Poto: Morton-Taylor Trails

[SANTA_CRUZ]

ibisman, where did all the broken glass come from ? Did it appear that someone had put it there recently or is it coming out of the ground ? Nice looking bike by the way. I still have to add another wedge to the new skinny to hopefully fix that problem you mentioned.

Yes, we need to have a trail day and help would knock things out much quicker. I will need to check my calendar at
home to see what date works the best and will post something on this board soon. Hopefully we get a good turnout ?
Jay, I have been thinking about the same thing lately to address the muddy section problem and I agree.

[Jay22]

Yeah I tried the skinny about 20 times and almost made it once. Its a tough one. Cruz, lets get a trail day going for sure.

Edit: If I get a chance, I will head out there with a rake and shovel soon and try a few things. Putting bark and bricks down only work for so long, those areas get so nasty that they literally eat whatever has been put down in some spots.

[ibisman]

It looked like someone was walking around and having a party, and smashing the bottles. I got all I could see.You know, it would be a lot of work but all those muddy sections could be made into wooden features as time goes on with enough wood.

[Jay22]

Agreed.

[frank131]

Are there any rules about putting structures on the trail? I have some scrap wood laying around my house. I could definitely put together some elevated planks that could sit above some of the muddy sections. Are there any priority spots? There's a 12 ft section on the east loop about 1/4 mile from Morton Taylor that is usually muddy/rutted.

On the east loop (heading towards Lilley) there's that clearing and then a small downhill towards the small bridge over the creek and then an short uphill. I don't like how this section flows. What if we made the turns into nice banks so you could carry your speed throughout the whole section? Not sure if a dirt or wood structure would be best for making a bank there.

[SANTA_CRUZ]

frank131, yes there would be some rules concerning adding wooden features as I wouldn't want "everyone" adding stuff, but that being said I wouldn't mind working with you and use up that extra wood (I have a bunch in my garage waiting for the same purpose) on the muddy sections which seems
to be one of the best solutions. I am going to try and get out to the trail either today or tomorrow and get a list of needed jobs in my head so that I have something for people to do when I set a trail day(s) which is needed to get everything ready for the summer riding season.

The area you mention in the clearing which I'm asssuming is where the power lines go through is actually ITC property and we are kind of lucky that they let the trail go through there as it is, so I am kind of hesitant to put any type of wooden structures in there as they come through periodically and clear out all the vegetation to allow access to said power lines (it's a federal law issue). But, again if you have an idea of how to make it flow better I would
be willing to see what you mean (I rerouted that section a couple years ago because it used to go up a rutted rain run off hill which you can see on the right). Stay tuned.

SC

[mdswmich]

I rode this Saturday, and was fairly dry except the west loop had a few muddy spots and tracks. Tried to make a line through. Lucky dawg was dry surprisingly. The skinny is fun, but I had to stop at the corner.

Met a guy named "Rich" out there doing a fine job. Grass/weeds sure are growing though.

[SANTA_CRUZ]

I rode to the trail from my house and did most of the loops. Weed wacking is definitely a priority in many areas as are all the perpetual muddy spots. Think I'll start building some 8 foot boardwalks in my garage this week to place over the really bad spots. Dragon's Tail, parts of the West, parts of Buckshaver (this is always the last section to dry up), etc.

Overall though, the trail is drying up and the East loop is mostly dry. Gotta add an additional wedge (and possibly a small backstop) to the West loop fatty to make it more friendly at the turn, too. Thanks go out to Rich as usual.

One thing I wanted to mention is a bandit section that looks recently cut on the East loop along the river toward Morton Taylor road. This is NOT an authorized cutting, looks dangerous due to a nasty dropoff and is not sustainable !
I don't know who did this, but they need to stop it & I think I'll block it off since someone could get hurt riding it !

[ibisman]

Trail was in good shape. Few muddy spots but it is the solid non-sticky type. I did check out the bandit trail on east loop near the river and its not bad but for the "bridge' using 3 logs length wise. ouch! Got in 12 miles.

[opjames]

Trail is good.....come ride.

[sally_2000]

Trail is good.....come ride.

OK Op James if you say so I'm heading out in a few
to check it out. Its been a long wet fall/winter/early spring .. lookin for some dry trails

[SANTA_CRUZ]

Like James said yesterday, the trail is all dry and ready to rock and roll (except the newer Buckshaver extention)
I rode there from my house yesterday afternoon and rode everything except the back part of the South loop and
the mud is gone, hardpack is back. Ran into Sally on the South loop and just missed Mike R.

If you ridden this trail before, come on out and enjoy it again.
If you haven't yet, stop by, explore the loops and have some fun.

The new bandit sections seem to be the work of the people that are making the River's Edge pathway.
Don't know who they are, but they are putting a bunch of work into these hiking paths. Little rough for riding though.

[mmrobertson69]

How about a guided ride of the trails sometime?

[frank131]

I was talking to someone on riding the trail for the first time last week and we think that the trails should be one-way to prevent crashes/confusion. Can we make this happen?

[ibisman]

No. We go both ways because its so short and you are not going fast enough to cause problems.