There Be’s People in Them There Woods

I gathered up trash into junky looking little piles today along my route in the woods near Camp May Road, starting near West Jemez and stopping at FR2998. I didn’t pick up trash in the WHOLE woods on the south side of the road but if I saw it along the route I walk along, even if it was shining in the distance, I did pick it up. Most of the trash congregates around the parking areas or dirt roads along Camp May Road. An exception was the steep, gullied area below the second guardrail--that was the trashiest. People must love throwing beer bottles and beer cans into a gully--I guess they feel virtuous heaving them out of sight! Either that or it’s some kind of sporting event--Steep Trash Toss. In truth, overall, there didn’t seem to be as much trash as I expected--perhaps woodland elves are out there picking it up--thank you little elves! Altogether, it may only amount to 2 large, black plastic bags when I go back up there tomorrow to carry it out. If not for the blue blanket that someone tossed in the woods, I probably could have fit it all in one bag.

The most interesting part of the day, though, was the discovery of what I’ll call the Candy Cane Route that someone is pioneering. It’s marked with diagonally striped red and white plastic flagging tape. Its other hallmarks are the axe notching of fallen logs across its path and some logs that have been sawed out of the way. It goes through a marshy, grassy area. In tick season, this will be prime territory but I brought none of the little buggers home today. I followed this route for a while but then had to give up and go back to making trash piles. One day I will follow it up as far as it goes. It basically parallels Camp May Road from FR2998 going uphill and, from the flagging, it looks like it may continue downhill on FR2998 but I couldn’t tell how far. I may check that out on the grandson hike tomorrow.

Happy Mum’s Day to all the Moms out there! Be sure to attend the Mother’s Day Concert tomorrow, Sunday, May 13, at 7 pm at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos. It features The Small Stars, a rock group from Austin, Texas. This is the kickoff concert for the 2007 Los Alamos County Summer Concert Series. The summer concerts, known informally as the Gordon’s Concerts after Russ Gordon who started them years ago and who is still the driving force behind them, are the premiere social event in Lost Almost’s summers. Would be a dead, dead town without them!!