Many hands make quick work

Steve’s been pushing to get the new Whoopdee climb done so he can spend the summer riding and sailing like a normal Hood Riverite.  Today’s work party got him one big step closer.  A great Sunday morning turnout and ideal weather conditions made quick work of the last uncut stretch between the old climb and the new trailhead.

Another day at the office

This new climbing route opened for business officially at 1PM, in time for Blossom Festival week riders to enjoy the great vistas and fields of balsam root in full bloom.

Workers this week included:  Jeff Blackman, Don Wiley, Sam Wiley, Connor Dunn, Amy Dunn, Mark Chamley, Stephen Ford, Kani Rowland, Tom Cook, JJ Olsson, Andy Olsson, Jim Mudry, Dave Veenstra, Arthur Babitz, Steve Dunn, Sadie, Cooper, Ringo and Mojo.

This new section starts about a third of the way up the old road climb on the left (south) side.  Try it soon while the balsam root and Indian paintbrush are in bloom for full effect.  Steve and friends are still working on the bottom section of the climb, which will be north of the old road.

Andy and Ringo discuss the route

This project is supported by your contributions to HRATS, which have been helping Steve by covering some of his fuel and materials costs.  If you like the new route click the “donate” badge to buy Steve some gas.

Sun? Dry soil? New GP!

Last weekend I counted six separate trail projects in the woods.  The dry period this February/March has been a tremendous bonus for trail stewards.  The big news is that Jason was able to rebuild Middle GP, and it was riding great all week.  But also Steve was working on the Whoopdee, building a new route up and out.  Douglas completed a nice reroute on Spaghetti Factory.  Jim’s working on an 8-Track reroute which will be the subject of a major work party this spring.  Gary’s up working near Extended Play.  Kay and the CAMBA crew are continuing the work over on the Syncline.  And that’s just one week.

Mid-week mid-winter Whoopdee work

If you’re available to help with impromptu work parties, drop a note to admin@hrats.org.  We’re keeping a special distribution list which trail builders can use to grab a few extra hands when the sun pops out and they want to take advantage of it.

I’m trying to keep the map up-to-date.  I’ve posted the new Post Canyon Trail Map as of March 16, 2013.  Remember, new trails take longer to dry out after the rain.  Respect the effort that went into building them and don’t ride if your tires are reshaping the route.

To download the large version of the map you must join our mailing list, please click on the map below to subscribe and download. We will also email you when there are updates to the map.  If you are already on the list, you should have received an email with the magic direct link to the map.

If you are moved to thank me for my efforts making this map, you can make a donation to HRATS, click here.

To download the large version of the map you must join our mailing list, please click on the map below to subscribe and download. We will also email you when there are updates to the map.  If you are already on the list, you should have received an email with the magic direct link to the map, so you just wasted your time reading this post.

If you are moved to thank me for my efforts making this map, you can make a donation to HRATS, click here.

Tired of climbing that old road out of Whoopdee? Well, soon, that old road will be history! Steve’s latest project, funded by the kind donations of local riders, is to reroute the road climb into a super-rad climbing trail.

Here’s the work party report from our favorite trail fairy, Mayor Arthur Babitz: “We had a fine February day for a work party building the new climb out for the Whoopdee Trail. We were able accomplish our mission of de-berming and cleaning up all the machine tread Steve cut earlier this week, and even had time to scratch in a new section which loops out to a beautiful lookout point around a huge pine tree. While today’s segment doesn’t yet connect to anything, it is now mostly rideable down to the pine tree if you want to check it out. I wouldn’t be surprised if this segment becomes a popular hiking route in wildflower season, as it is thick with balsam root and ends at a fine lunch spot.

When completed this new climbing trail will substitute for the climb on the logging road. It will be a much more fun climb due to milder grade and more attractive routing. The logging road is also poorly drained so after a few heavy snow seasons it will likely revert to the badly rutted route we all hated from a few years back.”

