Sunday, July 12, 2009

Trail Work

With the rains this year, the trees are growing as fast as the grass. A number of folks have requested information on which trails they should trim when they ride.
Here's the easy answer. Buy one of these little guys (less than $20) and stuff it in your pack. If a tree smacks you in the face, stop and trim it. If a tree catches you in the arm or leg, stop and trim it. If a tree hits you in the ass, stop and have a drink with it . . . then trim it back. Don't just prune, trim with authority to make sure you won't get smacked again (unless you like that kind of thing, sicko).

FYI - 3/4 of Horse Shoe is now cleared from face smacking trees.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

After a rain soaked drive to Potter's, the pasture was surprisingly bone dry. CQ and I met up with Mitch Kline and around 7 a.m. We had a leisurely morning ride and hopefully Mitch captured some good images.

The road climb out of camp with Mitch in the distance.


After the morning ride, we headed over to the south portion of the pasture to work on a new addition to Hornitos. The new section bypasses the frequently flooded and heavily overgrown lower section by the road.


Li'l Blue, the Potter's shuttle parked above the section to be cleared.


Hidden behind this overgrown rut is the new section of Hornitos.


Partially cleared.


Done. You can see a "ramp" on the left side of the rut. With a little dirt work and a bridge back across to the right, the trail will come out just above the old swamp. The benefit is a more interesting trail, no regular mowing, and no constant mud.

Ride time for tomorrow is 10:00 a.m., more trail work is on the agenda, this time we'll be working over on Horseshoe Canyon if anybody wants to join us.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Variety

In playing with the new camera on the trails today, I came to the realization that there is a significant variety in the terrain at Potters. There are rolling grass covered hills, rooty chutes, dry, dusty plateaus, swampy lowlands, cedar enclosed benches, and much more. CQ and I spent some time scouting an extension to Hornitos that bypasses the swamp at the lowest point along the road. There will be a lot of tree cutting, but the higher bypass will keep us out of the heavy vegetation and muck of the old route.

Near the drop in at the top of Hornitos

Near the middle section of Church Grove.

At the highest point along Hornitos.

Just before the final descent on Hornitos.

The last switchback on Cedar Ridge.

I'm not yet as familiar with the new Panasonic Lumix LX3 as I'd like to be. The last shot on Cedar Ridge just doesn't look quite right, it's so much greener that pictured. The LX3 is a great quality trail camera, but it may not go on every ride, because I'm afraid of smashing repeatedly like the old Nikon.

P.S. All photos above feature CQ on his Salsa Big Mama.