Retain natural trails

For more than seven years I have run these trails weekly. At Wunderlich, one can leave the streets and sidewalks behind and be immersed in the natural spaces in which we in the Bay Area take such pride. Running the same trails more than 300 times puts one in close familiarity with each root, each rock, each muddy patch ... and more importantly, with the subtle natural changes that happen week to week. The soft, leaf-covered trails in the fall turn muddy in the winter rains; spring sees tender shoots and banana slugs; and in summer the trails are hard-packed and cracked. Each footfall over those seasons becomes a tactile connection with nature. And with pavement, that link is broken.

So I can't conceive why some group wants to ruin such a treasure by paving it. Who benefits? Not hikers. Not runners. Not those who seek a break from the asphalt world. Is it truly, as the ranger told me today, the equestrians? If horses seek pavement, there are plenty of other options around.

It's a sad development, and in searching Google News, I've seen nothing written about it, no announcements, no request for public comments, no source of funding for the project. Pavers, please consider carefully that what you are doing is ruining the experience for other users. Let's share this resource -- this experience -- and retain the existing natural trails.

It's worth a visit to the park this weekend. The Bear Gulch trail starts at the enormous pile of gravel in the newly paved parking lot. The Alambique trail is widened at the bottom, and pavement starts about three quarters of a mile up the trail.

John Morriss

San Francisco