Nass - 10/4/09

[bvibert]

Went for a solo ride out of Stone this morning. The plan was to get there around 7:30, but laziness set in this morning and I didn't get to the trail head until around 8am. I got rolling around 8:15, not really sure what to expect after all the rain we got yesterday. What I hoped for was that the dry trails soaked up all the water enough to not leave any mud, and that's exactly what I found. All but the wettest of spots were nothing more than tacky, there were even a few spots that I thought might be a problem that ended up being perfectly fine. The only issues were the wet leaves and rocks which caused a couple hairy moments, but weren't too bad.

I ended up riding most of stone east, except for the lowest part of the dentist twisties and the hobo cave drop trail. Once done in there I took the blue trail down to stone, crossed over towards the kitchen and headed up to the by-pass, down the by-pass and over to the fat kid climb, then back to stone via the blue trail back to the upper part of the by-pass, left on stone for a short distance to the first little trail that comes out there and connects to the top of the stunt trail, then down that back to the car.

Ended up doing about 7.5 miles in just under 2 hours, not a blistering pace, but I didn't stop too much either. I toyed with the idea of head across towards cornwall and then over to the soccer fields, but I decided to keep the ride closer to 2 hours since I had some obligations at home.

It was a nice ride, very wet through most of it, there was some fog and it was very humid. It was just starting to clear when I finished, oh well.

 

[powhunter]

Nice!!!!

steveo

 

[WoodCore]

Nice job Bvibert! Sounds like we had some serious rain in CT this weekend regardless, great to hear things are still rolling O.K. Did you see anyone else out riding?

 

[Greg]

Nice job getting after it despite the solo-ness. Tough to get motivated without riding partners. We need WoodCore to stay in CT from now on. I bet he would have joined us both on our rides...!

 

[bvibert]

I do have trouble getting motivated to ride when I'm solo sometimes, yesterday was one of those times. I almost called it off, I was going to blame the weather, but I mostly wanted to crawl back into bed.

Apparently my reduced riding schedule the last few weeks is catching up to me, my legs are beat today!

 

[rueler]

You guys probably would have seen a bunch of us out there for the Tour de Nassty...but, we canceled it for a couple reasons...we felt that there was too much rain on Saturday for all the stuff we were planning to ride...and a few of us were battling sickness too.

 

[bvibert]

Stone was perfectly fine. There were two areas on the East side that were a little wet, but they were areas that are typically wet anyway and I walked them (I didn't go to the lowest section of the dentist twisties). The only part of my ride that was excessively wet was parts of the fire road between the bottom of the by-pass and the fat kid climb (and the very bottom part of the FKC too). The fire road is pretty rocky and sandy so even with the wetness I don't think I had any impact at all.

I started the ride prepared to turn right around and go home if the trails were in rough shape, but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[rueler]

Stone was perfectly fine. There were two areas on the East side that were a little wet, but they were areas that are typically wet anyway and I walked them (I didn't go to the lowest section of the dentist twisties). The only part of my ride that was excessively wet was parts of the fire road between the bottom of the by-pass and the fat kid climb (and the very bottom part of the FKC too). The fire road is pretty rocky and sandy so even with the wetness I don't think I had any impact at all.

I started the ride prepared to turn right around and go home if the trails were in rough shape, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm sure that Stone was good...it usually is...even the hobo does "all right" with the rain. My comment wasn't meant to sound like a trail cop Bri. I apologize if you thought that! I know that you use good judgement. For our own ride, we were just concerned that several sections that we intended to ride were going to be in less than good condition...lower hessian, Tickler's, Kitchen, some of the Scoville stuff...when you're shooting for 40 miles...you don't want to trim any trails off the list if you know what I mean...so, we'll just shoot for another weekend...Hopefully the weather is drier so we can hit everything.

Did you notice any of the hunter interference over on Stone?? A local hunter has been blocking some trails...not too many though...but, the initial double hill climb from the green gate is LITTERED with brush and dead fall...clearly placed there!!! Same dude also blocked the entry trail into the lollipop (it's since been cleared)...we know it's a hunter because there were BRAND new reflective tacks stuck in the trees to light his way out of the woods right next to the scene of the crime...i just wish that these people could share the woods a little better. We can coexist!

 

[bvibert]

I'm sure that Stone was good...it usually is...even the hobo does "all right" with the rain. My comment wasn't meant to sound like a trail cop Bri. I apologize if you thought that! I know that you use good judgement. For our own ride, we were just concerned that several sections that we intended to ride were going to be in less than good condition...lower hessian, Tickler's, Kitchen, some of the Scoville stuff...when you're shooting for 40 miles...you don't want to trim any trails off the list if you know what I mean...so, we'll just shoot for another weekend...Hopefully the weather is drier so we can hit everything.

