Over the winter I have been busy making connections with agency staff to try and develop some projects for Trailcology. I am happy to say that all of the meetings have gone very well and Trailcology is in a great position to help with a wide variety of trail and trail-related projects.
The earliest projects may be this spring in conjunction with Larimer County. Keep an eye out for more information on Facebook and this blog as Spring draws near.
Additionally, I have begun the process of finding an Intern to help me with some tasks that have been receiving less of my attention than is deserved. I'm looking forward to the possibility of having a right-hand person to help make sure that Trailcology volunteers have the best experience possible while out on a project or at a Trailcology event.
Good things are coming and I can't wait to hit the ground this Spring!
Cheers,
Chris
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A New Year for Overland Mountain Bike Club's Trails Committee
Last night was the first meeting of the Trails Committee for 2013. The Committee has a new leader, Todd Thibodeau, who is off to a great start with a very well-structured and organized first meeting. For those of you who don't know who Todd is, he is the man behind the Curt Gowdy and Glendo trail systems in Wyoming. Todd is very in tune with the needs of multiple users and has been very successful with his trail planning and overall vision for trails in the greater Northern Colorado and Cheyenne region. I firmly believe that Todd will help lead the Committee, and Overland, towards successfully completing the Trail Vision Plan and making sure that it is well rounded for all users.
Some early results have come in from the survey and an overwhelming amount of users were interested in better trail connectivity, more trails, and more technical trail options. I would expect these to, at least in part, determine the focus of the Vision Plan.
The one thing that will make the Vision Plan stronger, more acceptable to agencies, and better for all users, is for as many people to fill out the survey as possible! SO, if have not yet filled out the survey please do so, and share the link with as many people as you can!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
I'm looking forward to continuing the representation of all trail users during this process. I realize that no one elected me to this position but I firmly believe in shared-use trails and as a person who uses trails in every manner possible, I feel confident that I can adequately represent everyone's needs.
If you want to make sure that your voice is heard, fill out the survey and contact me with any comments or concerns that you have. I am more than willing to talk through any concerns that people may have to make sure that we get this Vision Plan right.
Happy Trails!
Chris
Trailcology@gmail.com
Some early results have come in from the survey and an overwhelming amount of users were interested in better trail connectivity, more trails, and more technical trail options. I would expect these to, at least in part, determine the focus of the Vision Plan.
The one thing that will make the Vision Plan stronger, more acceptable to agencies, and better for all users, is for as many people to fill out the survey as possible! SO, if have not yet filled out the survey please do so, and share the link with as many people as you can!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
I'm looking forward to continuing the representation of all trail users during this process. I realize that no one elected me to this position but I firmly believe in shared-use trails and as a person who uses trails in every manner possible, I feel confident that I can adequately represent everyone's needs.
If you want to make sure that your voice is heard, fill out the survey and contact me with any comments or concerns that you have. I am more than willing to talk through any concerns that people may have to make sure that we get this Vision Plan right.
Happy Trails!
Chris
Trailcology@gmail.com
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A Warm Welcome to December and Some Pleasant Time on the Trails
The first weekend of December brought warm weather and great conditions for late season trail use!
On Saturday morning I decided to take the kids to Pineridge Natural Area to hike around Dixon Reservoir. When we arrived at 9 am the trails were very busy with casual hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and quite a few other families, like mine, that got out for a family romp on the local trails. It was great to see so many people out on such a great morning. This trip was a special one for me because it was our daughter's first try at hiking by herself. Granted, we didn't do a whole lot of "hiking" but she was very adamant about walking down a steep bit of trail from the parking lot to the reservoir. As it turns out, the trail we were on was also great for the butt-scooch method of descending, I swear she thought it was a slide! After we made it down that small bit of trail we stopped to throw rocks into the water - a favorite past-time of mine as well. I was able to garner enough support from the troops to walk along the water's edge and I took the opportunity to teach our son about some of the plants and talk about the animals we saw. It's really quite amazing how quickly kids can pick up on things, the rest of the morning our son kept pointing out grasses! After finding some mud, an area filled with spiders, and watching prairie dogs we made our way to a bench and watched some ducks swimming and diving. It was really a fantastic morning on the trails at Pineridge and everyone that we encountered was very friendly and responded kindly to our kids as they said hello to everyone we passed.
