BACK MOUNTAIN, Pa. — John Koch is part of the Back Mountain Trail Association, and he rides his bike up and down the Back Mountain Trail every day.
"Looking for trees that are down or things that have happened," explained Koch.
On Monday morning, Koch and many others who use the trail came across a very large tree sprawled across the trail brought down doing the overnight storm. For safety reasons, Koch put signs warning people about the tree and the dangers of climbing over it so close to the edge.
"I warned the Lake-Lehman Cross Country team that it was here. They probably couldn't get around it. Well, they all climbed over it anyway. So, people do what they want to do. Some people have walked up to it, seen it, turned around," said Koch.
Regular runners are taking the chance too.
"I usually try to cross it and go, just because I don't want to stop my route itself," Angela Stine explained.
Normally, when a tree falls, the association does what it can to clear it, but this tree presents more challenges.
"We're going to need a big team, probably a professional team of loggers, to get rid of this thing because it is huge. Usually, we can handle them. If they're a regular diameter, OK? But this one, I think, is going to require some professional help," said Koch.
The trail association has done that before but can't this time and says it's not sure when this will be cleaned up.
"No idea," said Koch. "Because this is property that the trail does not own, so we don't know when it's likely to get cleared."
"I'll have to go back to other places to run then. So, it is what it is. It would be nice if we can take care of it because it is used by a lot of people," said Stine. "Physical fitness is important, right, especially now, so this is the only time you can get out."