Well, we had yet another brush with the law today. We started at the Vanderhoof trailhead and walked north. We saw a man and woman on bicycles ahead of us with t-shirts saying "Bicycle Patrol." I was curious about whether the section of trail north of Eastern Road was open yet. A family on bicycles rode by us when we were close to Eastern and we saw them turn around. One of the kids said, "I can't believe the trail is closed there." We walked towards Eastern and there were oranges barrels connected by netting blocking the trail. I decided to "explore." I climbed over the netting and walked north around a bend. When I got around the bend, I could see the two bike patrol people a few hundred feet ahead, and coming towards me. There was now another man with them. I took off running back towards the "legal" part of the trail, all the while, Kay photographing my running as she laughed hysterically. I must have been a faster runner than they were cyclers, because I got back and across the barricade long before they did. It turned out the man with them was a Metroparks ranger. I played innocent and they didn't mention my lawlessness. I did ask if they knew when the trail would be open. Although I had assumed the delay was because the trail construction was incomplete, the ranger gave us another explanation. He said that there was a lawsuit pending, as part of the land belongs to a railroad and they can't give the land to the park because of liability issues. he said that if ordered to sell the land by a judge, their liability ends. Interesting. It was a great hike overall. We saw caterpillars and dragonflies and wildflowers and very tall beech and sycamore trees.
Well, we had yet another brush with the law today. We started at the Vanderhoof trailhead and walked north. We saw a man and woman on bicycles ahead of us with t-shirts saying "Bicycle Patrol." I was curious about whether the section of trail north of Eastern Road was open yet. A family on bicycles rode by us when we were close to Eastern and we saw them turn around. One of the kids said, "I can't believe the trail is closed there." We walked towards Eastern and there were oranges barrels connected by netting blocking the trail. I decided to "explore." I climbed over the netting and walked north around a bend. When I got around the bend, I could see the two bike patrol people a few hundred feet ahead, and coming towards me. There was now another man with them. I took off running back towards the "legal" part of the trail, all the while, Kay photographing my running as she laughed hysterically. I must have been a faster runner than they were cyclers, because I got back and across the barricade long before they did. It turned out the man with them was a Metroparks ranger. I played innocent and they didn't mention my lawlessness. I did ask if they knew when the trail would be open. Although I had assumed the delay was because the trail construction was incomplete, the ranger gave us another explanation. He said that there was a lawsuit pending, as part of the land belongs to a railroad and they can't give the land to the park because of liability issues. he said that if ordered to sell the land by a judge, their liability ends. Interesting. It was a great hike overall. We saw caterpillars and dragonflies and wildflowers and very tall beech and sycamore trees.
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