It was a little cool yesterday... maybe 60... much cooler in the deep shade of the woods.
That pictures under the vine tunnel is amazing. How long is the tunnel. Did that happen naturally?
It's about 15 feet or so long, and it's natural. I don't know if you have vine maple down there or not, but it grows up, bends over till it touches the ground, and then roots again. It's unusual for it to be high enough that they could leave it in the trail.
impressed with all those bridges. Is this at a state park? Did you run into any other riders?
It's state ~forest~, so it's working timber, as opposed to park. All the tall timber you see will eventually be logged and then replanted. On any given ride we'll ride through freshly logged areas, mature timber, and replanted areas with young trees.
Here's another picture of a replanted area, I remember when it was logged, and the trees here are probably nearing 5 years old.
We didn't see any other riders yesterday except at the trail head. There's a lot of trail up there, but usually we see ~someone~ while up there. On the day before, we saw riders at the river practice spot, and they were riding with the smallest weiner dog I have ever seen on trail with a horse. I am amazed he could do any distance!
I took a picture of this trail sign at a crossroads... so I could remember these distances later... I have a goal to get into the kind of shape to get to Fall Creek Camp and Capital Peak. Mima falls camp is where had come from to get to this spot.
Do they allow ATV's on those trails? I was wondering how they stay so open. They seem wider then just a horse trail would be.
No recreational ATV's on these trails. They've taken the forest and split it in half. Motorized vehicles on one side of the forest, and hikers, horses and mountain bicycles on the other. We don't share any trails with them. The trails are maintained by a combination of 'adopt a trail' where groups like the Backcountry Horsesmen and other horse groups adopt sections of trail to maintain and cut back, and the major work is done by prison crews. There's a minimum security state prison in the forest, and they do labor out there, cutting back brush and fallen logs and such. ecurbh and I talked about it being pretty good time, really, work hard, be out in the woods... it beats doing time in a grey concrete box! So many of the trails are wider because they do use an ATV or a trackhoe to get in there with trailer loads of gravel fill or lumber or tools. Some of the areas need to be done still... it gets narrow enough to brush us on each side in some spots, like pictured below... And these are stickery berries ;~D
I want to join the Backcountry horsemen group now that we have a trailer. They do work parties a couple times a year, often in the early spring before the trails are open. Work crews can get in all year round. If you belong to the trail group, you're legal in winter if you bring a cutting tool with you!