NO WORK SESSION THIS WEDNESDAY - NEXT WORK SESSION IN TWO WEEKS - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 Sun Summit South owner Chip Deffe’ working with a few friends on the construction of a trail in Croy Canyon - Wednesday evening, 8 13 08.
Volunteers with Sun Summit South and Big Wood Backcountry Trails made progress on trail construction in Croy Canyon last Wednesday. The volunteers are working with the BLM to build 2.5 miles of authorized trails this summer and fall. The trails under construction are part of an 18-mile long system called the Rotarun Trail Network.
Megan Stevenson and Adrienne Leugers were hard at work.
The volunteers included: Chris Leman, Travis Zerba, Ethan Zerba, Megan Stevenson, Adrienne Leugers, Nate Scales, John Sproule, Hank Dart, Sean Flynn, Mike Stevens, John McGrew, Steve Thompson, and Chip Deffe’. The BLM’s John Kurtz and Mike Setlock rounded out the work session participants.
Nate Scales and Mike Stevens building trail through a short section of scree.
John Sproule hasn’t missed a session!
Travis and Ethan Zerba at work on the trail.
We will not be working on the trail this Wednesday night, but we will work on the trail the following Wednesday, August 27th. Smith Optics is rallying volunteers for the event on the 27th, so come out and help make it a really successful evening. If you can attend, please Email me (Chris Leman - goodtrails@gmail.com) - I’d like to get a head count to make sure enough tools are provided.
We will meet at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 27, at the end of Rodeo Drive for the two-hour long work event. (Rodeo Drive is the road that accesses the Rotarun Ski Hill.) Wear sturdy footwear, long pants, long sleeved shirts, and eye protection. Bring water and work gloves. Please leave dogs at home.
A barbecue is being planned for all of the RTN construction participants. This celebration for the volunteers and their families will take place on Saturday, October 4th. Details to be announced.
Hank Dart, Todd Byle, and John Kurtz at work on the Rotarun Trail Network last Wednesday night.
Area businesses and the trail advocacy group Big Wood Backcountry Trails are working together to bring more volunteers to the effort to build mid-valley trails. BWBT is inviting local businesses to get more involved in the hands-on construction of the BLM’s Rotarun Trail Network (RTN).
The RTN is a new system of trails being put in west of Hailey on BLM land and private property in Croy Canyon. The network of dirt trails will be 18 miles long when completed. Three miles of the system will be on existing dirt roads between Democrat Gulch and the unnamed drainage to the west of Bullion Gulch. The remaining 15 miles of trails will be single-track dirt trails. The trails built to the west of Rotarun will be for both motorized and non-motorized use - the trails to the east of Rotarun will be non-motorized.
The Hailey bike shop Sun Summit South is stepping up to help with the construction this Wednesday evening. Chip Deffe’, owner of the shop, has been a longtime advocate for more mid-valley dirt trails. Chip, his employees, and his patrons have often given their time and talents to working on trail projects up and down the valley. Now the people associated with Sun Summit South are pitching in with help on the 2.5 miles of RTN trails that will be hand-built.
Sturtevants and Smith Optics have also expressed an interest in getting involved in bringing volunteers to the construction of the Rotarun Trail Network. Please get in touch with BWBT Director Chris Leman if your business or group would like to pitch in with the volunteer trail building efforts. He can be reached at (208) 721-1691 or goodtrails@gmail.com.
Volunteers are being asked to meet at the end of Rodeo Drive (the road that accesses the Rotarun Ski Hill) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night, August 13, for a two-hour trail construction work session. Wear sturdy footwear, long pants, long sleeved shirts, and eye protection. Bring water and work gloves. Please leave dogs at home. Volunteers should call or email BWBT’s Chris Leman (208/721-1691, goodtrails@gmail.com) so that he can get a pre-event head count - so that ample tools can be provided for.
A barbecue is being planned for all of the RTN construction participants. This celebration for the volunteers and their families will take place on Saturday, October 4th.
Hans Heaphy, Pete Heaphy, and Dan Henry working on a section of the BLM’s Rotarun Trail network.
For those of you that hike out Greenhorn you might be interested to know that this morning (Sunday, Aug 10) at about 7:45 my dog and I came very close to a badger about 5 feet off the trail. I noticed my German Short Hair staring at something in the tall grass, then I heard the hissing growl. I saw the badger face to face with my dog and luckily she came when I called her. My husband also saw one a few days before.
(Leman again) - I asked for a bit more detail on the location of the sightings and got this reply:
I was on the trail going up to the right of the parking lot on the Greenhorn/Mahoney/Cow Creek trail and met with the badger about 2/3 of the way up before dropping down to the first water crossing (dry now). I saw some very fresh scat before the encounter that looked almost like bear droppings…very dark with berries of some sort in it, but much too small to be bear. I saw another not so fresh scat that looked the same right after the little bridge. I don’t know if badgers eat berries but it was fresh that morning. My husband saw his badger on the road about 150 yards east of the parking lot. There are a number of large burrows out there which I suspect are badger setts.
SHEEP GUARD DOGS - CORRAL CREEK
We got the following comment from Dave Chase posted on our blog as posted on Sun Valley Online:
Awesome work guys and hats off to the businesses — Sturtevants, Sun Summit South & Smith Optics.
