January 24 Trail Report

From Mike Sugaski:

What an awesome place Salida is. Yesterday I took out my road bike and did a quick spin on the dry highways surrounding Salida. Sunday I went up to Monarch for a morning of 8 inches of fresh power, which was so refreshing considering how dry we have been. And today I did a jog around the Tenderfoot Mtn trail system. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I saw a kayaker surfing the play holes on the Arkansas River. Fishermen were out and about in the 40 degree weather living it up, but I think the Mountain Bike is calling my name for a quick climb up Dead Horse to check out the conditions a little higher toward Pauli Trail.

The trails around Tenderfoot Mtn. are mostly dry, with a few pockets of mud and a little more snow pack and icy stretches. Morning riding is best to avoid the afternoon snow melt and mud. As you get above Tenderfoot Mtn and above the Backbone Trail the snow is sticking around on the north facing aspects. These trails are snow packed and icy, which could be dangerous for less skilled riders on steep exposed slopes. I was able to go a little over a mile on the North Backbone before I ran into a continuous icy trail so I turned around and came back down Li'l Rattler and Frontside trails.

Remember to stay on the trails even when muddy. Don’t create new trails and destroy fragile vegetation. Ride or run the trails in the morning before they begin to thaw. And if the trails get in bad shape, go skiing, fishing or road biking. Just get out there and have fun!

January 13 Trail Report

Mike Sugaski Report:

Today at 12:00noon I rode up the Frontside to Li'l Rattler, to Backbone, to Cottonwood Wash and back via Backbone and Tenderfoot Trails. Overall the trails were in decent shape, still being frozen from the last two nights of 5 degrees and days of 35 degrees. I would say the trails all the way to Sand Dune Trail have about 10% snow/ice cover. After Sand Dune, the snow and ice increase to at least 20 % on the trail. When I was leaving the trails at about 1:00pm the ground was beginning to thaw and become muddy next to the snow-packed trail. Not bad though. The ride gave me a fun 9 miles of riding with some challenging ice sections. As the days and nights begin to warm up the ground will begin to thaw out sooner.

Help keep our trail system in good shape by staying on the trail, and not riding when the trails are thawing out and muddy. Have fun and enjoy the fruit of our labor.

January ShinDig Suspended

Recent trail reconnaissance has verified mud and snow in significant areas on our local trails. Therefore, in order to avoid doing more damage than good, we are canceling the January ShinDig and hoping for better conditions in February. Actually, we're mostly hoping for more snow so the skiing will improve. If you are on the SMT email list, you will receive an email when we are able to revive our ShinDig volunteer activity. If you aren't on the list, you can sign up right now on this website. There will also be monthly status announcements on this blog. Remember to stay off the trails if they're not in good condition so we don't have to use future ShinDigs to repair damage done by knobby tires on muddy ground. Stay tuned and have a good winter.

January 6 Trail Report

Courtesy of Mike Sugaski:

As of January 6, the trail conditions in the Salida area are marginal at best. I ran Frontside, Li'l Rattler, Backbone and down Sand Dune at 12:30pm. South facing aspects were dry, while north facing aspects had snow, ice and mud. It wasn't much fun running in the mud. There had been some bike tracks on the trail, and the trails can be ridden. However, if you decide to ride the trails, do it early and get off them before they thaw out and become muddy, otherwise the trails will get rutted and become a mess. Use caution while riding the trails as they are snow packed and icy.

Stay on the trails whether walking, running or riding. Do not run or ride around pockets of mud or snow as this will cause "braiding" of new trails. If the trails are too muddy to use, find another area to use. This might mean staying on roads, i.e. Ute Trail (CR175).

Happy New Year to everyone.

December ShinDig Cancelled

Due to Rocky Mountain Winter Weather...

The December ShinDig Volunteer Day scheduled for Saturday, December 10, has been cancelled. You are now free to roam about Salida, shopping locally and stimulating our economy. SMT wishes all of you a wonderful holiday season and we thank you for your support in 2011. We wish to thank our supporting angencies for their continued involvement in our mission to create sustainable trails in the Salida area: Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service, Southwest Conservation Corps, City of Salida, Chaffee County, Arrowhead Trails, Upper Arkansas Land Trust, and anyone who has donated time, energy, or money to the cause. We are looking forward to an exciting and productive 2012, with a few new trails in the works and the usual maintenance activity. Happy New Year to you all.

November ShinDig

Saturday, November 12, 9:00am: SMT Trail Work Day.
Some rerouting and possible kiosk relocation need to be performed at the North Backbone Trailhead area on County Road 175. This is a winter weather-permitting work day; if the temperature is too low or there is snow on the ground, the work will be rescheduled. To get to the meeting place go up Ute Trail, CR 175, until the pavement ends and then go 0.3 miles further. Pull off on the right and park in the area where the kiosk currently resides. We will be rerouting the current trail to a new end point further up the road to the north. We will also move the kiosk to the new trailhead if it hasn't already been moved. Come prepared to stay warm, and also bring your water, work gloves, and sturdy boots. Tools will be provided. At 1:00pm, after the trail work, SMT will host a volunteer lunch behind the Salida Cafe.

