A number of years ago when running the trail, I stepped off the trail to.... how do I say politely.... water the bushes.
A stepped behind this tree to find a leather dog leash and a letter in a plastic sleeve nailed to the trunk.
It was a letter from a dog owner to his departed dog (named Charlie) that told of a loyal and trusty trail loving dog that accompanied him on the trails for a number of years and how he missed him.
The letter was getting pretty weathered so I mad it a point to get a new plastic sleeve to better save this loving letter from a bereaved dog owner.
This I did and made it a point to always stop and check things out whenever I was on the trail.
(Unfortunately even after doing this, the paper rotted away from being exposed to the elements earlier and is no longer there)
It was also made a regular stop for the trail group to stop and check it out, as we had a number of runners including myself that had our four legged best friends run trails with us.
When our dog, Tigger, passed away 10 years ago, we spread her ashes nearby and nailed her collar along side Charlies leash.
As the years ticked away, other trail runners 4 legged friends passed away and they too nailed their collars or leashes along side as a tribute to a best friend.
Now there are 5 collar/leashes displayed on the tree, where we can stop and remember fondly our trail running buddies.
It is in a nice spot in the park that unless you know where to look, you may never find it.
But the next time we run Komoka Trails we will do a detour to show it off to all of our new trail runners.
