April Trailblazers Report
By Katrinka Westendorf
The second Trailblazers Hike of Winter 2024 occurred on February 10th . It was a pleasant day , weather-wise . We met at the Tot Lot in the back of Woodridge Village , entered the woods below the Tot Lot , and hiked the Cardinal View Trail . It is a loop trail on the east side of the village that meanders through the woods above both sides of a creek that runs through the area . At one location you can cross the creek on a wooden foot bridge .
We decided to go clock-wise on the loop . At the southern part of the loop , before you start back towards the Tot Lot there is a “ spur ” trail that goes along the west side of Lake Marian and dead-ends at Woodridge Road near the Brosius Dam . While this was not a long hike ( a little over two miles ), all ten participants seemed to have a good time . We kept to a leisurely pace and were able to view and hear several wildlife species . You can lengthen your hike by additionally cutting through the Village and entering the woods at the trail head in the Parcel B on Woodridge Road across from Burger Way . The trail in this area west of the Village is a little rougher and may be harder to follow in some places . Regardless , it is another nice wooded area to explorer . Private property ( not belonging to LLA or Oakdale , the developer ) butts up against this area so pay attention to and honor the “ Posted — No Trespassing ” signs on the west side of the pathway .
The first day of Spring 2024 arrived on March 19th , or March 20th depending upon what source you used . To be totally correct , the actual date was March 19th because 2024 is a leap year and February received an extra day . So , the season moved up a little on the calendar . Either way , it arrived a little over a week after daylight savings time began on Marh 10th .
We began to see indications of spring before that date . Snowdrops were starting to poke up out of the ground and bloom in late February , along with the first blooms of crocus and the green stalks of daffodils and squill . Skunk cabbage was also spotted in the moist areas in late Winter-early Spring . Now that April is upon us , our woods will become alive with many colorful wildflowers — spring beauty , wood anemone , bloodroot to name a few . If you were hibernating over the winter months , now is a great time to get back on the trails and enjoy the natural beauty of our Lake Linganore community . The sometimes-muddy conditions on parts of the paths that may be encountered during this season should not hold you back . Just put on a pair of boots , get out there , and have fun during this “ renewing ” part of the year .
With the warmer temperatures and beginnings of vegetative growth along the trails , the Trailblazers will resume our monthly trail maintain duties this month . We perform light trail maintenance , including spot pruning vegetation , removing natural debris from the trail beds , occasionally making short trail reroutes , and picking up trash along the pathways and in the nearby woods . We meet on the 2nd Saturday of the month , usually at the Coldstream Pool parking lot , and carpool to the designated work site . The first work session will be on April 13 , from 9 am to around noon . If you are interested is joining us at a monthly work session , look for more specific information ( location , scope of work , etc .) in the Friday Flyer announcement / email the day before the work session . The Committee can also be contacted at LLATrailblazers @ gmail . com .
_______________________________
LakeTalk April 2024 19