Late on Sunday morning I took advantage of the nice weather again. This time, however, I decided to take a casual mountain bike ride. I didn't get much sleep the night before because I have been trying to finish Trailcology's federal 1023 form to receive 501(c)3 status, so this was a perfect reason to take it easy, enjoy the trails, and talk to some friendly people.
Starting off in Pineridge, I calmly and quietly rolled along the Timber trail (one of my favorite town trails) and absorbed the morning and the setting around me. I enjoyed stopping to look upslope for any wildlife that may be hanging around and to observe the changes in the vegetation from the South end of the trail to the North. The current management plan for the Natural Areas program has a focus on conservation, which I think is fantastic. However, everytime I look upslope from the Timber trail I see opportunity. Opportunity for future trail use that allows trail users to spread out more, reduce some of the wear and tear on the Timber trail, and allow flora- and fauna-minded people easy access to a beautiful bit of land. I understand that wildlife use that section of land and it is an important corridor for many wildlife species but I have also noticed that the wildlife don't seem to be bothered by the human use in that area. One particular example of this was when many trail users saw an Elk down by Dixon Reservoir several years ago.
On Saturday morning I decided to take the kids to Pineridge Natural Area to hike around Dixon Reservoir. When we arrived at 9 am the trails were very busy with casual hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and quite a few other families, like mine, that got out for a family romp on the local trails. It was great to see so many people out on such a great morning. This trip was a special one for me because it was our daughter's first try at hiking by herself. Granted, we didn't do a whole lot of "hiking" but she was very adamant about walking down a steep bit of trail from the parking lot to the reservoir. As it turns out, the trail we were on was also great for the butt-scooch method of descending, I swear she thought it was a slide! After we made it down that small bit of trail we stopped to throw rocks into the water - a favorite past-time of mine as well. I was able to garner enough support from the troops to walk along the water's edge and I took the opportunity to teach our son about some of the plants and talk about the animals we saw. It's really quite amazing how quickly kids can pick up on things, the rest of the morning our son kept pointing out grasses! After finding some mud, an area filled with spiders, and watching prairie dogs we made our way to a bench and watched some ducks swimming and diving. It was really a fantastic morning on the trails at Pineridge and everyone that we encountered was very friendly and responded kindly to our kids as they said hello to everyone we passed.
Starting off in Pineridge, I calmly and quietly rolled along the Timber trail (one of my favorite town trails) and absorbed the morning and the setting around me. I enjoyed stopping to look upslope for any wildlife that may be hanging around and to observe the changes in the vegetation from the South end of the trail to the North. The current management plan for the Natural Areas program has a focus on conservation, which I think is fantastic. However, everytime I look upslope from the Timber trail I see opportunity. Opportunity for future trail use that allows trail users to spread out more, reduce some of the wear and tear on the Timber trail, and allow flora- and fauna-minded people easy access to a beautiful bit of land. I understand that wildlife use that section of land and it is an important corridor for many wildlife species but I have also noticed that the wildlife don't seem to be bothered by the human use in that area. One particular example of this was when many trail users saw an Elk down by Dixon Reservoir several years ago.
The Elk saw all of us standing around taking pictures and he just continued on with his business like nothing was going on. You may also be interested to know that this picture was taken in August and there is quite a bit of lush green vegetation! I've gotten off subject a bit, let me bring this back around. I can envision a way to potentially satisfy the growing needs of trail users as well as the needs of wildlife in that tract of land. Down the road I hope to have another incredibly amicable conversation with the great people in charge of our Natural Areas program to see if my idea would be feasible.
I finally made my way through Pineridge and I was on to Maxwell Natural Area. There are always a wide variety of people on Maxwell's trails and today was no different. I stopped for many hikers and runners, talking to the families as I let them by or quickly saying hello to the focused runners. Normally I enjoy the challenge of riding up the "A-trail" segment of the Foothills Trail and I push quite hard. Today however, I just enjoyed my ride and casually rolled my way up the trail, stopping to take note of wear and tear that has made certain sections seem rockier than they were earlier in the summer.
Continuing on the Foothills Trail I rode down the newly re-routed "shoreline" segment and eventually down across the final north dam to reconnect with the Foothills Trail at the top of the road climb. This section of the Foothills Trail, between the high point after the dam and where it intersects with trails in Reservoir Ridge Natural Area, is one of my favorite sections. There is very rarely anyone up there, it's beautiful, there is often deer browsing around, and the trail is pretty fun. On this particular day I decided to hop off the bike and hike around a bit in a Ponderosa pine stand. I sat on a rock for a little while, overlooking the North-West end of Fort Collins and soaked it up. What a fantastic resource we have in our town, our trails are exactly what the doctor ordered.
