Trim a Trail Month/Saturday Ride
Volunteer Pruners Needed: STBVF needs fifteen volunteer pruners to get out there and do some trimming of the vegetation that has been creeping into the trail corridors in the Buena this spring. Last year Jacque Hamilton set up a spread sheet last year where everyone can sign up to take responsibility for a specific trail of their choosing. I checked and that document is still working, so I've modified it for use again this year! If you are interested in giving back to the trail system you can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xDz9GQGRyn7FL_cX7ofnQKgK-iueLvBN3UN7FM6kfQI/edit#gid=0 You can sign up to do this as an individual or sign up as a team. The only equipment you need is a good set of pruners and perhaps a handsaw. Doesn't matter when you do it, but we'd like to get this task accomplished over the next month. And yes, we are still going to care for the trails in the land exchange area even though that was finalized last September. The trails are still being used and until we can't use it we might as well take care of it.
As far as trimming guidelines go, a few things to keep in mind:
Be Aggressive. But Not Too Aggressive: We want to keep the trail corridors tight as as to discourage motorcycles/ATV's from using non-motorized trails. So trim off what you need to to keep the trail in a good shape for a couple of years and that will be fine.
Sight Lines: Be mindful of sight lines on the trails. The the real danger in this regard is not bike vs. hiker or bike vs. horse. Imagine two bikes moving at brisk speeds on your trail approaching one another. Can the riders see each other coming around corners in your trail and have sufficient time to avoid a collision? If the answer is no, think about thinning out some of those oak thickets or juniper branches that are blocking the sight line. Select what you want to take out by leaving the healthiest looking stems but cutting out the "suckers" that clearly don't have a real future. We want to encourage healthy trees that grow up, but not out into the trail.
Kick Some Rocks: And hey, if you are there anyway I'm guessing nobody is going to complain if you kick out loose rocks in the trail. You don't need to dig anything out and are better off not to do so, but the loose ones are dangers to cyclists, hikers, trail runners and horses.
Thanks to Jacque Hamilton for setting up the Google document for us to use!
Saturday Morning Group Ride: Thanks to everyone that came out for the road trip to Los Burros last weekend! A legendary trail with some legendary riders on it for sure!
This week, we move back to the home trails . . . the Buena Vista Secret Trails! Meet at 7:00 a.m. and be ready to ride! We depart from the Buena Vista trailhead (south of Show Low on Highway 60, Trail No. 637) for a 12-15 mile ride. Intermediate MTB skills are recommended. As always, this is a social paced ride and should take around two or two and half hours. We never leave anyone stranded in the woods so feel free to come join us! We should be back at the parking lot by around 9:30. It's starting to get hot folks so bring some extra hydration!
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