Just thought I’d give a little trail update. I was out for a lunch spin out Corral Creek. At the point in the trail roughly at the junction of Trail Creek Road and Corral Creek Road is a band of sheep. I saw a few Great Pyrenees go after a couple of runners with no sign of sheep in the area. Upon further observation, I saw them up in the trees. I’d steer clear of Corral Creek for now. Great guard dogs but it would have been scary to have been those runners.
(Leman here) - After reading Dave's report I phoned Ranger Kurt Nelson at the Ketchum Ranger Station to alert him to the situation. He said he would put his range/grazing specialists on it directly.
PLEASE SLOW DOWN THROUGH RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS
Getting to some area trailheads may involve a bit of driving. Please consider the safety and peace of the neighborhoods you travel through. Obey speed limits and watch carefully for pedestrians, children, and dogs. The small town of Triumph, out East Fork Road, has been experiencing a lot of speeding drivers. Please take it easy through Triumph and in all of the residential areas you pass through.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CONTINUING TRAIL CONSTRUCTION
From left - Volunteers Randy Ashton, Pete Heaphy, and Nate Galpin work on a new section of trail in Croy Canyon last Wednesday evening, 7 30 08.
Big Wood Backcountry Trails is working in cooperation with the BLM Shoshone Field Office on the construction of an 18-mile long system of trails known as the Rotarun Trail Network. The network will include 15 miles of dirt single-track trails, and 3 miles of existing roads. Volunteers using hand tools will build two and one-half miles of the network, and the other 12.5 miles of trails will be machine-built by a contractor.
Volunteers are needed for the project, which will be an ongoing effort through the summer. Wednesday nights will see volunteers working on the construction project from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - meet at the end of Rodeo Drive (the road that accesses the Rotarun Ski Area). Bring work gloves, eye protection, and water. Everyone should wear sturdy shoes or boots - long sleeved shirts and long pants are highly recommended. No dogs please.
Last Wednesday’s effort involved twelve volunteers including Paul Gerew, Trent Gerew, Mike Stevens, Pete Heaphy, Chris Gardener, John Sproule, Randy Ashton, Alex Floyd, Nate Galpin, Brandon Glanville, Dan Henry, and Chris Leman. BLM Recreation Planner John Kurtz and Recreation Specialist Mike Setlock were also hard at work.
Please come out and lend a hand. Volunteers are encouraged to get in touch with BWBT Director Chris Leman if they would like to help - to help insure that the group provides enough tools and post event refreshments for all of the participants. You can leave word with him by dropping a comment in the space provided below, email him at goodtrails@gmail.com, or phone Leman at 721-1691.
A barbecue and raffle are being planned as a way of thanking all the volunteers for their efforts on this project. The celebration is tentatively scheduled to take place in early October - about the time when the hand-built segment of trail is expected to be completed.
A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE HARD ON TRAILS
Some behavior is particularly hard on trails. Here are a couple of examples:
CUTTING SWITCHBACKS
Cutting switchbacks is hard on trails because it tramples soil-holding vegetation and dislodges consolidated hillside-holding soil.
Repeated shortcutting of turns can lead to the failure of a trail.
Making a repair on a trail that has been damaged by shortcutting can be difficult and costly. Sometimes the trail needs to be closed and rerouted.
SKIDDING
Locking up your brakes and skidding your tires is hard on trails because it speeds up erosion and causes maintenance headaches. Skidding through turns breaks down consolidated soils and creates ruts that often get deeper and more difficult to negotiate over time.
The best recreational riders don’t skid through corners; they slow down in advance of turns and then feather their brakes as they deftly roll through the bend.
Locking brakes on the approach to corners often results in the creation of stutter bumps or “wash boarded” conditions, which make riding the trails less enjoyable.
BWBT MEETING THIS THURSDAY
BWBT meets the first Thursday of each month. We typically alternate our meeting locations between the Community Campus in Hailey and the American Legion Hall in Ketchum. We are meeting in room 211 of the Community Campus this Thursday, August 5, 2008, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please come and add your thoughts to our discussions about the trails, or simply come and listen in if you prefer. Hope to see you there.
SIGNS AND FLAGGING MISSING
Some area trail signs have been going missing lately. The sign at the intersection of Adams Gulch Loop Trail 142 c and Trail 142 warning of a long descent, asking mountain bikers to avoid skidding, and to watch for hikers, has been removed.
The sign at the south end of the Fox Creek Loop telling people that the Fox Creek Loop Trail is a one-way trail for mountain bikers was removed (it has since been replaced.) Please leave all signs in place and help everyone stay informed as to our area rules and requests for cooperation.
Colored surveyors tape or “flagging” is used by the Forest Service and BWBT to mark area trails for maintenance to be performed by Forest Service crews and volunteers. Some maintenance instructions will need to be remarked because someone has removed some of the flagging (notes to workers) that was previously put in place. Please help us facilitate scheduled maintenance by leaving all flagging in place.
TRAILWEB.NET TREASURE HUNT
Sam Young, creator of the trail map resource TrailWeb.net, is offering a fun way to familiarize yourself with his online map resources while enjoying our local trails.
During the first three weeks of August recreational trail users will have the chance to win prizes by just enjoying the great outdoors!
The rules are simple. Each week a bag containing a prize code will be hidden just off one of the trails in the Wood River Valley. The location of the bag will be found on the local website, www.TrailWeb.net. Once on the website, go to the “Popular Areas” section of the site to find the location of the bag.
Here is a link to an article about the Trailweb.net Treasure Hunt: Trailweb.net Treasure Hunt.