After I adjourned from my brief, but peaceful, respite I connected with the new re-route in Reservoir Ridge. I really enjoy the new re-route, I love how it goes high on the ridge and allows you to look out over the land. For the most part, I think the trail is very well built. There are a few pieces here and there that I believe will start to wash out because of a rock on the backslope side of the trail and nothing along the critical edge to keep the edge from collapsing as mountain bikers avoid riding over the rock. These are simple enough to fix though and can be taken care of with some pretty light rock work.
After I looped around at the North side of Reservoir Ridge, I came back down the re-route and I ran into another mountain biker who I spent some time talking with. As it turns out, his name was Aaron and he had spent the summer working with Fort Collins Natural Areas and he had spent a good bit of time helping to build the new re-route. We talked for quite a while about the trail and a wide variety of other things. He was a really nice guy and I'm glad I had the chance to talk with him. You never know who you're going to meet on the trail!
I continued my casual ride back home and concluded a great weekend of trail use. Our daughter's first hike, teaching the kids about plants and animals, a great bike ride full of fantastic interactions, and an opportunity to experience the trails at a slower pace on my bike made my weekend pretty fantastic. It's always nice to talk to people and hear their opinions about happenings on the trail and I take that information and use it to help me direct my plans with Trailcology. I hope that one of these days I will get to meet everyone on one of Trailcology's projects and get to know you all on a first-name basis. Imagine how fun it will be to run into everyone on the trails then!
See you on the trail!
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Overland Mountain Bike Club's Trail Vision Plan
The Overland Mountain Bike Club is working on a Trail Vision Plan to improve and build upon the trail systems in our region. In order to effectively meet the needs of ALL trail users they have developed a short survey for trail users to fill out.
See their release below:
Take a few minutes and fill out this important survey. Also, please take a minute to share this link with anyone you think would have an opinion about the future of trails in Northern Colorado!
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a message on the Trailcology Facebook page!
Cheers,
Chris
See their release below:
As you may have heard, the Overland Mountain Bike Club Trails Committee is developing a regional Trail Vision Plan. We are working with trail planning and design consultants, Kay-Linn Enterprises, to develop this plan. As a part of the development process, we have created a trail use survey and are asking for your input.
Please take 5-10 minutes out of your day and fill out the survey. You can access the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ The more responses we get, the more encompassing our Vision can be and the more credible we can be with the land Agencies as we present our Vision. Please pass this link on to any friends and family that you know that are trail users of any type (horse, hike, run, bike, etc). Your time and opinions are greatly appreciated. |
Take a few minutes and fill out this important survey. Also, please take a minute to share this link with anyone you think would have an opinion about the future of trails in Northern Colorado!
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a message on the Trailcology Facebook page!
Cheers,
Chris
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
IMBA World Summit: race promoter session
Part of Trailcology's mission is to support and foster trail users and as part of that, I plan on holding events for all trail users. These events are meant to foster trail user skills, develop relationships with their fellow users, provide educational opportunities, and engage users in Trailcology events. These events may range from scavenger hunts all the way up to full-on races. Trailcology will use these events as fundraisers and opportunities to connect with potential volunteers for projects. The IMBA race promoter session was focused on creating well organized and supported events that promote trail advocacy for the good of the trails and trail users.
In attendance were professional racers, race promoters, organization staff, land managers, and individuals (like myself) who are here to learn from the vast amount of experience that is available from these individuals. The purpose of this meeting, from IMBA's perspective, was to create a manual of Best Practices for race promoters to put on the best events that they possibly can while engaging the community and promoting trail advocacy. Even though this session (and conference) were focused on mountain biking, the information and experience that was bright to the table was absolutely phenomenal. For example, the Lifetime Fitness crew, who puts on the Leadville 100 series, was in attendance and they put on all kinds of events!
I'm excited to review the manual of best practices when it is made available to the attendees because it will be full of great information that will only enhance all of the ideas that I already have for great events! Speaking of which, you might be wondering what kind of events I'm talking about, right? Well... Ok, here's a sample of my ideas: themed trail run scavenger hunts, educational family hiking events, community short-track bike races held at the Holiday Twin drive-in (currently in development), and social equestrian events. I have many more ideas too, but I don't want to give away the farm already!
Stay tuned for updates about Trailcology events during 2013!
