Today I did spring cleanup along the section of North Country Trail that I maintain. There wasn't much to it. Instead of lots of trees down across the trail from winter, it was relatively clean. I flipped sticks out of the treadway, clipped some encroaching bushes, and pulled a couple of small trees away, but never even took the saw off my pack.
Most of my trail is in maturing woods on dry sandy ridges. I hiked it north to south, the opposite of what I usually seem to do. Here's a sample.
The blueberries are blooming. Come back in July!
Here's the real Dead Horse Marsh (from which I stole the name for the Dead Mule Swamp books).
I knew there was a small forest fire a few weeks ago that had burned across the trail. They got it under control quickly and there was a firebreak dug all the way around it. Green things are already growing up. The larger trees weren't harmed much. Even the paint on the blazes wasn't bubbled.
Finally, you have to run the mosquito gauntlet where an old railbed runs through a bottomland hardwood swamp. But it's one of my favorite pieces of trail-- lots of ferns and interesting plants.
8.5 miles all together. A well-spent afternoon.
