Standing around in 38-degree weather is a little painful but it’s worth it to learn stuff about nature while on a guided Eugene First Saturday Park Walk.
Things learned on the group hike: 1. It is unnaturally difficult to control nature.
2. Staying on trails is environmentally respectful.
3. Vote to fund parks and public lands. We all benefit.
4. The wild turkeys here were originally from Texas and they do round them up from time to time to be food bank contributors.
5. Visit a dump.
The leader of the hike, near the beginning, pointed out a landfill somewhere in the distant view and told us we should all visit one just to understand how much garbage we generate and how much it stinks.
We came upon a large doug fir that had fallen over about 3 weeks ago. This tree was around 300 years old and it was 80% decayed on the inside. Decay starts from a wound or scar that rots and eventually kills the tree. The tree has laid itself down to host more life. “It looks like a freakin’ face!” one woman kept saying about the tree end.
Bears come through here, especially in the fall to eat acorns. Cougars pass through too; they are drawn to farm animals nearby.
If you look down while you walk on the trail, you will see a lot of shining geranium. It is not native, so in the past, they took blowtorches to it. It didn’t work, so it lives here now.
The city’s goal is to eventually make a public pathway from Mt. Pisgah to Fern Ridge.