We logged 40 hours of work today with the following participants:

Matt Klee
Andy Olsen
J.J. Olsen
Christy Richards
Jon Richards
Forrest Rae
Madeline Rae
Stephen Ford
Marc Igolen
Jay Sherrerd
Arthur Babitz
Steve Dunn
Rocky
Sadie
Bear
Jay’s dog

http://stevensonlandcompany.com/recreation-opportunities/hiking-and-mountain-biking/

If you’ve ridden 140, 160, Borderline, 130, Dirt Surfer, or Kitchen Sink (along with other trails) you’ve ridden a motorized trail, which was likely built by the County with grant money funded in part by OHV tags and gas tax. In order to spend grant money, HRC needs to show in-kind labor for about 25% of the value of the grant. Your labor counts for $18ish/hour. Hood River County is lacking in grant hours for this year. If we, HRATS, don’t get up there and do some labor, the County won’t reach that in-kind requirement, and will have to cut back on spending on moto trails. They might be motorized trails, but you ride them on your bike, so make plans to help. Every Saturday. And if you have time during the week, you may be able to volunteer then. And… if you’re a dirt biker or ATV rider and you’d like to be part of HRATS, we’d love to have you! Just shoot us an email at admin@hrats.org.

Now, on to mountain bike trails:

November 10th is the first big fall work party in Post Canyon. Salvage logging is done (but not large-sale logging on Seven Streams), so we want to fix the trails that were damaged by skidding. Included in this work party are 8-Track, Upper 8-Track, The Boot, Middle School, and possibly Mitchell Ridge, GP and 140. We’ll be meeting at Dirty Fingers around 8:30 for a carpool up to the Family Man area.

On November 11th, WTA hosts a work party on Syncline to decomission the old Maui Falls trail – the new one is pretty much awesome – along with finishing the gravel on the reroute up top near the Burns Property. Also on the docket for the 11th is work on Jeff’s Trail. This will be an all-day work party with a half-day option. There will be additional Syncline parties on November 18th, and December 1st, 9th, and 15th.

Stay tuned for a possible mid-November work party on the 44 Road (snow dependent, of course), hosted by your local ranger, Jimmy T.

That’s it. Thanks for your help!

Standing Trees: I left more trees in the RMA on purpose, knowing a few of them would need to be cut for yarding corridors. So there will be some red band trees cut. But the net result should be about 3 times as much volume retained than required. In addition, the RMA averages about 60’ rather than the 50′ required by law. More in some areas, less in others.

Down Trees: There were a few down trees that were marked with red bands originally that were across the creek. That part of the prescription changed since Fish & Wildlife wanted every tree across the creek left. When feasible, trees across the stream will be bucked outside the channel to leave a segment spanning the channel. Some trees spanning the channel will be left because they are too dangerous to buck where they lie.

So there will be trees with red bands cut, although most of them will be retained.

Hopefully that answers the question about the trees with red bands. We were confused too!

In addition, we’d like to ask that everyone refrain from entering the area in between the closure signs on Seven Streams. We understand that people want to check on the progress, but for your safety and the loggers’ ability to work, we ask that you avoid the logging area. Thank you!

To download the large version of the map you must join our mailing list, please click on the map below to subscribe and download. We will also email you when there are updates to the map.  If you are already on the list, you should have received an email with the magic direct link to the map, so you just wasted your time reading this post.

If you are moved to thank me for my efforts making this map, you can make a donation to HRATS, click here.

August 6th: Barrett Park appeal meeting

Coming up August 6th, it’s the next step in the Barrett Park process. Barrett Park has an approved Conditional Use Permit, but this permit was appealed by Fritz Von Lubken.  The County Board of Commissioners will hear from both sides’ attorneys and there isn’t opportunity for public comment; however it is important that the room is filled to show support for the proposed park and the public process. The meeting is at 6pm, August 6th, at 601 State. Your presence, preferably wearing some sort of cycling T, would be great!

August 18th: White Salmon Bike Park Fundraiser

Many of you have probably heard through the grapevine that the likely start date for logging on Seven Streams is July 17th. We received more information on the morning of 7/13. The trail will now close on 7/20. Cutting will begin on 7/23. There’s a lot of confusion out there about why it’s being cut, and we’d like to help everyone understand the details. We’re planning a last ride party. Stay tuned for details.

Everyone’s first question is, “Why are they cutting?”

This winter’s ice storm caused massive damage in the Seven Streams trail corridor. It was the hardest hit elevation, with the most damaged trees. Total timber loss in the stand was over 30%. This is not good.

