Those who ignore ‘trail closed’ signs put themselves and others in danger

By Meghan Groff

If the forecast holds, Haligonians are in for a beautiful weekend.

As of Thursday morning, it's thought daytime highs for Saturday and Sunday could top 20 degrees, which means many people will want to hit a hiking trail to enjoy what's left of the fall colours.

However there are areas still closed for cleanup following Hurricane Fiona and a forestry and trail management consultant says some people are ignoring “trail closed” signs.

“The post-storm tree work to get the trails open is extremely dangerous to complete,” Mike Lancaster says in a news release. “Having people come onto the trails when they're not supposed to makes it even more dangerous, not just for the trail user but also for me.”

“We're cutting large trees that are dangerously suspended over the trails, trees large enough to cause death.”

The executive director of Hike Nova Scotia says anyone who wants to speed things along can contact a local trail group and offer to volunteer.

“Be sure to help out only under the direction of the trail group, that is don’t take it upon yourself to do trail clearing on your own,” Janet Barlow says.

“It is one thing to cut a freestanding tree,” she adds, “but these fallen or half-fallen trees are under a lot of pressure and only those with specific training and experience should attempt to cut them.”

Barlow says another way to help is to make a donation to a local trail group.

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