Ok....did a little recon over the weekend....
dankilling said:
if Wiss is too much of a mess (I have heard it is really bad) we could hit FrenchCreek....
Things I learned:
It's a really bad idea to go to french creek on a saturday. Didn't realize that they opened the park to hunting. This sucks. Not because I'm opposed to hunting, but because the park is surrounded by State Game Lands which we're not allowed to ride on. Why do people feel compelled to hunt IN THE F$%^&'ng PARK where riding
is allowed instead of on the lands specifically set aside SOLELY for hunting?!?!
I rode up the Lenape trail and passed a dozen shotgun-toting men & boys. Stopped at the park office to check which areas were open to hunting. Basically, everything except the hopewell furnace nat. historic site is open to one form of hunting or another (weapons restrictions in some areas: archery, muzzle-load, shotgun & slug). Of course, the historic site also happens to be closed to MTBs. #^*#*!@
LOTS of shots fired during the brief time I was there.
We'd be fine going there next sunday, but it's worth noting that the trails on the east side of 345 (red/white) are pretty washed out too.
Went to wissahickon yesterday and, after seeing what I saw, I'd like to change my vote. Wissahickon is even worse now than it was two weeks ago. Much, much, worse. The trailhead at Valley Green Rd is gone. That's right, gone. Completely. Land-slide style.
One of the concrete bridges that was closed before has colapsed. Split in half. Ironically, it's open now. There's a rut 2 feet deep and almost as wide down the center of one trail. What used to be a challenging climb and a roller-coaster of a downhill is, essentially, unrideable.
The trails on the west side of the creek are in better shape but, overall, the place is a mess. Just when you think it can't get any worse....
All that said, I think it's got to be either French Creek or somewhere else altogether. Jim Thorpe, maybe? But then somebody else would have to lead. The only trail up there that I know well enough to lead is American Standard (which is now closed).
thoughts?