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We love visitors too!! Don’t get me wrong. The more the merrier…
The terrain requires a certain level of self-reliance, as is the case in many areas that are prime for Mtn Bike riding.
This idea seems to be left behind as more urban folk take up the sport.
Like the waivers say; "Mountain Biking is inherently dangerous…" 😆
"mtbgreg1" wroteSeems like the system isn’t really setup to help people find the best destinations… it seems to be more to help IMBA highlight what THEY think are good examples of trails and destinations… but that doesn’t mean they’re always right.
IMBA is as IMBA does! A cog in the Mtn Bike Industry vying for our $$$!
"mtbgreg1" wroteAnd sidenote: 1,000 miles of trail in Salmon? That’s insane! Just curious, how big of an area are you qualifying as "Salmon?"
So many trails to ride, so little time 😀
That is w/in a 50 mile radius. Basically our county…Lemhi County (4500 sq miles and 93% public land).
It includes [list:2i39ykif]*150+ miles ofIdaho accessable CDT, tack on loops and spur trails we ride that include the CDT you can well over double that.
*There is the 30+ mile long Divide National Rec Trail; and it’s side shuttles and loops…
*5 trails separate systems within a 30 minute drive each w/ between 30 and 60 miles of trail each…Discovery Hill, Williams Summit, Wagonhammer, Twelvemile Creek, Barracks Lane.
*Two trail systems on the ID/MT border near Lost Trail Pass both w/ substantial mileage… Warm Springs and Chief Joseph.
*Anothertrail system near Leadore…
*All the stray rides in between and we keep finding more!!
[/list:u:2i39ykif]
You can add those up and see 1000 is conservative. 😆(We have a long list of GPS submissions to send you guys!)
Salmon Idaho comes in at over 1000 miles of trail…but noone filled out an IMBA form or politiced w/ them in Boulder. We aren’t going to either…last thing we need is a bunch of yayhoos getting lost on perfectly good trail.
I am not familiar w/ the Boise Trails…but here are some Foothills resources that may help you…
Ridge to Rivers Interactive Map of Shafer Butte (Bogus Area) Trails.
MTBR forums have an active Boise Trail Info thread.
If you are on FaceBook, there are a couple of Pages there where your questions surely would be answered…
Wasatch Mtn State Park has rides real close to Midway.
Soldier Hollow has some trails too, just a couple miles from Midway. Never ridden there, just skied. Expect a fee to ride…but they look like good trails.
Also, Utah Mtn Bike Trails has a very thorough choice of trails for the Beehive state.
SkidMap shows them very well on a map with Trail Conditions too.
Park City is IMBA’s only Gold level ride center and is less than 20 miles from Midway.
The weather system looks like a Front Range system.
Cams:
Durango Downtown
Cortez cam(on right side of page)You get the idea…
Kokopelli Bike Club has latest Cortez trail conditions on FaceBook.
This maps shows many of those trails all at once. Works great on smartphone browsers too.
Also shows the recent Sedona MTB restrictions. 😀
"mtbgreg1" wroteRelease from the US Forest Service. Sounds very reasonable:
It sounds reasonable, sure. But the main issue, as I understand it from afar, is that the MtnBikers lost access to trails that they built.
So now, Mtn Bike built trails can still be used by hikers and horsemen…but not the creators.
"gar29" wrotebikers are always made out to be the ones…
We are having to tackle perceived MTB impacts by our local land managers lately. It sucks trying to educate someone that has false preconceptions that is in a position to say "No". It reminds me alot of being a teenager and asking my father for the keys to the car.
Here is some further reading and citations to scientific research in case anyone is curious.
Natural Resource Impacts of Mountain Biking from IMBA
There is some more recent research out there too.
Keep building bridges with people…someday they will cross.
There is a saying in the West… "A Cowboy tastes his words before he spits them out." Tongue in cheek or not…our PB man could heed this.
Fatbikes expand the conditions you can ride in, beyond just snow and sand.
When trails are muddy and you should not take the "skinny" 1.8 to 2.4s out there…you can still ride fatties w/o making ruts.
Bogs…perfect w/o slicing them apart, nary a track left.
Pure ice…sure (if you are careful, especially if the temp is around 32…good adventure!)
The owner of Fatback Bikes calls them A.T.B.s. 😃
Check out the Trail Boss. Sectional/packable trail tool w/ a bunch of heads…
[list:3kj5w4xr]A couple of Mattocks
Pruning Saw
McLeod
Shovel
and a Rogue head…[/list:u:3kj5w4xr]It is pricey, but pretty sweet.
Mountain Bike Bill’s website has alot of good beta too.
😛 This link is the Trailhead Map 😛
In addition to what you can find here of course.
The Evergreen Trail Guide should help. Rider supported Trail Wiki for most of Washington.
"skibum" wroteI’m not sure–these are remote and largely unpatrolled areas.
Zen Koan – "If a tree falls in the woods and no-one is around, does it make a sound?"
