Forgive Us Our Tresspasses...Maybe
You have been itching for weeks to go for a rambling trail run within this glorious canyon preserve near your home. I won’t mention which preserve for reasons that will soon become obvious, but anyone who is a faithful follower of this blog knows which one I’m talking about. It’s big, well-maintained and typically packed on weekends.
The place has been closed for weeks now due to earlier rains. The gates remain locked and signs are posted at every official entrance warning people to stay out. But you know of a “trailhead” the locals use as a bypass, about a mile from all other eastern entrances. It’s all single track and, far as the eye can see, dry dirt. But, truthfully, the eyes are aided by bifocals now -- bifocals sitting on the kitchen countertop at this moment.
If it’s officially closed, then no one should be policing it for tresspassers, right? But the city’s closed the preserve so the grounds can “heal” after a huge heap of rain, and your entry could spark copycats and cause the delicate ecological surroundings more harm – and further closures. Or, if you’re able to escape unnoticed, what happens if you fall and are knocked unconscious, or break a bone (hey, it’s happened to me) or are attacked by coyote, rattlesnakes or a murderer in waiting? Then again, this town’s cash-strapped and it’s quite possible, you reason, that with the previous week's dry, sunny weather, it's still closed only because there's no one from the city able to get out there to lift the signs and allow us to play.
So, do you go for it?
The place has been closed for weeks now due to earlier rains. The gates remain locked and signs are posted at every official entrance warning people to stay out. But you know of a “trailhead” the locals use as a bypass, about a mile from all other eastern entrances. It’s all single track and, far as the eye can see, dry dirt. But, truthfully, the eyes are aided by bifocals now -- bifocals sitting on the kitchen countertop at this moment.
If it’s officially closed, then no one should be policing it for tresspassers, right? But the city’s closed the preserve so the grounds can “heal” after a huge heap of rain, and your entry could spark copycats and cause the delicate ecological surroundings more harm – and further closures. Or, if you’re able to escape unnoticed, what happens if you fall and are knocked unconscious, or break a bone (hey, it’s happened to me) or are attacked by coyote, rattlesnakes or a murderer in waiting? Then again, this town’s cash-strapped and it’s quite possible, you reason, that with the previous week's dry, sunny weather, it's still closed only because there's no one from the city able to get out there to lift the signs and allow us to play.
So, do you go for it?
