June2004

Trail Reports - June 2004

JUNE SUMMARY REPORT for southside route that includes: horse trail paralleling Whispering Spruce, Birch Rd. Park; bike trail along Birch Rd., and athletes' trail around Forsyth Park on Birch Rd. *Friends of Birch Park* FoBP held their annual clean-up workparty and potluck. The activity included picking up litter and dog fecies, cutting brush and hauling barbed wire of a neighboring property to a trailer. I noticed that increase of human fecies (distinguishable by kleenex paper put neatly on top) which my dogs are eagerly pointing out to me. The workparty was a small community event and everybody agrees, that the recently added children playground equipment has been a real plus to the neighborhood. Many parents with little toddlers tell me how happy they are with the installation of the equipment. Also the park sees a lot of group soccer activity and horse back riding. *Conflict resolution with neighbor on Birch Park* About 1 1/2 year ago one resident neighboring Birch Park up-graded the fencing around the property with a tall chainlink fence but in the process did not remove dangerous remnants of barbed wire and rotten wood posts. The wire sometimes came into the walking path and hurt several dogs severly enough that the injuries required veteneray attendance (stitches). In the past the owner of the property has had several altercations with either members of Fo BP or other individuals whose dogs got hurt. Since no resolution to the problem was foreseeable, Martin Carlson initiated contact with the owner and successfully resolved the problem by offering to roll up the barbed wire and place it on one of the owner's trailers (actually FoBP did the loading during the workparty). The owner agreed to this suggestion and the problem and nuissance of the barbed wire has been succesfully resolved. No more injured dogs. *Incident with four-wheeler on the playground* (second hand report!) A 17-year old adolescent was taken into police custody, after four-wheeling around the children's playground equipment while children were present. According to the report, the teenager came dangerously close to one child which prompted a male parent to jump onto the four-wheeler and take the teenager down from the vehicle. The man held the teenager at bay who acted defiantly. The man called police and Police took the teenager into custody and confiscated the illegal four-wheeler. No injuries or damages were reported. Yhe teenager is believed to be the same individual who has been snowmobiling in the park during the previous winter. *Black bear in Pinto Circle* A little black bear got into the garbage bins at one residence in Pinto Circle. The owner of the residence was gone for the weekend and the fishy garbage was cooking in the sun. Neighbors picked up the trash, stored the garbarge containers inside a storage shed and cleaned the trash site with bleach to eliminate odor and sanitize the area. Thankfully, the bear has not been seen since. Fish & Game was not notified because residents in the circle did not want the bear to be shot. *Aging "Old Bridge" in Forsyth Park* The Old Bridge in Forsyth Park again has had problems with rotting wood planks on the pathway. Meanwhile the problem has been fixed. *Tree hanging over bike path on Birch Road* A dead tree trunk on 5800 Moose Madeow Ln. continues to hang over the the bike path on Birch Road. The owners should be contacted to have it removed because it the tree can crash down onto the bike path.
On 6/30/04 at approximately 5:30 p.m., I was walking my dog through Baxter Bog Park (Pfeiger Park) and two caucasion boys riding a bicycle approached me and one of them said in a very loud voice, "One White chick and one f'g Native chick came up to me on their bikes" after that, I couldn't hear what he said. This is a hate crime. I am obviously Native. This is the second time this has happened to me. The first time was last December after the first big snowfall, Dec. 19th, at approximately 11:30 a.m., three caucausion young men in a dark navy blue SUV stopped as I was entering Baxter Bog Park and said to me "Stay out of our f'g park you f'g Native".
"6/30/04, Chester Creek from Goose Lake to A Street: Patrolled this section from 6 to 8 p.m., with side trips to Westchester Lagoon and the trail around Goose Lake to UAA. No problems to report."
"6/30/04 - 7am to 8am - Trail along Northern Lights from Muldoon to Bragaw -humid, overcast day, 55 degrees - two trail users - nothing unusual - the hidden treasure Muldoon Park fitness course was very peaceful. jg"
6/29/04, 6-8 a.m., Westchester to Seward Highway ambassador patrol. Trail use down from past weeks on a cloudy morning. Saw a half-dozen homeless people on the trail, a handful of joggers and the regular cycling commuters. All well behaved and no problems to report.Regarding the wooden bridge that is the 2nd bridge towards Earthquake Parkfrom the Lagoon (goes over a slough area). This bridge has a metal peg/bolt, about in the middle of the length of the bridge, that has lost its rounded head and is now a sharp piece of metal which can be a tripping hazard. All of the other bolts/pegs appear to be fine--well rounded heads. The peg/bolt in question needs to be replaced. Thanks for the great job you do. I love the trail.
