COLORADO SPRINGS — More days than not you can find Karen Morris out enjoying a hike on an open space trail in Colorado Springs.
“Let's say five out of seven days. Yeah, since the 80s,” said Morris.
The park Morris visits most is Garden of the Gods.
She is there so often she has a sense of what trails will be dry and the ones that will be vulnerable to damage because they are wet.
"You kind of learn after many years here, how many days to wait after a rain storm or after a snow storm, and you know, you kind of gage it by the temperatures in the winter. You know, is stuff melting or is it still frozen."
Park managers appreciate visitors who think about the sustainability of trails.
“This time of year, our ground is going from freeze to thaw to freeze to thaw, so you're going to get a lot of mud build up. And there's areas in our park where that mud can be extremely prevalent,” said Garden of the Gods, Park Guide, Bowen Gillings.
There is a storm to warm, warm to to storm cycle in Southern Colorado during the transition from winter to spring.
Garden of the Gods park managers recently posted on social media a photo of resulting mud and an unwanted side trail that formed because of trail users walking into delicate vegetation to avoid mud.
This time of year is unofficially known as mud season and they want hikers to embrace trail etiquette.
“Mud season is making people aware. Hey, if you're going to come and explore here in Garden of the Gods, you need to be dressed and prepared for the fact that you're probably going to get a little dirty,” said Gillings.
Mud season happens at all parks and open spaces.
The issue is the natural tendency of side-stepping to avoid getting shoes dirty.
Gillings said, “We get what we call rogue trails, or social trails, very quickly in our park by people going where they want. Within a day, you can create, take something that is well grass and well vegetated and trample it down to the raw dirt.”
The damage leaves parks vulnerable to excessive erosion.
The etiquette is to follow "Leave No Trace" rules.
The rule for hiking is to stay on the designated and most durable trails.
"So the trail itself is the most durable thing you can walk on, even if it's muddy and it looks like it's slippery and nasty, it's better to walk there in a designated trail than to avoid that so that you just don't walk in the mud."
Plan ahead by picking a trail that is more likely to be dry.
Wear the right kind of shoes in case you need to go right through the mud.
It protects and preserves the trails locals love, and use heavily.
Powerful spring storm will rock Southern Colorado today and Tuesday
After a gorgeous weekend, we're looking at a very busy start to the week for Southern Colorado. A powerful spring storm will produce widespread 30-50 mph gusts on Monday. These dry, downslope winds will increase fire danger on Monday along and east of the I-25 corridor. Red Flag Warnings will be in effect from 11 am until 7 pm.
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