Trail construction began on the Mesa Top trail about a year ago. Designated to be a connector to the Flowing Park Loop off of Land’s End Road, the Mesa Top trail is a singletrack trail that runs from a parking area just past Lands End Road on Hwy 65 out towards Flowing Park. Construction is continuing this summer and probably into next, in order to finish the connection. The trail (the parts that are open now) is available for use by hikers, mountain bikers, and horse riders.
This weekend, the BF and I got an opportunity (yes, opportunity) to go help with trail construction. Up at 6:30, we were out at the meeting spot on Flowing Park Road by 8:30am. A surprising number of people showed up to help with the event. With the guidance of COPMOBA crew members and the allure of food and prizes to be provided by the day’s sponsors, Singletrack and Skinny Tire Sisters of Western Colorado, we all headed out with McLeods and Rogues in hand.
A portion of the volunteers helping with the Mesa Top Trail last Saturday, July 13.
I wrote about trail building several months ago when discussing Lunch Loop and its new area, The Three Sisters. This past weekend’s work was very different. Trail building in the desert is fairly easy: plants often don’t have deep root systems, and the dirt is sandy and easy to scrape away. On the Mesa, building trail means digging up rocks, pulling rotted trees off the trail, and hacking away at weeds and grasses. It means loading up dirt in 5-gallon buckets to fill in holes and using every bit of your core strength along the way.
Still, we worked through the morning. By lunchtime, we could see a trail where once there had only been dark, damp woods. We took a break and enjoyed the views from one overlook spot on the trail. After lunch, we finished up by grooming our portion of the trail and widening a few narrow spots. We walked back to base camp, marveling at the work that had been accomplished. Tired and very sore, the only thing that kept us moving was the knowledge that food and beer were waiting for us.
Views to the south provide trail users with a chance to see the San Juans and Elk Mountain Range.
The Mesa Top trail in its current state is between 6-8 miles out-and-back. Most of it is through pine forests but there are some open meadow areas that are worth checking out this time of year:
This is going to be a fabulous trail on its own when it’s complete, but to ride it with Flowing Park would make for an epic day’s ride: over 30 miles!
If you’re looking for some high-altitude riding, the Grand Mesa’s new trail may be the perfect choice for you. I’m not just saying that because I helped build it, either!
How every recreational group’s trail construction crew should end the day.
