: I am informed by reliable sources that the mammal I ran into was a vole. I'll see if I can pull up a picture to show you.