Leaving forestry practices aside for another day (selective harvest vs. clearcut vs. the age of trees in a stand), let’s talk about a bigger issue, the main reason this cut has to happen: bark beetles. You’re probably heard of them. They’re decimating forests across the country. Bark beetles love damaged timber, and they’re already in the dead and dying trees along Seven Streams. Look for little piles of shavings on the downed logs, and you’ve found a bark beetle home. Leave all those damaged trees on the ground (and standing dead, if the tops are broken off), and you’ll soon have bark beetles moving into surrounding healthy trees. We just can’t risk that happening. You’ve seen the dead forests in the news. We don’t want that here.

The next question we get is, “Well, why can’t the county leave a protected trail corridor? Don’t they realize the trail brings in money?” Yes, we assure you the county sees the tourism generated by the trail system. But remember, this is county land, and it’s a tree farm. A sustainable tree farm, but a tree farm that provides around 35% of county revenue. Back to the trail corridor question: each tree is worth $200-$500. If you were to leave a trail corridor with just one tree every 20 feet, and value that tree at $200, that would be a loss to the county coffers of $52,800 per mile of trail. And that’s just leaving one tree every 20 feet. A trail corridor would cost the county several hundred thousand dollars. It would take an awful lot of tourism to make up for that.

That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another, straight from the mouth of Doug Thiesies, your forest manager:

HRC has a sustainable tree farm with a fixed amount of acres. To be sustainable and even flow we have to measure what we grow/acre and then stay within that biological limit of growth. That sets our allowable cut (harvest rate), currently estimated at an average 9.5 million board feet/year.

However, it also assumes that the # of acres that you grow trees on remains the same. If you set aside a 100 foot buffer on every trail, with approximately 100 miles of recognized trails in the HRC Northwest Area you would effectively remove 2,424 Acres from production on paper. That’s about 24% of the NW area which is also much more productive in terms of tree growing capacity. In a practical sense it’s actually much more, even double, because you cut off access to adjacent ground, especially on steep cable ground.

So, it doesn’t take long on the set aside of acres before it takes a big chunk out of what you can produce on the forest. We already account for set asides for stream buffers and protected wildlife species to follow the forest practices act.

Another concern people have is that the trail runs near a stream, in what should be a protected riparian zone. Questions have been raised about the Riparian Management Area and whether that should protect the trail. The RMA requires a 50′ corridor on either side of a stream. The county forest manager, in order to help protect the trail, gave us a 60′ corridor on either side of the stream, at some cost to the county. On this count, he did more than he had to for us, and we thank him. As for the safety of the trail, it is inside this corridor at some places and outside at others, but it’s going to get torn up as they drag trees across it.

We’ve also fielded questions along the lines of, “Why don’t they have the loggers protect or rebuild the trail?” According to Ian Caldwell at Oregon State Parks, when loggers are required to protect or rebuild trails, it lowers the price of the timber sale. With no trail corridor (see above for reasons why), we’re looking at a rebuild as logs get dragged across the trail and machines drive over the tread. Rebuilding is expensive. Really expensive.

Why? Loggers contract out to professional trailbuilders (you really don’t want lumberjacks building your trails, do you?), who cost a ton of money. For example, the section of Seven Streams built by IMBA (from the Mobius entrance to the T intersection of Cardiac Hill) cost about $40,000. Loggers would factor that into their bid for the timber, costing the county money. And really, wouldn’t you rather rebuild your trails and make them better, and take ownership of them after logging happens? There’s more control, more flow and better riding if you’re involved!

Many people have expressed the concern that, “The county is just doing this for the money.” We assure you that isn’t the case. When damaged trees are harvested, or trees that aren’t full-grown, they don’t bring in top dollar. In the long run, this ice storm is costing the county and taxpayers a lot of money. And trust us, Hood River County isn’t rich, and they can’t seem to pass any sort of tax increase to raise more revenue.

Finally, we’d like to remind people that Hood River County, at significant cost, hired a local contractor to come in and clear the logs from Seven Streams so we could ride it for a few months before the start of logging operations.

Hopefully that answers most of the questions out there. Feel free to comment below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can with answers to any other questions.

If you’d like to learn more about how the trails are managed, we encourage you to come to the county trails meeting. The next is Tuesday, July 31st, at 4pm at 601 State in Hood River.

Disclaimer: This blog post does not reflect the views of Hood River County. It reflects the HRATS’ best understanding of county forest practices. Some of the information contained within may change upon editing by county forestry personnel. We’ll track those changes.