Did you notice any of the hunter interference over on Stone?? A local hunter has been blocking some trails...not too many though...but, the initial double hill climb from the green gate is LITTERED with brush and dead fall...clearly placed there!!! Same dude also blocked the entry trail into the lollipop (it's since been cleared)...we know it's a hunter because there were BRAND new reflective tacks stuck in the trees to light his way out of the woods right next to the scene of the crime...i just wish that these people could share the woods a little better. We can coexist!

I didn't think you were being critical at all. I saw a lot of criticism over at CF today, so I guess I'm a bit defensive. I wouldn't have wanted to do a 40 miler yesterday. I cut out the soccer fields partially because I wasn't sure how well they handled the rain. I know you guys did a great job of armoring the hobo trail, but I just wasn't feeling it yesterday..

I did notice the poor attempts at trail blocking on the double hill climb trail from the green gate, I was expecting worse after reading about it on CF. It's clearly intentional, but wasn't anything that couldn't easily be ridden around or over. If anything it made that first stretch slightly more interesting. The lollipop trail was clear, though I thought I saw the remnants of some weak blockages in the entrance. Didn't notice any thing else out of the ordinary on the rest of the trails though. It is a bit discouraging that someone would attempt to block the trails like that, hopefully it doesn't turn into a bigger problem.

 

[rueler]

It was probably a good idea to leave the soccer fields stuff alone...alot of the initial stuff would be fine...but when you dip down towards the hatchery ponds and also when you take the bypass trail that avoids the gnarly, rooty downhill...you'd be in some really prone to be "sloppy" areas right by the stream. Since that side isn't ridden a ton, it appears fine around those spots, but increasing traffic on days like Sunday after big rains, won't do much for keeping it that way...I may armor up a couple spots over there so that it's not as much of an issue on those in between days...

on a side note: some of you have asked about pitching in with tm in the past. if you guys were ever thinking of doing any TM, I know a spot that needs it...we all ride it frequently, especially with the recent restructuring of the scoville twisties...The blue trail downhill that goes over the stone wall and dumps you onto E. Chippens...there is a big rock wall there with tons of "material" for armoring...it could use some armoring on the initial approach and the exit area...with the amount of traffic on that trail increasing, it will be getting worse if not attended to...there are clearly ruts that serve as water collectors. I'd be more than willing to do this effort with you or solo...just a suggestion if any of you fellers wanted to give armoring a try.

 

[bvibert]

Good call on the rock wall area, I'm gonna have to see if I can put some time in to work in there.

 

[rueler]

Bri, this armoring effort can be done over the course of a few rides...it doesn't have to be a straight up TM gig. All that it would take is 5-10 minutes over the course of a couple rides with a few guys. Ask Mlegg, armoring goes pretty quickly.

The first step is getting nice flat rocks for the rolling section and bigger ones for outside anchors...As I said, they're ALL right there. What would be helpful is if some of the nice, flat ones are pulled from the rock wall and put on the side of the trail...it makes it easy when it comes time to lay them out...all of the Hobo armoring was done during rides...10-15 minute breaks over the course of 4 rides...and one dedicated 45 minutes during a rain storm. It's good enough now, where we've been only riding Hobo backwards lately because we HATE that jeep climb out of there...not a trail in my book...washed out fire road that belongs at WH rez.

It's not neccesary, but if you guys were to help out, it would go a long way in keeping that trail more sustainable...and it would be appreciated by all who end up riding it.

 

[severine]

Are these historic stone walls you're dismantling for armoring? I thought they were protected?

 

[rueler]

I don't know the exact status of all of the "old farmer walls" that are ALL over the area we know as Nass...I do know that they do not mark active boundaries anymore...i do know that the one I speak of is barely intact as it is...part of it is what all of us have been riding over for years.

Most of the rocks that I would use from that wall are already not on the wall anymore, but on the ground at the base of it. In my opinion, I feel that using the materials (rocks) for something that is being used by several users on a regular basis, like a trail (which is used for hiking and biking) is worthwhile. That wall not only isn't used anymore...but, it's already in disarray in several spots. I wouldn't make it look like an eyesore...you can count on that.

You got me curious!!! Here's a link that I found...appears to be a credible source. Again, I wouldn't plan to do anything drastic...if anything, I'd pretty it up a bit. http://www.stonewall.uconn.edu/PrimerFAQNew.htm

 

[severine]

Wasn't meant to be critical. I truly thought they were protected as parts of history. I know they no longer serve as boundaries but they are disappearing from the landscape. That site you posted was one of the sources I was aware of that was making efforts to protect these walls--I'm just not entirely sure what the status is at this time.
http://www.stonewall.uconn.edu/ConserveIntro.htm

I just wouldn't want to see anyone getting in trouble for something they really shouldn't be doing is all. Taking care of the trails is important, too. I get that.