"6/29/04 3:15 PM to 4:55 PM Campbell Creek Trail from New Seward Highway to Northwood and returnCorrection to my last week report. The skull (less crossbones) is painted on the west side of the Arctic bridge. I believe I reported it as C Street.The only new graffitti is white spray painted on the underside of the railroad bridge. It is spelled "fOBMOB".The extensive offensive graffitti has been obliterated by Parks & Rec. A similar message was spray painted on the back of a private modular construction shack adjacent to the trail (between The Roadrunner and Fairbanks St exit). The module belongs to a subsidiary of Kakivik Corp on Fairbamks St. Deanna, the mgr, was unaware of it, but advised they would overpaint it. Very nice people.In general the trail is in good shape.
"6/29/04 - 7:45am to 8:30 am - Coastal Trail from Westchester Lagoon to Earthquake Park and return - overcast, 50 degrees - one dozen trail users - tall grass on sides of trail between SW tunnel and bridge (mi. .3 to .5), very few rain puddles on trail, nice running on paths beside the paved trail, a few shore birds on flat during low tide. "
6/28/04Ambassador Patrol, Valley of Moon to Lake Otis, 5-6:40p Lots of action on the trail tonight. Cooler evening and less people out. 5:19 p Motorized scooter at full throttle headed eastward on trail from New Seward. Called APD non-emergency number & reported it. Later in the evening, a jogger told me he saw the scooter (again) heading from Tikishla Park up, over Northern Lights bridge. Kid was high school or younger, white, wearing dark ball cap, dirty clothing, smoking a cigarette. 5:40 p Vandalizm in progress at bench & bicycle rack near Eastchester Park. Young, jr. high-ish kid with jet black, punked out hair pounding garbage can with a stick. Several other kids on bikes were watching. I asked him why he was hitting the can and he said, "it took my money" and stopped. I started calling APD and he got nervous and tried to exit. An adult, presumably a neighbor, chased the kid down and gave him a talking to. At that point I dialed 911 thinking it might escalate. It did not. Adult and kid parted ways and I declined having an officer sent to scene. 6:40 p Another (probably different) motorized scooter moving slowly eastward on trail from Valley of Moon Park. Well dressed kid in shirt and tie with Grayline of Alaska jacket on. I asked him if he knew it was illegal to ride on the trail; he did not and stopped. He was part of a Grayline of Alaska picnic in the park.
Thanks for the non-confrontational involvement - when in doubt, call APD.
"6/28/04 5:50 AM to 8:10 AM CT2. Earthquake Park parking lot garbage cans filled to overflowin and broken glass on west end. Earthquake park viewing area and the entire length of trail to 3rd Avenue was orderly with no new graffitti witnessed. Walkers and cyclist traffic getting heavier. Predominantly women.Garbage overflowing at Lyn Ary Basball diamond and in upper park. Unleashed local English Setter dog going through garbage.Crossed path with another Trail WatcherIn general this is a very well maintained stretch of trail."
Sunday evening June 27 Rode Chester Creek to Campbell Creek to Sand Lake Road to Kincaid, Coastal Trail back to Chester Creek (and assorted detours) large TV left smashed at entrance to Chester Creek Trail at Maplewood, sometime between 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm. Kids partying or bad end to relationship??? Young bull moose by Coastal Trail approx mile 5, mellow. Sand Hill Cranes on flats in vicinity (very cool). Bullwinkle bull moose on trail around mile 3.5, required detour. Big guy, growing big antlers seemed rather grumpy (itchy velvet?) was doing interesting contortions to scratch antlers with hooves. Still worried about being swallowed by ever-widening cracks on trail from Woronzof south!
Encountered two suspicious juvenile males on Friday PM, at 11:30 PM...6/25/04. Both matched descriptions of two of three males involved in trail holdup on 5/31 on the Chester Creek trail. Black male circa 17ish, approx. 5'10"+, with dark loose pants, dark shoes, and ORANGE T-Shirt on smaller bike. White male circa same age, all dark blue clothing and dark blue ball cap, small bike and glove covering right hand, none on left hand. Black male very intimidating eye contact, white male doesn't look directly at you...attempting to not be recognizable ? Were both pretending to have bike problems, one on edge of trail to left...one to right side at top of rise with bear cans and two benches about 200 yards East of Piper St. access. Raced pass me in next 50 yards, slowed right down in front of me blocking trail, and looking back to see what I was going to do. I slowed down and followed getting better descriptions. They split to both sides of long bridge over Campbell Creek to the West of Piper...and glared continuously at me as I passed. I pulled up at Campbell Creek Park and pretended to be calling P.D. on cell, as they passed slowly by...the black male glaring/staring me down...sizing me up. The white male turning his head away again. They continued to lake Otis without further interaction. Note: Holdup victim on 5/31...described the black male as wearing an orange loose fitting Tshirt, and the white male as having a blood-soaked ace bandage wrapped around his right hand. Both descriptions mirrored these two fellows, and the bike play behavior also mimiced that at the 5/28 incident.