Cheers
Chris
In attendance were professional racers, race promoters, organization staff, land managers, and individuals (like myself) who are here to learn from the vast amount of experience that is available from these individuals. The purpose of this meeting, from IMBA's perspective, was to create a manual of Best Practices for race promoters to put on the best events that they possibly can while engaging the community and promoting trail advocacy. Even though this session (and conference) were focused on mountain biking, the information and experience that was bright to the table was absolutely phenomenal. For example, the Lifetime Fitness crew, who puts on the Leadville 100 series, was in attendance and they put on all kinds of events!
I'm excited to review the manual of best practices when it is made available to the attendees because it will be full of great information that will only enhance all of the ideas that I already have for great events! Speaking of which, you might be wondering what kind of events I'm talking about, right? Well... Ok, here's a sample of my ideas: themed trail run scavenger hunts, educational family hiking events, community short-track bike races held at the Holiday Twin drive-in (currently in development), and social equestrian events. I have many more ideas too, but I don't want to give away the farm already!
Stay tuned for updates about Trailcology events during 2013!
Cheers
Chris
Posted with BlogsySaturday, September 8, 2012
Larimer County Small Grants and Trailcology
I have submitted the first grant proposal for Trailcology!
Larimer County provides small grants for community partnering that are meant to help unite communities while providing some level of outdoor education, experience, access, or improvements. I submitted a proposal for a simple project that will help educate trail users about invasive plants, their effects on the environment, and what can be done to help prevent their spread.
If this project is funded I will help develop about 10 high-quality signs that each contain a picture and information about a different invasive plant. The signs will be installed trail-side in areas where that particular invasive plant is along or near the trail. This project will target high-use areas such as Horsetooth Mountain Park, Lory State Park, Pineridge Natural Area, and Maxwell Natural Area. I will organize a small group of volunteers to hike to previously designated areas where we will install the signs along the trail. At each location we will talk about the invasive plant and the information contained on its sign. I will aim to organize a diverse group of volunteers that consists of hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Through diverse groups such as these I hope to create a deeper sense of community within the trail user groups and create "sustainable trail users" that understand having sustainable trail systems also requires open communication between the users which will reduce conflict.
This is one of a number of proposal ideas that I have prepared for Trailcology. Future proposals will range from small scale trail maintenance, through ecological projects like slash-pile burn scar remediation, and all the way up to the development of new trails to create a more sustainable network.
I have already partnered with the Overland Mountain Bike Club's trails committee and I am working toward relationships with hikers, trail runners, and equestrians to help create a unified voice for the future of our trails.
Stay tuned for future updates about the Larimer County small grant as well as upcoming projects!
Cheers
Chris
Larimer County provides small grants for community partnering that are meant to help unite communities while providing some level of outdoor education, experience, access, or improvements. I submitted a proposal for a simple project that will help educate trail users about invasive plants, their effects on the environment, and what can be done to help prevent their spread.
If this project is funded I will help develop about 10 high-quality signs that each contain a picture and information about a different invasive plant. The signs will be installed trail-side in areas where that particular invasive plant is along or near the trail. This project will target high-use areas such as Horsetooth Mountain Park, Lory State Park, Pineridge Natural Area, and Maxwell Natural Area. I will organize a small group of volunteers to hike to previously designated areas where we will install the signs along the trail. At each location we will talk about the invasive plant and the information contained on its sign. I will aim to organize a diverse group of volunteers that consists of hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Through diverse groups such as these I hope to create a deeper sense of community within the trail user groups and create "sustainable trail users" that understand having sustainable trail systems also requires open communication between the users which will reduce conflict.
This is one of a number of proposal ideas that I have prepared for Trailcology. Future proposals will range from small scale trail maintenance, through ecological projects like slash-pile burn scar remediation, and all the way up to the development of new trails to create a more sustainable network.
I have already partnered with the Overland Mountain Bike Club's trails committee and I am working toward relationships with hikers, trail runners, and equestrians to help create a unified voice for the future of our trails.
Stay tuned for future updates about the Larimer County small grant as well as upcoming projects!
Cheers
Chris
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Sunday Trail Run In Fort Collins
My normal means for trail use is my mountain bike, but today I decided to switch things up by taking a short run instead. I haven't done any trail running since the Tough Mudder so it was high time I stomped some trail.
