Just before the monsoon rains began in mid-August, five MTG volunteers backpacked up into the La Platas to set up a spike camp in upper Bear Creek Basin. It was a nearly three mile hike to camp, but it was worth it! Despite rain in the forecast, there wasn’t much rain and the wildflowers were spectacular!
Over the next two days, we got a lot of trail work done and the Sharkstooth Trail is looking good! We put in six new grade reversals/drains on the West headwall and switchbacks of upper Bear Creek Basin. We also conducted maintenance on about 30 existing drainage structures over three miles between the two passes, and mitigated a small landslide across the trail. Overall our 2023 spike camp was a big success! We all had a lot of fun, enjoyed great camaraderie, and got some important work done, all in one of the most scenic areas in SW Colorado. Thanks, MTG volunteers! Special thanks goes to Robert Meyer for organizing this special volunteer event. Also a big shout out goes to the Dolores Ranger District (DRD) for funding the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) crews during the summer of 2021. Several crews spent over two weeks camped in Upper Bear Creek Basin. They installed a couple dozen rock lined drain structures, rerouted the trail away from wetlands, and built the trail up onto a causeway through another wetland. All these improvements set MTG trail adopters up to be able to take care of this scenic segment with relative ease. Thanks DRD and SCC!
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This summer MTG began hosting afternoon/evening work sessions one Monday and Wednesday on the Blue Jay Trail at Chicken Creek. They've provided a new opportunity to give back to the trails you love so much, and so far it’s been a huge success.
Thanks to everyone who has been coming to these sessions! So far we've gotten a lot done thanks to 150 volunteer hours! All the fords of the ditches were mucked out and rocks re-laid. All were rideable as of July 26th. We completed initial construction of 28 new drainage features on the Blue Jay Trail. The past work day we constructed a short trail realignment at the lower rollover cattle guard. There’s still a chance to come out and join us! September sessions are slated for Monday 9/11 and Wednesday 9/27. We will revisit all the new drainages and tune them up for Fall. Most need to be widened and deepened somewhat. Bring your normal PPE: closed toed shoes, long pants, eye protection, sun protection, snacks and lots of water With the heavy winter snow, recent rains and the eager anticipation of Monsoon season the wildflowers in the high country are simply incredible! Activities like wildflower viewing, birdwatching, picnics and other outdoor adventures are a great way to enjoy our beautiful public lands! The photos below were taken during a recent bikepacking adventure along the Mancos Spur Trail. Remember to practice 'Leave No Trace' principles to ensure the flowers are there for others to enjoy as well!
At MTG's first participation in the Mancos Days parade our big hair, bright colors and high energy earned us a 2nd place award! We're pretty proud of that and hope that the publicity will encourage more people to come out for trail work and to enjoy the many local trails near Mancos. In case you needed any convincing, we have a lot of fun out on the trails.
If you've enjoyed the trails at Aqueduct recently you've seen the new signs! Since we began building the Aqueduct Trail system three years ago, we kept getting requests for better signage. Now that the trail system is complete, the wait is over and you can view important information like direction of travel, mileage, 'you are here' and more at each intersection. Although the MTG website features beautiful trail maps created by board member Howard Kalnitz and we've updated popular trail apps; having trail signs at each intersection is a huge improvement and really enhances the experience for trail users. A huge 'Thank you' of appreciation to the BLM for funding and installing the improved signs!
With the completion of the Crosscut Trail last month, the trail system at Aqueduct is now complete! The flow is amazing and it's impossible to ride these local trails without a huge smile. Also both North and South parking lots have been improved and a new trail kiosk sign installed at the North parking lot. The BLM is currently working on finishing up signs to be placed at trail junctions (similar to those currently at Phil's World). A huge thanks to Shawn Gregory of Big Loop Trails for his work on the mini-excavator, the BLM Tres Rios Field Office, our generous sponsors and all the volunteers who helped create these incredible local trails!
Important: RPI Consulting is tasked with conducting this survey and has asked MTG to reach out to its mailing list to seek volunteers to help collect survey data. Please contact Gabe Preston directly (contact information below) to sign-up or with any questions (NOT MTG). Montezuma County is conducting an Outdoor Recreation Use and Economic Impact Study to quantify the amount of outdoor recreation use in the county and to chart the economic impacts of outdoor recreation in the county. The project team is looking for volunteers to help conduct intercept surveys of recreationists at trailheads and other recreation sites. Volunteers will be able to survey outdoor recreation users when convenient for their schedules, keeping in mind that busier days of the week and times of day will yield more surveys. We plan to conduct intercept surveys near Mancos, Cortez and Dolores so volunteers may choose convenient locations (see below). We will make arrangements to deliver blank surveys and give some pointers about intercept surveys to those who are interested in helping with this important project. The survey questionnaire is brief/fast, we have field tested it and people have been friendly and willing to answer the questions. LOCATION OPTIONS - Here are the locations for the surveys, you can select where you’d like to help administer the surveys: Aqueduct, Chicken Creek, Transfer Campground and TH area, Boggy Draw, Phil's World, Sand Canyon, McPhee Reservoir boat ramp, CANM Visitors center, Dolores River takeout beach DATES - We hope to take surveys intensively beginning July 14 and will be continuing for several weeks. You can collect intercept surveys anytime that works for you, but the busier, higher use times are better because you will get more responses. If you are interested in assisting with the intercept surveys, please contact: Gabe Preston RPI Consulting gabe@rpiconsulting.org 970 382 9886 This past week, thanks to funding from the BLM Tres Rios District, the Aqueduct trail heads had heavy equipment making improvements and enlarging the parking areas! We are so excited to now have parking lots that will accommodate trail users with ease! Also, there will be soon be trail kiosk signs! Permanent trail junction signs are in the works, as are other improvements! So grab your bike, lace up your hiking boots and saddle your horse to enjoy all the beautiful wildflowers and vistas that Mancos' newest trails have on offer!
Work began in early May on the new Crosscut Trail at Aqueduct, which starts at the top of RipRap and connects to Ridges near the bottom of Mountain View. In some sections the flagged trail corridor was thick with Gamble Oak and large dead trees, requiring the use of Sawzalls to open up the trail. Shawn Gregory of Big Loop Trails was contracted to use the mini-excavator to cut and sculpt the trail. After all the heavy lifting with the machine, volunteers came through with hand tools to cut loose roots, buff out the the trail and improve drainage. Final step...pack in the trails with use from hikers and bikers!
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