After my last run in with the park folks, I’ve been taking running routes through Stanley Park that don’t involve areas where you are, technically, not supposed to be. And for the most part, it’s not that different than what I’ve seen from inside of the park. It’s ugly, there’s an abundance of skylight coming through where the canopy use to shield a lot more of it out, and the clean up process seems to be taking forever.
You can see some more pictures that I snapped today here. This was the first time that I brought my cellphone with me on a run with the intention of taking some pictures. Might I also add, I saw a pair of runners duck into the trails on the back side of Lost Lagoon. It’s tempting, but the last thing I want to do is have to climb of huge tree trunks across the trail. I’ve had to do that already, and it’s not much fun.
Prior to these storms that sacked the place, I used to marvel at the huge stumps that are left over from the first time this area was settled and harvested for what it was worth. Most of what got knocked over recently is second growth. However, there was a lot of fallen trees in the park before the winds demolished what it did. Not to this extent, but what was there was left to be. Concern was given to keep the trails passable, but that stuff was just shoved to the side.
There are millions of dollars being appropriated for the clean up of the park, and yet this process is going at a snail pace. There are some that say that this money would be better off going towards individuals that are struggling and in dire need of help, and I can’t say that I disagree. From everything that I’m seeing, I need more proof that something more is being done.