Mid-State: Burchfield

[volklgirl]

Thanks! It was good seeing you again, and we LOVED all the changes so far.

I was surprised at how rideable everything was after the rain you've had (except for the middle of Hansen's...YUCK!). Nice job to all of you on the new sections and the beautiful signage. It's been a long time since I've ridden out there and not gotten lost.

[TenSpeed]

Really nice today. Everything was great. I rode quite a bit of it, and almost nothing was greasy or wet considering the rain last night. Beautiful day for a ride out there. I guess it was a good day to be on the Peppermint bridge smoking pot as well. Came across a few kids who appeared to be "fishing". They quickly hid something as I went by. I believe that I startled them. The smell of marijuana was pungent in the air as I crossed the bridge. Not really happy to see this out there.

[mjpo]

Really nice today. Everything was great. I rode quite a bit of it, and almost nothing was greasy or wet considering the rain last night. Beautiful day for a ride out there. I guess it was a good day to be on the Peppermint bridge smoking pot as well. Came across a few kids who appeared to be "fishing". They quickly hid something as I went by. I believe that I startled them. The smell of marijuana was pungent in the air as I crossed the bridge. Not really happy to see this out there.

Rumor is that the parks will be having security again this year. It was cut last year due to the budget. Security is on 2 wheels which is cool. I will check it out. Glad to hear that otherwise it was a good ride.

[bockrona]

Oh no, there were kids smoking pot at the park. What's this world coming to?

Same as it ever was.

[reidabel]

True, but I haven't seen (or should I say smelled) it out there before. On our ride yesterday (the same day they were apparently doing this) I was having my young daughter meet me at that same bridge so that I could ride the advanced trail while she rode the beginner trail. Not that they would likely have said or done anything to her before I got there a few minutes later, but the only thing I know about them is that they are kids and they are doing something illegal. That said, most dope smokers I know are harmless enough and would be friendly to a kid on a bike. But I don't know these ones and probably none of us on here do.

[AllMountin']

Hanson's is indeed quite disturbingly wet and rutted by the 3 lined feature. Otherwise, the trail was in terrific shape last night. It felt great to put some miles down there, and the place has some new intrigue, what with all the new construction and whatnot.

We came upon this wee fawn at the trail's edge, whilst riding through Bob's... I suspect either it's fight or flight instinct isn't fully functional, or it is the offspring of some kinky deer/possum union:



While this was probably akin to getting abducted and probed by aliens for the fawn, for us it was neat to see so up close in the 'wild'.

[SteveF]

Cool pic, Steve! Fawns have a powerful instinct to be still and quiet when they're that young. They aren't able to run so that's the only defense they have...

[F7Cannon]

It was really cool to be that close to the little guy. Mom was very intent on watching us but never even made one move towards us. After a few minutes she had plenty of back up too. It was kind of like they knew we were not going to hurt him/her and just kept a close eye on us untill we were gone. Burchfield deer seem to be very trusting of humans. I think they have learned over the years that it's a pretty safe place for them and have become very trusting of us. I have even been pretty close to quite a few of the mature adult deer out there as well. The ones at places where hunting is allowed act totally different around us.

[mjpo]

I copied this from the lost and found board:


"I rode at Burchfield for the first time this year today, enjoying the impressive work everyone has done on the new stunts and trails.

Unfortunately my seatpost pack came unzipped during my ride (on the advanced trail), and I lost my lime green Pedro's tire levers and my Motorola Z6c World Edition phone. It was getting late so I didn't get a chance to go back and look.

Thinking back, I took a nasty spill on the new Hellboy section trying the farthest left track with the banked boards. But it may have been anywhere along the trail. Probably more likely in the second half of the advanced trail, as I didn't notice my pack unzipped, but I can't say for sure as I wasn't looking for it specifically.

If you find the phone (the battery should last for a few days assuming it doesn't get soaked), I would really appreciate it if you would call my dad in the contacts or e-mail me at lindst20@msu.edu."

Thanks,
Ben

[mjpo]

It's been a long time since I've ridden out there and not gotten lost.

This is absolutely the best compliment ever. People are starting to "get it". More good stuff to come. Glad to hear you enjoyed your ride.

[TenSpeed]

I looked for that phone out there, but came up empty handed. I looked all around the Hellboy stunt.

[TenSpeed]

Trail is awesome right now. Have one question. There is a trail that dumps you off at the McNamara lot, and you would continue across the parking lot by the outhouse on to the advanced trail that runs along the river, with the huge dip in it which is awesome Where does this trail start? I walked back there a bit today, and found a bridge that covered some muddy stuff and kept on going. I didn't venture past that area. Where can I catch this?

[reidabel]

Take Glorious Poperd's, which is sign-posted and starts out heading left a couple of hundred yards South of the Peppermint Creek bridge, when you get to the top of the hill in the open field. Follow that for ten minutes and you will come to the new bridging area you are talking about, though I think currently it is detoured because this area typically gets a lot of standing water. Hence the new bridging. It will be great to be able to ride through there all year (well, while the bike trails are open, that is). And when those big dirt humps are converted into either jumps or a rolling trailbed, that whole area will be a whole lot more interesting than it has ever been.

[benl]

I looked for that phone out there, but came up empty handed. I looked all around the Hellboy stunt.

Thank you so much for looking - but believe it or not, I found it at Hellboy today! It was right underneath the boards on Twisted, right before the banked turn.

No sign of the tire levers, but those are a minor loss. The hardest part is finding the same lime green color again!

And yes, the trails are in excellent condition right now. All of the mud from last weekend is more or less gone. There are only a few moist spots. The new meadows sections are really starting to break in, too. I can say I don't miss any of the turns anymore to stay on the advanced trail since it has all been re-routed, but I think it would probably still be confusing to first-time riders at the park without a map. The section that come to mind mostly for me is this one: On the old red trail, Looman's Run - where the loop back is, right after the steep uphill from the pond, to where the old teeter-totter used to be. The trail seems to flow naturally to the loop-back instead of forwards on the trail (which is a sharp left turn, signed but not immediately obvious). It may just take some ride-in to make the main trail clearer.

Oh, and the river water is quite refreshing right now! Not too cold, and certainly not too warm. Probably right around 80 degrees or so, maybe a few degrees less.

[rvd]

'Swamp' sections of the trail are in very good shape. The grassy areas are probably ready to be mowed for the first time this year. It is getting pretty tall.

The new bridge is looking awesome, but I am sure some people will be sad that a bridge deck will go on top of that; these two under-construction bridges are easily the longest log rides in the mid-state area. Are there any pictures of how these massive logs were brought in and put into place? Must have been quite the undertaking!