I was able to take advantage of a sunny day and relatively warm temperatures to check out the trails yesterday. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I hadn’t set foot on the trails since before the forestry work took place and was a little wary of what I might come across. It turns out that things don’t look too bad! The trails are still a few weeks away from being rideable, but that is mostly due to sogginess rather than to tree trunks scattered over the trails. I only saw one ice patch during my travels. And even though there are good long sections of trails that seem rideable, there are also large numbers of boggy sections that will require us to ask that you stay off the trails until they have had a chance to dry out.
Don’t remember that being there last year. Photo taken by author near where Mad Hatter meets Grand Trunk Trail.[/caption] Our main concern is trail erosion and braiding. Blasting through mud might seem fun, but it leaves big gouges in the trail and sends what used to be trail into the forest to be washed away in the next big rain. If you try riding around the mud, you end up widening the trail which makes them less challenging and fun to ride. So please, please don’t be selfish and ride the trails before they are ready. Watch the main page at gorba.ca or any of our social media pages. You can be sure we will make a big deal of the trails being open because we are excited for the season to begin as well. As for the forestry work: the trails look like they haven’t sustained and irreperable damage. There will definitely need to be a bit of dirt moved around where the big machines went through, but hopefully the trail crew can hammer that out before the trails are reideable. Yay! The forecast seems to be calling for a lot of rain, so jump on your gravel grinder to start building fitness for the season. Or go for a swim. Or go to Turkey Point. See you all in a few weeks!