Build it Saturday…Ride it Sunday!
An incredible group of people showed up Saturday morning and put in a solid full day of work to get the logged section cleared, some trail cleaned and more trail designed, built, tamped and finessed.
Reconstructing a trail section that was basically unrecognizable from it’s previous state was a difficult task. The trail was fundamentally gone, the entire Forest had changed and there was debris and ruts everywhere. Nothing looked the same and many people couldn’t even figure out where they were on a trail they have ridden for years.
But off to work everyone went. You just had to start somewhere. As the hours went by a trail started to become apparent, lines where reworked and enhanced and by lunch we had a clear path that could be followed from one end to the other. After pizza lunch (and some super yummy treats by Sarah C, yum!) the “Gerty-ing” started followed by heaps of raking and shaping of the trail. Log overs where built, rock-stump rides appeared, berms were being tamped in and many other really cool, unique trail creations were evolving. People were spread out over the entire section all focusing on creating their own little section of trail adding in their signatures everywhere. By 4:30 we started wrapping things up and then did a group walk from one end to the other. Most people had no idea what was happening at the other end of the trail all day. As we all walked the trail it was amazing how everyone working on individual sections managed to create a very homogeneous trail from one end to the other. Everyone was impressed by each other’s work. The new trail was not just a “clean up” so it has changed…it is not the same as the “old trail”. It can’t be as the entire section of Forest has changed. So we have had to change with it.
The logging went on for a few weeks and with every passing day more and more of the trail was no longer there. Then the last day finished of the east-west section completely. It was literally not there. A lot of us watched this happen day by day. Then the group got together…Cyclists, local residents that hike the trails, Equestrians, parents with sons & daughters. The trail was recreated and reinstated, ready to ride…one day. Done. Awesome.
We rode it today (Sunday) and it did not disappoint. It seemed like a lot longer section when riding it and it made you realize how much work had been done in one day. It has already seen a lot of traffic and it’s going to pack in very nicely, just in time for winter. Then next spring we will be reminded about all the hard work that was put into it.
Thank you to everyone that came out to help, and to the County for allowing us to enjoy this Forest. What an awesome day.
Quick numbers…
34 people x 7 hours = 238 hours (that equals 6 solid 40 hour weeks of work by one person)
15 large pizzas, dozens of Sarah C’s chocolate chip cookies & bars
4 “Gertys”
Over a dozen rakes & shovels, 2 chainsaw operators, 6 tampers, a pile of orange flags.
All equals the new Ken’s/Steve’s section. The workers all hope you enjoy it.