6/24 Ambassador Patrol, Valley of Moon to Lake Otis, 4-6p Beautiful evening; lots of folks on trail by 5:45 p./ Homeless/wandering looking person sleeping a few feet off trail in Valley of the Moon Park, directly across from bridge at 19th ave. (btx arctic & c) / Group of homeless looking natives sitting btx trail and baseball fields at 16th & A.
There is a need for animal control patroll on the trail from Westchesterboth leading towards Earthquake park or back to Elderberry, especially during the lunch hour. Dog owners are letting their dogs off their leashes and they run on the trail, down into the lagoon chasing birds, into the slough, where many times there are moose, nesting birds, fox etc. Today one dog almost caused an accident with a bicycle when it ran across the trail after accosting a runner, me. The owners of another dog cussed me out when I suggested that they put the dog on the leash, and they did not clean up after their dog. Since there is a leash law owners need to be held accountable when they break it.This request has been sent to MOA Maintenance.
Thursday, June 24, 2004. CT1-CT2, 6:00 - 8:00 PMMany trail users out, including bikers, walkers/joggers and in-line skaters. Different speeds and levels of attention made for what felt like a tricky ride, but no collisions or other problems were observed and no other suspicious activity to report.
6/22/04, 6-8 a.m. -- Patrolled Seward Highway to Westchester segment of the trail. Gorgeous morning. No problems noted.
6/22/2004, There is a serious need for an additional "porta potti" at Weshchester Lagoon. The fragrent cup runneth over frequently. Please.....
Coastal Trail between Westchester Lagoon and Earthquake Park, 6/20/04. No problems to report except that a large female moose was standing in the middle of the trail about 7:40this morning. I had to retreat as she was coming up the trail towards me, and I warned another cyclist, who told me that she had seen the moose earlier in the woods. After a brief wait, the moose moved back into the woods and we were able to pass without incident. I did not see any calves with this adult female moose. I warned others to watch out for her and gave the general location.
I was chased by a young bull moose on the Coastal Trail at mile 6 tonight, Saturday the 19th, around 9:30 pm. I had stopped about 100 feet from him, had backed away when he started walking toward me, hopped on the bike when he started jogging... and when he charged full speed I dove off into the woods (sans bike). He stopped at the trees, followed me for a bit from the side of the trail as I walked in the woods, and then when several folk showed up on roller blades he went into the woods on the other side. I have a feeling this guy had just had a bad encounter with another cyclist before I got there - or maybe he liked me? There was a porcupine up the hill just past Pt. Woronzof heading toward town. Finally, saw the same old rather inebriated folk who hang out on the bridge near the cutoff from the Chester Creek trail to the football stadium. I've seen them almost every time I've been on the trail, winter and summer, drunk (but friendly or, as today, very very out of it) and hanging out around that bridge.
June 18, 2004, Campbell Creek Trail. Many trail users, including a few female walkers and joggers. The warm weather and bright sunshine seems to have people a little loopy - it was the most dangerous ride I have had on this trail. I had to call out to avoid head-on collisions with bikers that were not paying attention three times in my round trip the length of the trail. The most dangerous stretch is Taku Lakedue to the number of people and the numerous distractions (lake, fishermen, dogs, kids, etc. etc.). Nothing suspicious or unsafe other than sun-struck recreationalists, but be careful out there as the days get long because not everyone is looking ahead of them as they travel down the trails.
6/18/046pm-8pm TrailWatch Great ride today, Mayor's Marathonriders out in force. Some graffeti in tunnels and under over passes near Great Ape park. Still have not seen an another recumbent on Trails.
There's a large hole in a footbridge over a tiny creek in Russian Jack park. It's not one of the main trails, but it's a considerable hazard, and its isolated location makes it worse. Anyone hurting themselves back there won't be seen. Here's how to get there: At the bottom of the Russian Jack ski hill (second to last light pole on the right), there's a trail that takes off to the right. You'll go under some wires securing one of the light poles and over some wood planks placed over a muddy stretch of the trail. The bridge is 25 yards away from the bottom of the ski hill.