It's easy to forget how different your experiences on the trail can be when you run instead of hike or mountainbike - riding a horse is in a class of its own. Hiking is usually a social, family kind of time. It's great because you know you are going to be going at a slow pace and you will be able to talk with whoever you're hiking with. It's also easy to stop and observe things that you might miss if you ran or rode by. Mountain biking allows you to see a greater length of trail in a much shorter time. It's very possible that you will see more things, like wildlife or friends and acquaintances, but you pass by small details that you would not miss if you were going much slower. This is where I found myself today, going much slower than normal and running under the mid-day sun.
The first difference that I noticed today was how different the trail looked to me. I have hiked, run, and ridden the trails at Pineridge a number of times, but most often I'm on a bike. Today, I noticed more of the undulations in the trail and the finer details of the trail tread. Normally I roll through the sections and I feel the undulations in the trail through my bike, without much regard for the flatter parts of the trail. Running the trails today made me more aware of the topography in front of me and it was great to again see the trails in this light, it made everything feel new again on familiar trails. It also reminded me of the trail runner perspective regarding the other trail users.
When I'm on the mountain bike I do my best to adhere to the rules of the trail. Sometimes people get off for me even though they have the right of way and sometimes I have my head down on a steep climb and catch myself rolling up on some hikers faster than I intended to. As a trail runner, things feel a little different. There's no machine between me and the other users (unless they're on a bike) and it's much easier to maneuver around each other. I didn't come across any mountain bikers today but I was thinking about how I would handle a variety of encounters with a mountain biker. I know that, as a trail runner, I would have the right of way because mountain bikers must yield to hikers and runners. But because I also mountain bike, I would probably yield to a mountain biker under several different circumstances. I wouldn't do this because I was afraid, but more because I respect the mountain biker and I understand the effort and concentration that it takes to climb a steep pitch or safely descend in technical terrain.
As I was finishing my run today I thought, once again, about how nice it would be to have all trail users work together in Northern Colorado to participate in projects that improve trail quality for all users. Also, it would be great to get users together to help with educational projects that help everyone learn more about the environment where we play and our impact upon it.
I'm looking forward to getting Trailcology off the ground and working on projects with people from all walks of life that want to improve our trails and the relationships between their fellow trail users.
Cheers,
Chris
It's easy to forget how different your experiences on the trail can be when you run instead of hike or mountainbike - riding a horse is in a class of its own. Hiking is usually a social, family kind of time. It's great because you know you are going to be going at a slow pace and you will be able to talk with whoever you're hiking with. It's also easy to stop and observe things that you might miss if you ran or rode by. Mountain biking allows you to see a greater length of trail in a much shorter time. It's very possible that you will see more things, like wildlife or friends and acquaintances, but you pass by small details that you would not miss if you were going much slower. This is where I found myself today, going much slower than normal and running under the mid-day sun.
The first difference that I noticed today was how different the trail looked to me. I have hiked, run, and ridden the trails at Pineridge a number of times, but most often I'm on a bike. Today, I noticed more of the undulations in the trail and the finer details of the trail tread. Normally I roll through the sections and I feel the undulations in the trail through my bike, without much regard for the flatter parts of the trail. Running the trails today made me more aware of the topography in front of me and it was great to again see the trails in this light, it made everything feel new again on familiar trails. It also reminded me of the trail runner perspective regarding the other trail users.
When I'm on the mountain bike I do my best to adhere to the rules of the trail. Sometimes people get off for me even though they have the right of way and sometimes I have my head down on a steep climb and catch myself rolling up on some hikers faster than I intended to. As a trail runner, things feel a little different. There's no machine between me and the other users (unless they're on a bike) and it's much easier to maneuver around each other. I didn't come across any mountain bikers today but I was thinking about how I would handle a variety of encounters with a mountain biker. I know that, as a trail runner, I would have the right of way because mountain bikers must yield to hikers and runners. But because I also mountain bike, I would probably yield to a mountain biker under several different circumstances. I wouldn't do this because I was afraid, but more because I respect the mountain biker and I understand the effort and concentration that it takes to climb a steep pitch or safely descend in technical terrain.
As I was finishing my run today I thought, once again, about how nice it would be to have all trail users work together in Northern Colorado to participate in projects that improve trail quality for all users. Also, it would be great to get users together to help with educational projects that help everyone learn more about the environment where we play and our impact upon it.
I'm looking forward to getting Trailcology off the ground and working on projects with people from all walks of life that want to improve our trails and the relationships between their fellow trail users.
Cheers,
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)