Trail Work Day, AF Canyon, 8/23/08

[tallsteve]

URMB is sponsoring a trail work day on Saturday, Aug. 23rd. We will be re-routing the mud-bog section of Little Deer Creek South Fork #252 Trail up American Fork Canyon. This re-route has been approved by and will be overseen by the USFS. This is the section of trail that seems to cause much concern and controversy every spring because of the damage that's caused from the trail running through the mud bog. So come help us alleviate this yearly problem. URMB club members and the USFS will be flagging the re-route a couple of weeks in advance. The approximate GPS coordinates for the re-route are 40* 26' 13.35" N x 111* 36' 40.12" W and the location is marked on the maps below. The re-route will be built with ALL trail users in mind. Please come help us with this big project especially if you've complained about this area (like me!) before. If we get a good turnout we can knock out a good chunk of getting this done in a day. A good turnout will also show the Forest Service that outdoor users, as a group, care about our trails. So come spend an hour or the whole day.
Thanks,
Steve Winters (tallsteve) URMB

[Scott Card]

Will they let you slide on the toll to go into the canyon? In other words, do they want my money and my service too? Just curious. I have already worked on a trail twice (as of next week) so I'll see if I can do a third. (too many eagle projects with the neighbors)

[Ih8grvty]

Id be up for this, but the 18th starts 7 days a week 12 hours a day for hell only knows how long. Its scheduled for 11 days, but the last one apparently was scheduled for 13 and ran 64 so...

[tallsteve]

Will they let you slide on the toll to go into the canyon? In other words, do they want my money and my service too? Just curious. I have already worked on a trail twice (as of next week) so I'll see if I can do a third. (too many eagle projects with the neighbors)

I'm pretty certain they'll let the canyon fee slide if you tell them you're doing trail work for the day but I will find out for sure.

Just a bit more information:

I belong to a club, URMB (urmb.org), that has officially adopted, with the Forest Service, about 14 miles of trail in American Fork Canyon and more in Provo Canyon. I am over the AF Canyon trails. We are a group of mountainbikers. Just this year we have installed a bunch of new trail signs (provided by the USFS) and performed trail maintenance, brushing and pruning. The trail work we perform is done with all trail users in mind- horses, mtn.bikers, motorcycles and hikers. We are the only organization to have officially adopted trails in the canyon. Though our membership is small we get allot of work done. The Forest Service has been so impressed with our willingness and expediency that we have been given many privileges and "keys to the kingdom" so to speak. I love spending time in the canyon and care deeply about the trail network and sustainability for the users. This trail re-route will be the most ambitious project we have undertaken to date but is much, much needed.

[tallsteve]

I just got approval for anyone helping on this day, that doesn't have a canyon pass, to be able to drive up the canyon without paying the entrance fee. You'll just need to mention you are with the URMB Club trailwork crew. They have requested that we carpool as much as possible to ensure we don't run out of places to park and have a gazillion vehicles up there without passes.

[scoutabout]

The trail work we perform is done with all trail users in mind- horses, mtn.bikers, motorcycles and hikers.

What about the snowmobilers, ATV'ers, motorcyclists, and 4x4'ers using the canyon?


We are the only organization to have officially adopted trails in the canyon.

Utah 4 Wheel Drive Association adopted all the motorized routes in the North Fork of the Canyon about two years ago, and has conducted over 25 projects in the last 18 months.


The Forest Service has been so impressed with our willingness and expediency that we have been given many privileges and "keys to the kingdom" so to speak.

Let me know when you have a key and the security code for the South Fork ad site. :)


I love spending time in the canyon and care deeply about the trail network and sustainability for the users. This trail re-route will be the most ambitious project we have undertaken to date but is much, much needed.

That is awesome. It's great to see other user groups up there being active in maintenance. I know there was great concern a few years ago that the MB trails wer being used at an unsustainable pace without enough volunteer involvement from the user base. I'm very pleased to see that this is getting resolved. All user groups should be aware that the land managing agencies have a "management gap" that prevents them from providing the type of maintenance and enforcement they would like. This "gap" is the result of increased use and shrinking budgets. Private user groups are uniquely positioned (and motivated) to help fill the gap.

Kudos to you and your group, and keep up the hard work!

[tallsteve]

[quote=tallsteve]The trail work we perform is done with all trail users in mind- horses, mtn.bikers, motorcycles and hikers.

What about the snowmobilers, ATV'ers, motorcyclists, and 4x4'ers using the canyon?

The trails we have adopted don't support (not allowed) snowmobiles, ATV's or 4x4's.


We are the only organization to have officially adopted trails in the canyon.

Utah 4 Wheel Drive Association adopted all the motorized routes in the North Fork of the Canyon about two years ago, and has conducted over 25 projects in the last 18 months.

I should have stated better- These are trails- narrow singletrack only.

I'm glad to hear someone else is doing good stuff up there. Keep up the good work! Maybe we can do a project together sometime.

[scoutabout]

Maybe we can do a project together sometime.

That would be great! Is your group doing anything for National Public Lands Day this year? http://www.publiclandsday.org

I've tried to get some ATV groups/riders involved in service projects up there. We had two come to 2006, that was it. We had 120 volunteers at our NPLD AF Canyon project last year. This years project will be a little smaller, but it would be awesome to get multiple user groups involved in projects on the same day.

[tallsteve]

Please see the additional information for this coming Saturday's trail work day in the UMB Forum section at http://utahmountainbiking.com/UMBphpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4830