Bonsai Nut wrote on 11/20/20 at 4:51pm:


Well thank you kindly, it's not on accident 

Bonsai Nut wrote on 11/24/20 at 7:28pm:


Yea, it's hard to tell on the internet sometimes what folks mean.  Lets see if I get this one right in response to "why?".

Trail maintenance isn't an activity that is reactive.  It certainly can be but that would be going about it in the wrong fashion.  If one were to wait until issues arise on a trail to fix them, then it would be a constant game of catch up.  While one issue is being addressed, more would form, so on and so forth.  Kind of like chasing your own tail.

Trail maintenance is most effective when done in a proactive manner.  Maintaining out slope, grade reversals/dips, and other trouble spots that may not be horrible yet, but will become problems if not addressed.  That's how trail maintenance is implemented at the State Park, or at least we try as much as possible.  With so much trail it's not an option to fall behind or the hole will be too deep to escape.   

So yes the trails are generally in pretty good shape and it's not by accident, it's proactive.

-Will

sFud wrote on 11/25/20 at 2:59pm:


Pretty low unfortunately and I love a booter and a drop as much as anyone.  The State wants to keep a more natural feel on the trails.  They have a ton of hikers on all the bike trails as well so drops wouldn't really fly with that interaction.   

Luckily trails like Cedar Valley are pretty close, and the new Mountain Creek Park right on the Catawba County side of the lake will have 7 miles of bike only trail (jumps and drops) within  the 20 mile trail system.  Check some progress on the builders instagram.

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IntheBush wrote on 11/21/20 at 7:32pm:
a while back, even before the Laurel and Wildlife trails existed. The staff would close the trail for a week after a short rain. Their argument at the time, keeping the integrity of the trails for future generations. There were even a couple of times, the trail was closed in anticipation of a rain event. I'm thinking that as other State Parks started to build trails, and having a more relaxed way of when the trails would stay opened. That they started to be more opened about the trail.

Another point of view...  Over the past few months, it seems the trails are often opened a day or two too quickly...  For example, I try to wait at least a day or two after the trails open before I ride to avoid the mud holes...  So reasonable people may differ...  Just sayin'...

BUT, we all agree that the LNSP trails are awesome and the folks working on them (including Mike in the past) deserve a big THANK YOU!!   

73 

Having designed, built and continue to maintain a trail system from start to present since 2004....continued, periodic maintenance works.  Most important thing is to keep the drains cleared and working.  That alleviates 90% of your problems.  As far as blowing leaves? Yes, when done in the proper manner.  I always concentrate on getting the bulk of the leaves off and blow the drains out really well.  Seems to work well at Fisher Farm.   

I used to be a pretty bad trail Nazi about riding Fisher wet but having the experience of watching how the trail reacts to weather over 16 years I've been able fine tune my processes and the trail has held up extremely well, considering.  Yes...I just tooted my own horn. I deserve it a little.

The Cycle Path wrote on 12/03/20 at 10:11pm:


Yeah, I hear you.  Apples and Oranges when comparing west coast to Charlotte.  We had an opposite season - we waited for rain because with our soil we could only work trails in the wet.  Rain comes, wait one day, work the trails.  If you are lucky (with crappy west coast clay soil) the work lasts for months.  We could not control the rain - we had to get it off the trail ASAP.  Granted we were dealing with trails with a lot more elevation change, so rain was destructive if it was not immediately ejected off the trail.  So a lot of our trail work was banking turns, cutting drains with short hop-overs, and then shifting the work to the other side.

The mountain trails were mostly decomposed granite, so they handled rain well.  We just needed to clear the foliage once per year and they were good to go.  Got to like to ride rocks, though.  There is a reason why you ride a fat rear tire in SoCal. 

Just to give you an idea of the sketchy clay soil we had to deal with... cut a trail, and it would get rutted out instantly even with decent water bars.  This one is Telonics in Laguna Beach.  But it is par for the course.

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IntheBush wrote on 12/05/20 at 10:52pm:


I ride an enduro bike, but it is just because it was my primary bike back west that I brought with me when I moved.  I spend most of my time in two gears with the rear locked out for the riding in LKN SP.  Looking forward to more normal times when I will be able to swing a trip out to the trails further west.

Fingers crossed they will open the trails today.  I found it ironic that the bike trails were closed on Saturday, while the same day they had a cross-country endurance race on the hiking trails... Just people running loops, over and over, for six straight hours.  Would I have opened the bike trails on Saturday?  No.  But they would have been opened yesterday.  We only had .75" of rain on Friday night.

LOL though they have opened the north loops, south loops still closed... five days after .75" rain.

Closed 7 days out of the last 10.  At some point it is starting to feel like a nice ranger vacation!

Pulling60 wrote on 12/09/20 at 1:27pm:


You think you are being clever... but you are actually hitting the nail on the head.

"Signifying nothing" pretty much sums up the attitude of this group.