There is the Sargent Shultz stance too on backcountry wilderness riding. 😆
Yeah, not many people get to these areas except during hunting season. Maybe some hikers…if I see them from afar, I try to hide so as to not ruin their wilderness experience (and protect myself from the Snark).
I just wanted to add a few details to help clarify the loss of access picture, since the article is 3 years old and MtBs did indeed lose access to the Lima Peaks area and those incredible trails. Over 550,000 acres of lost access in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest alone.
This "new Forest Philosophy" referred to in the article is taken from a "Dear Colleague" letter by Congressman Raul Grijalva (D – AZ), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
He writes alot of these, and somehow these letters become USFS management policy creating "defacto wilderness". I guess because Grijalva sits on that Committee? Don’t you wish you could do that with your Dear Colleague letters? Wilderness w/o an Act of Congress.
Take a look at the map below and all the light-blue "proposed wilderness" contained in the FJRA of Testers that we have lost access too (Lima is at the south end). (track the bill w/ this link)
Much of that land deserves to be protected, much of it saw knobby tires for decades too. MMBA is working w/ the Tester camp to keep access to other areas should the Bill pass.
Write letters to Managers and Elected folk if you care about access.
The new Colo CDT section, while not wilderness or proposed, has access issues. I think the public comment period has ended, but who cares, write a letter to the USFS there anyway.Some of IMBAs non-wilderness solutions
Here is some more background information.
And a great article from a 2009 issue of Dirt Rag.
"jeff" wroteI’m guessing chukt will have some recs.
Who dares evoke the name of chukt?!? 😆
I don’t get to the forums very often…and Sun Valley even so, it is 3 hours away.
I am sure ckdake had a great trip, and hopefully filled in some trail gaps here.
For future thread visits there is this Link to Sun Valley Trails
(they also recently unveiled a smartphone trail app)I am partial to the riding around Salmon. They might make me wear lycra down in K/SV.
Great thread.
Trails in our part of Idaho are basically of two types. In the valleys they are dry, sage covered hills. Maintenance is usually pruning overhanging sage back and repairing cow impact damage. Up in the mountains, maintenance is clearing deadfall (we cleared deadfall from over 120 miles of trail this year alone) and basic water diversion.
I usually carry one of, or both of, these tools on every ride…they are both light-weight and small, yet very effective for their size.
This Japanese Pruning Saw kicks ass on pruning sagebrush and trees up to about 12" in diameter.
You can find these for $35-$40 and the blades are replaceable. About half the price, and half the weight, of a similar sized Stihl folding saw. On rides where we have these saws and a chainsaw…we often get the tree cut and cleared before the sawyer has the saw unpacked (more on this below)…we pride ourselves on clearing quickly to frustrate the sawyer!The Yard Butler TT-4T Hand Garden Tiller has become essential. These are light-weight and fit in my normal riding pack and cost about $15. It is just a mini-Pulaski that you can swing like a hammer.
I use the tined side for loosening dirt on existing trail…then foot spread and tamp, so rut repair is a snap and fast. Trail knicks for drainage are quick and easy too. Widening existing trail is basic w/ the blade side. If you are only doing an hour or two of trail maintenance on a bigger ride, this is a great tool.We have been build a lengthy re-route and I find myself falling back on the Hand Tiller while others use the bigger tools and can construct 30′-50′ of full bench trail per hour, depending on rocks shrubs.
Finally we have another essential tool for larger solo (or group) trail clearing efforts. The DaKine Builders Pack. Yeah, carrying a chainsaw is heavy, but so is the stoke of the riders when they hear you opened up a trail that had been clogged w/ deadfall for decades. Great for solo efforts…but great for groups too and you can trade it off to share the heft of carrying the saw. Our local shop passes on their DaKine pro-deal to us because they know the results are worth it. There was a blog postabout this pack a couple years ago.
Keep flying solo!
Teton MTB website has rides on both sides of the Tetons. Looks like the website is still being updated, but this will get you pointed in the right direction…
http://www.tetonmtb.com/trails
😎
Hope this is not too late for you…
Right out of Jackson are several rides including Cache-Game, Putt Putt, Hagan Trail, Ferrins.
To the north beyond Kelly, Wy on the east side of the valley, Shadow Mountain and Ditch Creek are good rides.
Teton Pass offers several rides too, Black Canyon or Phillips Canyon.
There are maps available locally with these rides and several of them are available here on STdot COM.
Sneaky underwater rocks! How many times has a hidden rock altered your planned line slightly?
Max pin-balled through the creek and came out headed straight at the photographer, who barely escaped. Max stopped dead against the desk size rock at the creeks edge.
"Don’t ever publish that photo." he requested. "Whatever" the photographer replied.
I use the tined side for loosening dirt on existing trail…then foot spread and tamp, so rut repair is a snap and fast. Trail knicks for drainage are quick and easy too. Widening existing trail is basic w/ the blade side. If you are only doing an hour or two of trail maintenance on a bigger ride, this is a great tool.