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Hoof Prints at Grand Ridge

1K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Borneo 
#1 ·
Watch out! Some of them could flip you if you're not paying attention. Don't know how will they will stand out at night. With more riding they will smooth out a bit. They're on the final downhill to the bog. The new bridge makes it so horses can go where they've never been before. Kind of muddy today, I forgot this time of year it takes a few days to dry out. If the forecast holds this weekend should be great.
Raking in the fall will help prevent some of this muck. Another problem is the power toter churns up organic mater at the sides.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the update Dave. I put in 10 miles (running) at Cougar Mountain on Sunday for the first time in a couple years and those trails make GR look as smooth and dry as the desert. Cougar is just one giant mud-pit. Water-logged pits of clay with little to no drainage. All the hikers I saw were walking 2 abreast and the horse damage was unrelenting.

Granted, it is February and it did rain pretty hard Saturday night, but I had to laugh at how completely obliterated those trails were (even the hiker-only ones) compared to the ones that the mtn biking community have built, ridden, and maintain.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, Urik, you're right. It was the old school horse folks from the back side including the new arrival and ironically named "Welcome Lake" folks that brought their horse acre lot green horses and kids on them in there which got us kicked out. Scare tactics to the city council by stay at home moms. Many don't know this but the BBTC actually sued the City of Redmond over that. What we all ended up with is a mere pittance to what was in there.
Still remember vividly feeling pretty fast when Julie Gregg blew by me on a 'cross bike through some of the nastiest root sections possible.

It's a delicate balance to work with the equine folks. They have money and history though like some of their horses, they also wear blinders when it comes to the damage a 1200 pound animal can do to a trail.

I still chuckle thinking about the time and avid long time equestrian told me she was really happy to be able to pack down the ruts bikes made in the trail with her horse. Wha? :eek:
 
#11 ·
FWIW we're not going anywhere without the horsie folk here in Cle Elum as far as trail building goes. They're movers and shakers out here, and with the horse park going in they're here to stay. SO: plan on sharing this direction. Fortunately for most of the year we're not dealing with the water issues y'all do over there, so damage can be minimized.

BUT... and I say this as a person who started out on horses, still loves them, and has horse training in her back pocket as an emergency fall-back 'career'... I think in 20 years we'll look back on these conversations and wonder why we were so worked up. IMO shrinking expendable time & money/housing budgets + rapidly rising fuel (gotta haul those hay burners with big trucks), feed & shoeing costs, etc. are really going to chew into the pleasure horse scene.

Or as I put it to a BCHA gal at our meeting: it's WHOLE lot cheaper to feed my bike. :D
 
#12 ·
All I know is it was a sweet after-work place to ride and then it was gone, and horsies made it happen. I'm all about sharing and I greet hikers and equestrians cheerfully, I just wish the sentiment went all the way around (in regards to sharing).

I could voice my opinion to being relegated to 3 trails that are only open 6 months out of the year (and often closed due to logging at that) but I won't. I am very grateful for Duthie and Grand Ridge, I am just afraid that what happened in Redmond will happen to GR and as the density increases up there I can see just that happening. So when I see hoofprints on "my" turf it leaves a bad taste in my mouth knowing that "sharing" is a concept that doesn't seem to be on the other two user groups agendas.

On a more positive note, Borneo, was the root section you are talking about the one that was about 5 minutes into the trail on the Westchester entrance off of Novelty Hill Road? I still remember when I cleaned that section for the first time! The Watershed was great! I had a 6 mile loop that I would do 2 or 3 times in a row. It had everything...singletrack, double track, roots, flowy sections, mud bogs. Maybe the years have made it seem better than what it actually was but that was truly a great experience, riding out there.
 
#13 ·
I've never seen horses on weekends, I think they ride GR on weekdays to avoid conflicts.
Parking for trailers is limited so it shouldn't get too bad. There was a battle years ago within KC Parks to make this trail open to bikes. The way to keep it open is to work on it. There will be more WTA time in March.
 
#14 ·
Doesn't take more than a few horses to really F up a trail if it's been really wet out Dave. Weekdays or otherwise.

Uruk-hai, this was back in the mess on the long section above the sandy chowed out "chute" before the Cardiac Climb back up to the gas line landing. She passed me like I was standing still. :thumbsup:
 
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