Vandals On Big Pine

It was just another glorious winter morning in the Big Pine key wilderness of the Key Deer Refuge.

The new full color signs are a welcome improvement in my opinion as they highlight what to see along the Jack Watson Trail. A controlled burn got out of control and crisped a hundred actress of scrub including some near the trail and as a result the rangers out in new more informative signs. Key West Diary: Burnt Pine

I really like the trail, a circular meander that takes less than an hour on a nicely manicured gravel path. Which was not very well manicured last week.

Instead bushes and trees were toppled and the trail was gouged. I could hardly believe my eyes...

...but the tire tracks were clear as was the presence of empty beer bottles and this peculiar item of clothing:

The hat not the shoes I mean. I doubt any real Rotarians would come out in their ATVs and deface a footpath in an act of deliberate drunken stupidity and disrespect.

I really like this trail, it's an easy walk, it's peaceful, and it's usually empty. Cheyenne only likes to walk it in winter when it's cool but I guess winter is also the season when the idiots come out.

Tearing up the trail just isn't cool.

And leaving tire tracks sucks. I clean up after my dog and take only pictures.

What's wrong with these people?

I hope the rangers won't go ballistic when they see what's been done to their beautifully refurbished trail. I wouldn't blame them for closing it for a while just to give the assholes time to go home where they can plot to wreck their own pine barrens thank you. I hope we can pretend nothing happened and keep on going. At least none of the new signs were damaged. And the Key Deer are still there:

Cheyenne was resting comfortably and as usual didn't notice lunch on the hoof tip toeing by. Vandals or not the Jack Watson Trail is a great place to go for a stroll of a winter's morning.

Key West Diary: Watson Trail

Posted with Blogsy