The Bamboo Hike 11/30/21

On the last day of November, 33 intrepid hikers set out for a discovery most had not seen - a sizable grove of giant bamboo. A first for the Tuesday Group, we hiked the Mariner’s Lake (formerly Maury Lake) Natural Area (MLNA). This lake is an extension of the lake surrounding the Noland Trail at the Mariner's Museum. We started on the Noland Trail in order to have plenty of parking at the Museum since there is only space for about 6-7 cars at the MLBA trailhead on Warwick Blvd. Starting clockwise on the Noland Trail, after about .3 miles and after crossing bridge #3, there is a little-noticed opening in the fence leading to a pedestrian cross-walk to get across Warwick Blvd. to the MLNA trailhead.

From the MLNA trailhead, we wound around a very circuitous path of rolling hills in this heavily wooded lakeside forest for about 2 miles to get to the bamboo grove. One could easily take 3-4 miles to get there as well. The MLNA trails looks like someone threw a handful of cooked spaghetti on the map and called them trails. And - the best part - there are no signs or blazes! It is quite easy to get lost, at least temporarily. There are 3 landmarks to help a hiker to get back to their car - the lake, a fire road on the east side and the Riverside Hospital complex on the west side. The free version of the AllTrails app is quite useful, if not critical, to navigation. If one circumnavigates the lake, they will come to the Riverside Hospital grounds. The trail stops here, so the choice is to either walk through the hospital grounds to Warwick Blvd and take the street back to the trailhead, or retrace the lakeside trail.

Some of the bamboo is 4-6” in diameter and probably 40-50 feet tall. The grove covers between 1-2 square city blocks. Even when expecting it, coming to the grove is a wondrous and wow moment. We have not been able to find any information about its origin. This park is also a mountain bike trail and there are several jumps and other technical features for adventurous cyclists, including a bike teeter-totter. Go explore - we dare you to repeat the same route twice without a navigational aid.

You will want to see the great pictures for you this week from Bill Billings https://photos.app.goo.gl/smbyHLAhYdsA5XPr8 (Photo Left) and Bob Mooney https://photos.app.goo.gl/Db886vR5ZdQhSgRN9