Benefield: Foothill Park offers a quiet place for remembering those lost

One remembers “Super Zippy.”

Another “Bernie.”

A gold lock is inscribed: “Dash, Dallas & Tyson. Always loved.”

There are more than 100 of these: Tags. Locks. Vinyl straps. A collar. All are affixed to a section of wire fence framed by robust wooden posts.

Most appear to be left in memory of pets, but one large Brinks lock reads “Mom, I love you” with the date June 29, 2021.

This memorial is located at a spot I’m guessing is the highest point with trail access at Foothill Regional Park in Windsor.

Unlike official trail signs lower down the hillside, there is no explanation next to the fence, no markers saying when this ritual began or who is remembered here.

So visitors are left to gently look at the locks and tags and wonder who Duke is to someone. Or Tyler. Or Max.

This park was ravaged by the 2019 Kincade Fire, but the locks and these mementos remain.

And tokens have been added in the years since the fire.

A gold heart is inscribed with just “CWW” and two dates: 1/16/21 — 2/3/21.

If there is a story behind this small memorial place, I don’t know it. But it’s quietly beautiful. And moving.

Some locks give nothing away, they are just heavy, combination locks. Others have initials. Or a date.

This park, and this memorial, has been through a lot.

Much of the park’s 211 acres were badly damaged in the Kincade Fire. Some estimates put total burned acreage at 95% of the park.

The scarring is still visible from all 7 miles of park trails. Blackened trees dot the landscape.

But the park was a key component in firefighters’ efforts to keep the Kincade Fire from ripping into eastern Windsor.

Its trails formed natural fire breaks. Controlled burns eliminated dangerous fuels.

And in the years that have followed, Foothill has rebounded. Nature has a way of doing that. Today the park feels used and loved.

There are horses here. And dogs (on leashes). Mountain bikers come here.

And for summer workouts and the fall season, Windsor High’s cross country squad uses these hills and trails for their home course. So do the Piner High Prospectors.

With the damage caused by the fire three years ago, I asked park officials about the locks and the fence and learned that after the fire, park maintenance crews salvaged the memorial.

They cut the section of border fence that held the locks, embedded that section in some sturdy wooden framing and re-secured the memorial.

And people keep coming. There are plenty of locks on the fence that survived the burn. And plenty of them that postdate the Kincade Fire.

One tag, in the shape of a bone, reads “RIP Ruby Rose Nov. 28, 2007- April 15, 2022.”

“We used to walk it when she was able, when she was younger,” Mike Jung, Ruby’s human dad told me. “We used to walk it all the time.”

Ruby was a King Charles Cavalier and poodle mix. Dog people call them Cavapoos.

Ruby spent her life in Windsor, going to a variety of parks. But Foothill had a particular pull for her. Literally.

“I take her to all kinds of parks, but she knows that one is pretty steep,” Jung said. “But she has it in her mind and she leads the way.”

So when Ruby died this spring, Jung knew what to do.

“It just made sense,” he said. “I don’t know how it came about, but you know what? Ruby belongs up there.”

“For me, it’s closure,” he said. “That is her original tag. I have another set with her ashes that I have here at the house.”

Jung, like me, didn’t know the origins of the fence. But Jung, unlike me, has a name for it: The Love Lock Fence.

“It’s got beautiful scenery, it’s so majestic. I love it,” he said.

It’s enough of a trek up the trail that it’s not terribly busy up there. Or maybe the trails were clear because my visit was midday on a Tuesday and temperatures were spiking.

Either way, Grady, my 8-year-old blue heeler (on a leash) and I were largely alone.

I dutifully followed photographer Chris Chung’s directions for the approximately 1.2-mile walk to find the fence.

You pass three bodies of water. I’m not sure what to call them, but that’s not entirely my fault.

The trail is called Three Lakes Trail, but the park signage calls each of the three bodies of water ponds. As in “Pond C Picnic Area via Three Lakes Trail .2 miles.”

Either way, each are appropriate for fishing. So say the signs.

There are oaks and manzanita. An egret hangs out on the shore of the second lake.

At the third lake, Grady and I head to the right on Alta Vista Trail.

This is a steep, bermed walk to the peak of a hill that offers amazing views of Windsor spreading out to the west.

On the climb, we pass on mountain biker and one walker. No one else.

A half mile later, the memorial fence stands just below the overlook.

It takes time to read all of the locks and messages. Some are worn and illegible.

There is a lock with “Duke” written on it and a paw print drawn in black ink.

There is a deeply faded lanyard with the San Jose Sharks logo on it.

Some locks give up no personal information. A chrome Master Lock with a purple dial is locked here, so is another lock with an orange alphabet dial. They were put here for someone who was loved.

A silver dog tag in the shape of a heart reads “Alice 2001-2016 My whole heart.”

“Debbie, 2014“ is remembered here.

And so is Chloe. And Kylee. And Ruby.

The heat may have kept people away today. Or the climb. But it feels right that all is quiet high above a harried world.

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.