Beavers and Bears and Running---Oh My!

   It was a holiday here in Canada this weekend and today was Family Day. Our family, wouldn't you know it, all went our separate ways and I took advantage of the day off (actually, I'm always off on Mondays) to hit the trails once again.

One of the VERY few dry sections!

   It was a balmy 9C (48F) and I was actually able to run in shorts for the first time in a long time! Threw a shortsleeve techie over a longsleeve one and off I went. Once again I bit the financial bullet and paid to park at Komoka Provincial Park. Being a beautiful day and a holiday as well, the parking lot was crammed with people. I've been trying to up the mileage a little lately and this is why I chose Komoka---it's configured in such a way that I can get in extra kilometers without doing a lot of back-tracking.
   As mentioned, it's been pretty balmy for the last 2 or 3 days around here and the firm trails I was able to run on last week had turned into ankle-deep mud for long stretches. I was still glad I had the screwshoes but, honestly, in mud as deep as it was, they made almost no difference. Took a couple of tumbles, fairly typical slow-motion efforts, but managed to land fairly softly (though not gracefully) and am more or less none the worse for wear.

A "beaver spike"---very much
pointier than it looks!

   My original plan had been to run 8K but round about 6.5K the toll of running through thick mud had had its way with me and I walked the last half a kilometer. Prior to that, though, I ended up on a couple of trails near the western end of the park I don't remember having been on before. I took one of them and soon found myself slowed to almost a crawling pace as I navigated fairly dense underbrush. This took me down to the edge of the river and got me on a track that I'm sure only the teenagers who go down there to party ever follow. Along the way, I kept coming across young trees which had been toppled by beavers. I always enjoy coming across "nature" like that but it did occur to me, as I was slipping/sliding/falling along that the last thing I wanted to have happen would be to slip and then impale myself on a beaver spike. At that point, I clambered up the side of the hill leading away from the river's edge and and got myself back on the real trail.
   

Damaged tree---no expert here but
I was thinking "bear". If you're an
expert, give me your opinion!

On the way out of the park, I came across a large tree which had sustained significant damage from what I could only imagine as a large animal. Whole sections of its trunk had been shredded away, leaving a pile of wood shavings at its base. There also appeared to be some sort of bug infestation in the pulp of the tree. This had me thinking bear, just not sure what other kind of animal might have made the same kind of damage. We really don't normally have bears here in southwestern Ontario but every once in a blue moon (only once in recent memory) one will show up. The consensus, though, seems to be that more and more of them may start showing up as we humans continue to take over their natural habitats. I made a mental note to

"This is nothing but a pile of horse shit, and you know it!"

maybe contact the local authorities about this tree damage.
   Okay, there you have it, my latest running adventure. It didn't go exactly as planned due to the footing. Just being out and about on such a warm and sunny day was its own reward, though, and just the idea that we're on the cusp of Spring (and then Summer!) made the whole afternoon pretty darn nice! Can hardly wait to get out again!

Where the young kids hang
out. And leave trash....

    

A testament to the muck

Not sure why so many trees are down.
Angry bears?? (giggle)