SHINDIG MEETING PLACE CHANGE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2011 SHINDIG
The meeting place for the ShinDig has been changed. The new meeting place is the top of Poncha Pass. Park anywhere on the paved areas on either side of Hwy 285.

There will be a Forest Service truck at the intersection of CR200 (road to O'Haver Lake) and Hwy 285 with a sign letting people know to proceed to the top of Poncha Pass instead of going to the Shirley Site.

Weather may be a factor on Saturday morning. Bring appropriate clothing for mild rain or snow. For heavy rain or snow, the event will be cancelled. Feel free to contact Larry, cell 505-280-4831, on Saturday morning to check on the event status.

October ShinDig

Saturday, October 8, 2011, 9:00am: ShinDig Volunteer Day.
The ShinDig for October will be another collaborative effort with the US Forest Service. We will be working on problem areas of the Silver Creek trail, one of the connectors that descends from the Rainbow Trail. We will be meeting Forest Service personnel at the Shirley Site, a parking area on the dirt road that goes to O'Haver Lake. Drive south on Hwy 285 out of Poncha Springs, going up Poncha Pass, and take the right turn to O'Haver Lake. The Shirley Site is approximately 1.5 miles down the road, on the left where you would turn right to go to the lake. We can park in the Shirley Site lot, and Forest Service personnel will ferry us up to the work site on Silver Creek. Since more travel than usual is involved, the volunteer lunch after work will be moved back to 2:00pm behind the Salida Cafe and Roastery. As usual, come prepared with water, gloves, long pants and sturdy boots. You might want to bring a snack if you get hungry before 2. Tools will be provided.

SMT OFFERS SERVICES

SMT Trail Building/Maintenance Services Offered

SMT sponsors an organized volunteer trail building/maintenance day on the second Saturday of each month. We also organize informal trail work sessions most other Saturdays, typically within our membership ranks. However, we realize that there are people who would like to participate in the local trail initiative, but are never available on Saturday. To help remedy that situation, SMT is now offering our services on days other than Saturday. If an SMT crew leader is available for a given date, we will arrange to accompany interested parties for up to 4 hours of trail work. SMT will help choose a site, the crew leader will be qualified to offer state-of-the-art IMBA trail building/maintenance instruction, and we will also provide tools. Contact SMT thru this website for more information or to request a trail work date.

If you would like to study the latest trail building/maintenance guidelines on your own time, SMT has given the Salida Library copies of Trail Solutions: IMBA’s Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack, in paper and DVD format. These are the guidelines SMT personnel use to design and build our sweet Salida singletrack. Check with the Salida Library to borrow either paper or DVD; the DVD contains a more limited overview of the basic concepts. You can also contact Larry Kovacic, 719-539-5372, if you can’t get the publications from the Library.

USFS WORK DAY SEPT. 24

NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region Pike & San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands Salida Ranger District 325 West Rainbow Blvd. Salida, CO 81201 http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/psicc/sal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Ben Lara or Brett Beasley 719-539-3591

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CHAFFEE COUNTY
NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY PROJECT

SALIDA, Colo., September 14, 2010 – The U.S. Forest Service, San Isabel National Forest - Salida Ranger District, Leadville Ranger District and the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office will celebrate National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 24, 2011, with a Boreal Toad habitat improvement project on the Fourmile Trail within the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness.

The Fourmile Trail is located in the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness Area north of the town of Buena Vista). This project will involve re-routing a section of trail that is currently going through sensitive boreal toad habitat. Volunteers should plan on meeting at 8:30am at a parking area approximately 1 mile south of the Fourmile trailhead located at the end of Forest Service Road 375. Volunteers should come prepared for about a 20 min hike and bring drinking water, hiking boots, work gloves and long pants and shirt. Tools and lunch will be provided.

Boreal toads were once considered common in the southern Rocky Mountains, but their populations have declined drastically over the past 20 years. By 1989, boreal toads were found to be absent from 83% of historic breeding locations in Colorado and that trend continues. This species is listed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) as “endangered”. With 18 known breeding areas, Chaffee County is one of the few remaining strongholds for boreal toads in Colorado.

National Public Lands Day began in 1994 with three federal agencies and 700 volunteers. Last year over 120,000 volunteers worked at over 1,800 locations throughout the United States. National Public Lands Day helps to educate Americans about environmental and natural resource issues and helps to build partnerships within the local community that lead to improvements in outdoor recreation and public involvement in public lands management.

Interested volunteers may contact Ben Lara or Brett Beasley at 719-539-3591.