Trail Etiquette & Loon Update

Joe Hebert, president of the Joe's Pond Association, asked me to post this reminder: 

 

TRAIL ETIQUETTE   

Expect to encounter others, some of whom may be using the trail in a different style than you do. Be prepared by bringing your good manners. Good manners are to a multi-use trail as a chain is to a bike, or laces to a shoe.

Be consistent  Travel on the trail in a regular way. Follow the conventions you are familiar with from driving on roads. Travel on the right, pass on the left, do not weave in and out of traffic, do not pull out suddenly in front of people, adhere to instructions on signs.

YIELD The trade off with a shared use path is that no one gets to go for broke, pell mell. (If you want that experience, look for a single purpose, one way trail. A bobsled chute, for example.) This doesn't mean always going slow, it just means never going "with complete abandon" - be prepared to yield. Yield means "slow down, communicate with the people you are meeting, be prepared to stop if needed, then proceed safely."People headed downhill yield to people headed uphill Faster yields to slower:

• LVRT/VAST motorized yield to all
• bikes yield to pedestrian
• pedestrians yield to people with mobility disability, pushing baby strollers, etc
• everyone yields to equestrians (because horses scare easily), (and equestrians know to return the favor, because horses are sort of scary, too).
  

DO NOT BLOCK THE TRAIL Travel on the right. Take up no more than half the width of the trail. If in a group, this may mean spreading out in single file. If trail is narrow, may mean being prepared to step to the side to let others pass.Watch and listen for others. Allow faster trail users to pass safely. If stopped (such as to talk, rest, take in the view, and what not), move off to the side, out of the way.

PASS safely  Pass on the left, when passing people traveling in the same direction as you are. Give calm, audible warning. Refrain from wearing “ear buds” on multi-use trail. Give person you are passing time to react before you pass them.When approaching people traveling towards you, make eye contact, say hello, be prepared to yield if there is need, keep to the right and proceed.

DOGS Dogs are asked to behave with the same etiquette as all other trail uses. They should show good manners, be consistent, be prepared to yield, not block the trail, and pass safely. In practice, this means they should be "under immediate control" of the person responsible for them.

(Be aware that if you allow a leash to be stretched across the width of the trail, you are blocking others.)

 Please - clean up after your pets on the trail!

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I had a report from Gretchen Farnsworth yesterday letting me know that they have seen the two adult loons at the north end of the pond, but no chick with them. Gretchen said she was sure there was at least one egg in the nest on the nesting platform, but now she believes it either didn't hatch or the chick was lost. Tough luck, but at least we still have one chick that is thriving in the two smaller ponds.

I also want to remind folks that Cabot is having their usual Fourth of July Parade and celebration this year, and I'm personally very happy to report that the Historical Society Museum will be open this year, after being closed several years due to Covid. I will be there during the morning on the Fourth, and if you come for the parade, plan to visit the historical museum. There will be someone to help with genealogy questions, and two floors of exhibits that will interest adults and children alike. I hope to see you there.