Trails Update

8/7/10 Dig Day

Our first dig day on the new Candyland connector.  There are multiple rock features on the lower section and room for killer features on the upper.  Hard to wait, and many people aren't as the trail is getting skidded in old school style. 

The stuff dig days are made of.

7/8/10

We had another huge week in the trail building world last week.  On Friday we had a grand total of 42 diggers on the Ridge Trail with the FS/FOP trail crew, the Henry's Fork Fire crew, the Student Conservation Association, and Waldo's Nordic Diggers combining forces.  That was a lot of workers in the woods!  It was something to see.

On Monday we worked on the Josie's Ridge Project with the Henry's Fork Fire Crew.  This awesome crew finished the project in one day!  We rerouted a fall-line section of trail just after the K-mart switchbacks.  The reroute totaled about 1,200ft.  It was a project that we had wanted to do for 6 years, and it was completed in one day.  The crew worked so fast that by l0 o' clock we decided that the project was going to be finished shortly after lunch.  Chris P. and Drew Kneeland charged down the hill to find more work.  They found a nice reroute to do on the Sink or Swim trail.  They didn't have a saw to clear the reroute, but "No Worries Mate!", as Chris P. says these days.  Drew cleared the line like a grizzly bear ripping out brush and small trees by his claws and teeth.  A nice 800 ft reroute was completed in little more than an hour.

On Tuesday we headed out to the Ridge Trail with the Henry's Fork Fire Crew.  We started up high and tied in the Hunt Trail section on Tuesday.  It was a project that we started last year, but did not finish.  The crew connected the dots, and now there shouldn't be a question on how to find the Hunt Trail section.

Wed.-Fri. we worked with the Henry's Fork Fire Crew on the lower Ridge Trail section after the BPA bridge as you head up-hill.  Teton Helitack got a good start for us last week.  It was nice to see that they had already busted out a bunch of brush, roots, and small trees.  It was a huge boost and gave us a great start for Wednesday.  The crew dug uphill and encountered very difficult digging.  They called it the hardest that they seen.  There were a lot of roots and rocks, and there wasn't too much good dirt to work with.  By the end of the day the crew started a long side hill section, and that is where they found the "red gold".  They found some great red soil.  We brought out a couple of wheelbarrows on Thursday and used this good soil to fill in several rough sections of trail.  We also worked the long side hill section, and a beautiful wide bench was constructed.  On Friday we had the large force of 42 workers on the trail.  We built a whole bunch of trail and made a nice connection to the road for the weekend.  Over a mile of trail was constructed in just three days.

Waldo set up a great Pica's dinner for the Henry's Fork Fire Crew at the end of the day on Friday.  The crew loved it and truly deserved it.  It is the best that they eat all year.  Thanks Waldo for setting this up and motivating the crew.  Thank-you to all of Waldo's donators-       
Jim Verdone, Andy Olpin's friend, and others.

Randy Roberts is back in the woods working hard.  You can definitely tell when he is out there working.  The woods suddenly get a lot loader.  Thanks for keeping it fun Randy.

The Student Conservation Association worked the Ridge trail through the holiday weekend.  They continued to work uphill, and made two more connections to the road.  They are a good bunch of kids, and they have been working hard.  Teton Helitack continued to work on the Ridge Trail last week and through the holiday weekend.  I thank them for all their help.

This Tuesday the SCA's made the connection to what we are calling "Shock Treatment".  This section really wants to be built by a mini-excavator.  We have skipped this section for now and headed uphill to a section after the Hunt Trail.  It should turn out to be a great section of trail.  Galen did a great job with the layout in there.

EJ

7/7/10

Hey Folks,

Just wanted to show you a pic of the first of many features to come on the new 
"Fuzzy Bunny Trail" we're building on Teton Pass. The rider is Lance Canfield, 
one of my trail crew, pro rider, and all around good guy.  

The tread of the single track will be complete by the end of today.  Due to 
drying conditions and a southerly exposure, we won't be building the rest of the 
larger features until this fall. 

I'm naming this one "The Ramsbottom" in memory of Matt Ramsbottom, a good friend 
of mine who passed 3 weeks ago.  He convinced me to buy my first downhill bike 
11 years ago (instead of the cross country race rig I had been eyeing up).  He 
is directly responsible for the life I lead today.

Cheers!

H

6/23/10

Operation trail construction has begun.  The SCA crew is here and digging in Game Creek as of Friday.  It's nice to see some trail going in after all those weeks of layout and project prep work.  As of today the SCA crew along with the FS/FOP has put in a half mile of rerouted trail in Game Creek.  It is coming out very nice.  There is approximately one more mile left to go.  The soils are great right now for digging.  The kids are working hard and busting in the trail.  We are following behind and putting in the final touches.  We've been receiving lots of good comments from the trail users as they go by.??

Last week Harlan and Clay came in and helped us make the final decisions on the layout for Game Creek.  They had some great suggestions and the trail is going to flow very nicely.  They also helped us build the top corner which came out very nice.  Thanks Harlan and Clay.  The FOP/FS crew also did a small reroute just past the West/Game junction.  It was a perpetual wet area as the trail was literally right next to the creek.  We set up a styling camp for the SCA crew at the end of the Game Creek road.  The forecast didn't sound the greatest, so we tried to make them as comfortable as we could.  I found a wall tent in the Fire Cache, so we set that up. They have a nice dry cooking and eating area with tables chairs and everything.??

The Cache/Game race has been rescheduled until July 7th.  I'm very happy about this.  We now have plenty of time to finish the trail.  The trail can also get riden in a bit before the race.  A new section of world-class trail will be showcased.

EJ