New trail map and directional signage going up this morning. A few quick notes:
- Now that Primary Goods is, for the most part, a loop, we are going to run Primary Goods and Bimini directionally.
- A small segment of Bimini is not quite complete, but will be soon.
- We are waiting on State Parks to clear some downed trees from the old road beds before we sign them and offer them as hiking-primary trails. I think Ridge Trail South is the only one with truly bad damage. Hopefully we can drive a lot of usage this fall and get nice paths worn in all of them (this is already the case with a number of them).
- I know the directionality can be annoying and that, as it stands now, it’s almost a little silly, because so little is not directional. Also, doing laps on Lickety Split on counterclockwise days is going to require people to stop and think. However, the plan from the beginning has been to have a robust long-term plan and act like we going to be successful.
- Here’s where we are going:
- One of the two priorities for additional trails is the completion of the blue xc inner loop. That loop will be comprised of (i) the existing Lonely Hunter trail that climbs up the ridge from the parking area to Lickety Split and (ii) new trail that continues around the ridge in a U shape and descends back down the ridge on the other side of the lake (segments 10 and 11 on the Master Plan). Once this inner blue loop is completed, it will be the only blue xc (i.e., not gravity) trail that is directional.
- None of the additional xc / non-gravity trails depicted in the Master Plan will be directional.
- With additional parking scheduled to be completed by this fall, we are going to shift a lot of time and emphasis from fundraising and construction to driving utilization. In other words, we want to get enough users out there on a consistent basis that the directionality is required for everyone to have an optimal experience.
- A guiding principle in the project has been to hire experts and listen to them. As far as trail layout and construction, there is very little flexibility on this principle. Management, however, is different. If we get down the road a year or two and, for example, everyone seems to think running Bimini directionally is unnecessary, it will take about 30 minutes to pull the directional signage and cost $100 to print a new kiosk map. In other words, when it comes to trail management, we’ll start with the plan but then watch, listen, and adapt as we go.
- To run laps on Lickety Split on counterclockwise days, the best option is climb up Ridge Trail South and take a left on Main Stage.
IF YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE ALL CONFUSED ABOUT SOMETHING, CHANCES ARE WE DIDN’T DO A JOB COMMUNICATING AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE TOO. PLEASE LET ME KNOW OR MESSAGE THE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS.
Really stoked most of the rain missed us and we should have really good conditions this weekend!
