We've gotten lots of
questions from hikers, cyclists and equestrians about if and when it will be OK
to use the new Oates Peak and Bebe Trails. Here is the
scoop.
1. 4.5 miles of trail have been
completed. Basically the upper 2/3s of the
system.
2. 2.5 miles remain
to be built: one section of Oates Peak Trail (from Reservoir Flats up for
about 1.4 miles); and, the bottom mile of the hikers only Valencia Peak Trail
(from the pavement/parking to the intersection with Badger Trail
where Valencia gets really steep).
3. Zachi will be
back in Feb/March 2013 to complete the last 2.5 miles.
4. The trail needs
to weather/harden this winter and the 2013/14
winter.
5. All the reroutes will be
open in the spring of 2014 (15 months from now).
6. The agreement
with Parks and the other user groups represented on the Parks Trails Committee
is that when the entire trail project is completed and signs
installed, Oates, Bebe and Reservoir Flats Trails will be opened to
cyclists. That means Feb/March 2014.
7. All the other
trails south of Islay Creek remain illegal for cyclists (e.g. Coon Creek,
Rattlesnake, Badger, Valencia).
8. Hikers are
allowed on the newly constructed trails NOW. We are having a problem
with vegetation regrowing back up in the new trail tread when it sits for a
season. We are hoping that foot traffic will elliminate some of that
growth. Also hikers won't walk on the two sensitive parts of the tread
which we need to protect - the outside edge and the banked
turns.
9. Equestrians are NOT
allowed on the new trails until they open in spring 2014. Horses
generally walk on the outside edge of a trail. If horses are taken on
the newly constructed trails they will collapse the outer 1/3rd. The
picture below illustrates our reasoning. If you look carefully you will
see that this is a 2/3rds bench cut trail, meaning that only 2/3s of it is on
mineral soil and the outside 1/3rd is fill. Zachi's tracked machines can't
compress the outer-most edge so it remains VERY soft. That outer
edge will harden with the rains - provided horses don't walk on
it.
10.
Cyclists (who aren't suppose to be there anyway!) MUST stay off the new trails until they open in spring 2014. First of all, poaching is illegal, it
jeopardizes our access and it legitimately pisses off Parks and other trail
users. Please be patient! Second, bikes will destroy the banked
turns that we've built to protect switchbacks and other turns. If you
check out the second picture you will see that the bottom 2/3rds of the 3 foot
banked turn is fill taken from the top 1/3rd. I can assure you that the
fill dirt is VERY soft. We've tamped down the banked turns
but unfortunately it is the usual crappy MdO soil and when I made the
mistake of walking over one the other day it literally collapsed. Riding
these banked turns before they harden will destroy them and make the trail much
less fun to ride when it is open to cyclist.
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| 2/3 bench cut trail |
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| Banked turns at upper right |
