Carolyn England poses next to the cottonwood stump.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
Carolyn England shared her July 17 experience on the walking/bike trail in Panora.
“Mary Williamson and I are regular trail walkers, and the weather this week has been so much more pleasant than the heat before. We were happy to walk again. We had turned around to start back home on Wednesday when we heard a loud crackle ahead on the trail,” England said.
The crackles then gave way to a loud crashing sound as the cottonwood tree fell onto the trail.
“We weren’t sure if we would be able to climb through and over the foliage and downed branches to proceed home. It was quite dense. We found a less hazardous place and ducked under and through the brush and walked out,” England said. “As we walked, we discussed how lucky we were and how thankful we were that there had been warning sounds that caused us to stop and question what was happening. We thought if we had been bikers wearing headphones, our timing would have been disastrous.”
England shared that the DNR was called in to remove the tree, and the trail was promptly reopened.