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Trail Conditions for Calgarians

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Trail Conditions for Calgarians
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flag xcolin
Posted: Oct 10, 2007 at 13:58 Quote
Sulphur/Packers! - Wednesday, October 10

Sulphur Springs and Packers were in nice shape with a couple muddy sections, but not too many. Lots of fun. There were some icy and snowy sections up before the turn off to packers. Tom Snow was a mud bath if you go through the wet sections, which I noticed most folks do which is cool.

The road up is in the middle of being graded, which will probably be finished by today. I'm sure you can still drive up; just watch out for the big plow on the way up.

I also walked the first bit of Special K yesterday with the wife; wow has that trail changed in the few years since I saw it last. There is no mud or snow for the bit that we checked out (probably only 1 km or so)
flag aka-bigsteve
O+
Posted: Oct 11, 2007 at 4:23 Quote
So...
I go on holidays for a couple of weeks, and look what happens!
A new Pinkbike, and, it seems as if someones taken MY username.
At least, the friggin' machine won't let me use it, "already taken",it says.
No biking to report, it was 2 weeks of hiking in the Utah-Arizona desert with the wife. Good times though.
Got in a ride yesterday in Bowmont-12 mile, it felt great to be back on the bike.
Not much time afterwork for K-Country rides these daysCry
flag xcolin
Posted: Oct 11, 2007 at 8:02 Quote
i lost my password for a year and couldn't retrieve it for some reason, so i had to annoy people with my lame posts on mtbr. but with the new site i just typed in my email into the lost password thing - now i have my username back and coming up with plenty of worthless posts to make up for lost time. try it, it might work for you - as long as your bigsteve moniker is hooked up to an email you can still access, it's worth a shot.
flag pbuser16709
Posted: Oct 11, 2007 at 13:36 Quote
No, there's some other bigsteve from Australia. This was one of the problems we anticipated with the changeover; sorry about that.

If admins ever get the ability to modify usernames, as we had before, I could change you to something like big-steve or big_steve if they're free or I could try to talk the new bigsteve into a swap. I may not get that ability again, though, since the new software is very different.

Oh, hey, we just got a new function. I can "force namechange", meaning you have to choose a new name at your next login. You can check what's available by typing http://xxxx.pinkbike.com/ into your address bar, where "xxxx" represents a username you'd like.
flag xcolin
Posted: Oct 11, 2007 at 19:47 Quote
Moraine Lake, Thursday, October 11

This was the first time I've done this trail, and it was awesome. What a great techy xc ride. Snow patches for a 100m or so; the rest was in great condition. My pics don't do it justice.

photo

others here:

http://xcolin.pinkbike.com/album/riding/
flag aka-bigsteve
O+
Posted: Oct 11, 2007 at 21:34 Quote
Not too worried about the username, rmr. Sooner or later I'll think of something new.
flag vonrock
Posted: Oct 12, 2007 at 22:55 Quote
Jumpingpound Summit Friday, Oct 12

Parked at Powderface and Canyon Creek. Rode the powderface road to Summit Trail, up to the Jumpingpound Summit, and then back down south on the JP ridge to Canyon Creek.

Excellent conditions for this time of year. Just a few small patches of inconsequential snow and a couple of wet spots. Don't forget gear, as it got a bit chilly up top, even with the perfect still autumn evening that we had. And don't forget to start early enough so you don't get caught in the dark!

Unedited 30 second video of the summit
https://www.pinkbike.com/video/1429/
flag xcolin
Posted: Oct 13, 2007 at 7:06 Quote
wicked dog. thanks for the trip report; that's the one i was waiting for!
flag gmorris
Posted: Oct 14, 2007 at 13:43 Quote
What happened to Powderface short loop! Just rode it this morning and that trail is ruined. They took a track hoe down it and completely destroyed it to the point that it isn't even worth riding anymore. They pretty much made it all the way to the last gate after all the low lying stuff so only the end is good now but the machine is still sitting there so it won't be long until they finish it off. It is now about 10 feet wide and perfectly smooth...not to mention muddy and greasy from all the fresh dirt. It's a complete disgrace. There are no roots or anything to hit or double off of and the trail now has zero flow. Today will be the last time I ride it unfortunately. Everyone we talked to on the trail was completely disgusted.
flag eloso
O+
Posted: Oct 14, 2007 at 20:04 Quote
Goat Creek - Sunday, Oct 14

Rode Goat Creek today. Not exactly a technical trail, but it was nice and quiet with the cooler temperatures. A little muddy on the Canmore end of the trail, but dry and super fast towards Banff.

I hadn't done this one before, someone should have warned me about civilization shock when you get dumped in the middle of the Banff Springs Hotel parking lot... Oh well, we just spun around and headed back.
flag vonrock
Posted: Oct 15, 2007 at 9:44 Quote
gmorris wrote:
Everyone we talked to on the trail was completely disgusted.

