Why Trail Work Matters

And my inaugural maple tapping experience!

Thanks for Being Here!

Thanks to everyone who’s been reading the blog these days! I enjoy seeing every “like” (that’s the heart icon at the top of the page…hint, hint) and hearing that you’re reading along. It makes my day when you take the time to let me know.

Why Trail Work Matters

If I made a word cloud for all my work conversations this week, "trail gaps” and “land acquisition” might be the most prominent phrases on the page. The topic just kept coming up. And then last evening, I was talking with a trail advocate in Minnesota about securing right of way.

“Trail builders are persistent,” I said. “We’re simple,” he joked.

In reality, you are visionaries. You see the potential in trails and then you doggedly pursue the vision for years – decades even – until the gaps are filled and the trail’s open and thriving.

In a week like this, it’s easy to wonder whether this work matters, please know that it does. Trails bring people joy. They provide safe routes to work and school. They help people lower their blood pressure and forget – if for a little while – about the woes of the world. Some trails preserve landscapes and protect wildlife corridors.

They contribute to the bottom line of mom and pop shops. Isn’t that something? In communities where people are doing their best to hang on, trails can help people stay in business. Trails affect well-being by so many measures. Your work in trails makes a difference in peoples’ lives. Thank you for the work you do to improve lives through trails!

Now, let’s share some resources! If you’re a trail builder or planner and have any land acquisition success stories or resources you think others should see, please share them in the comments.

My Inaugural Maple Tapping

Both of the trees we tapped were on a hillside. I really like this slanted tree and, for the record, it yielded more sap than the upright tree.

On a personal front, my wife and I tapped a couple of maple trees this winter. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years now. We didn’t end up with nearly enough to make syrup, but that’s okay. We took a step and learned a few things. We are on our way! Here’s how it all unfolded:

We live in the city and don’t have any trees, let alone any sugar maples. Last fall, I noticed a couple of Norway maples in a wooded area out the road from us and started planning. I got buckets and tubing from my dad (thanks, dad!) and cleared out a bunch of broken glass in the vicinity of the trees. When we were ready to start last month, it was in fits and starts. We needed to replace the battery in our drill. We also broke a drill bit when we tried to use a manual drill. And then there was the issue of timing. My work travel started ramping up just as the sap would be flowing. But we got the trees tapped and ultimately ended up with half a pint of sap. With a 40:1 ratio, we are not on our way to syrup on the table this spring (it takes at least 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup). But we tried something new, learned that the tapping itself is pretty simple, and we got to witness part of nature’s spring awakening. We’ll try again another time, hopefully with some easy to reach sugar maples.

I’ll end with some of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s insights from Braiding Sweetgrass. Walls-Kimmerer says her people (the Citizen Potawatomi Nation) call the moon this time of year the Maple Sugar Moon. She says others know it as the Hunger Moon, “when stored food has dwindled and game is scarce.” She continues, “But the maples carried the people through, provided food just when they needed it most. They had to trust Mother Earth would find a way to feed them even in the depths of winter.” She goes on to say that, just as the maples are caring for the people, they care for their own survival as well (since the sap travels up the trunk to feed the tree’s buds).

Beyond sustenance, something I’ve always loved about maple season is the sugar camps and pancake suppers signal the changing of the seasons. They gather people together after the act of wintering. The same can be said for ramp suppers and a whole host of spring events. Wishing you an enjoyable spring and a plate full of pancakes with some real maple syrup this weekend!

Want to know about this year’s maple season in Western PA? Here’s an article from yesterday’s Tribune-Review.

This is the sap! Another important lesson: it became cloudy in a week’s time. Next year, I’ll know to not wait too long to boil it down.