They are bringing in the paving crew next year to supplement and enhance this make work project. As they destroyed and rerouted parts of my beloved Elbow Valley Trail last year, it almost brought me to tears. I just had to let it go. There seems to be absolutely no reason for them to destroy perfectly good walking and biking paths like that. Unless it's because they received a bigger budget and have to spend it so it doesn't get taken away next year?

It doesn't really matter though, as they will be logging most of it anyways. Go here http://www.braggcreek.ca/forest/index.htm and get some info.

My pessimism tells me that not enough public support will be available to turn these plans around, and we will loose something that can't be replaced. Only then, armed with my before and after pictures (once it's CLEARCUT) of this beautiful wilderness recreation area right next to the largest voting center in the province will I extract my revenge on the politicians that we elect to look after this type of thing for us.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled trail reports.....
flag aka-bigsteve
O+
Posted: Oct 16, 2007 at 4:36 Quote
Pisses me off too, how trail "maintenance" has become using a trackhoe to clear out a swath like that.
This came up on the old forum, in the spring, and I did contact K-Countrys trail guy, at the time he told me that this kind of destruction was not the way they usually worked!
Shoot him an e-mail:
Don(dot)Cockerton(at)gov(dot)ab(dot)ca
Can't find his phone number right now, I'll try and get it.
Been stuck riding in Cagary the last week, luckily we in the NW have some decent options for that.
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://members.shaw.ca/riggsteve/images2/oct-13.jpgSpeaking of paved bike paths, was riding up on Nose Hill for the first time in ages, Monday evening. Quite the mini highway system thats being built up there.
Bad news though for those who like the unpaved. As I recall, one of city councils stipulations in the management plan, for closing down the dirt paths, was the construction of a perimeter pathway firstMadder
flag eloso
O+
Posted: Oct 16, 2007 at 8:30 Quote
Agreed, trackhoe trail maintenance is ruining perfectly good trails.

But let me share a few things... The Elbow Valley maintenance region has one permanent employee and one seasonal employee. They do the best they can, using only quads to get out to more remote locations. The maintenance itself is done with shovels, rakes, pulaskis and the occasional chainsaw.

These two fellas also work with the Friends of Kananaskis, who bring in volunteers to help with maintenance. These volunteer outings are done on foot with only shovels, pulaskis and tree clippers. Most are seniors who are hikers (many thanks for their hard work), and only 3 of us are riders who can provide input as to the flow and grade of the trail from a riding perspective.

Given the hundreds of kilometers of trails in the Elbow Valley alone, two guys and a few volunteers aren't going to cut it. Contractors get hired, and not having an appreciation of the wilderness, bring in the big equipment so they don't have to break a sweat. Its no excuse for destroying the trails - the contractors should be kept on a tight leash.

But until funding goes where it should (read: to people who care), if we get enough volunteers maintaining the trails, we just might be able to avoid (or at least delay) some of the damage. I'd like to see a few more mountain bikers get together with Friends of K-Country and take charge of maintenance for the trails we love. If we can build trails like RoS from scratch, I'm sure we can handle a bit of maintenance on existing trails.

(no, I'm not paid by the government or a contractor, but I do volunteer with Friends of K-Country)
flag xcolin
Posted: Oct 16, 2007 at 13:29 Quote
eloso,

I think more people would help out if they could figure out how to get in touch with the people who do the maintenance. i've emailed the Friends of Kananaskis a few times over the years wishing to get on the volunteer list. The latest time around a woman by the name of Kathy Wilcox said she would keep me updated on the volunteer activities this year, and have yet to hear anything.

I have taken upon myself to stash a bunch of tools on a trail earlier this week and am doing stuff myself regardless if I am actually allowed to. I would love to work with other mtb bikers in trail maintenance. If you have the power, can you add (borninpinawa at hotmail dot com, name = colin) to the list please. Thanks!

oh yeah, here is a trail report...

Baldy Pass - October 16, 2007

It truly is a boring ride up, and never gets any better. great conditions. the way down had a couple snow patches, but barely. No real mud to speak of. Roots are pretty slippery. I suggest everybody get out there and get in all the riding they can - it is awesome out there. I'll give it a Big Grin for not being chained to my cubicle this week, and a Redface for riding half way down the off-camber stuff with my pike still wound down to 95mm.

Here is an attempt at a timed shot. I have nothing on bigsteve: my timing blows.

photo
flag eloso
O+
Posted: Oct 16, 2007 at 19:50 Quote
Hey xcolin,

I unfortunately can't claim to have any magical powers when it comes to the volunteer list. Their website lists [ trails (at) kananaskis (dot) org ] as the volunteer email. I emailed [ friends (at) kananaskis (dot) org ] previously.

Your best bet is probably to shoot them a note in Feb/Mar 2008 when they start getting the new season organized. Their volunteer info is here: http://www.kananaskis.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=89

Cheers!

P.S. Somehow I doubt the two fellas working the entire Elbow Valley are going to complain if someone lends a hand... Wink

 


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