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Post by seenvic on Mar 5, 2011 20:41:28 GMT -5
I went up to flag "2 miles" of trail today. It is part of the Savannah Valley Railroad Trail. The part I am to flag is where to the old railbed is now a paved road, and the folks doing the trail want it off the paved road.
Let me tell you, if what I flagged today is ever built, it is going to be off the graph. I ended up starting in a slightly different spot than where I thought. Then I picked up the lake and followed it, and before I knew it, the 2 miles was 2.25 miles....and I was just getting to where I thought it started.
I spent the day on steep sideslopes, full of rocks, I mean real rocks, all all sizes. You can ride over them, around them and some look are just amazingly huge and spectacularily covered in moss. Bigger than Big Rock's rocks. Way more to be "in the trail". Lake views like HKSP lake loop. High quality. I was giddy.
Hope to go back tomorrow and finish. This could be 5-6 miles, along Hugenot Parkway, b/n BCSP and HKSP. It is part of a railtrail that will connect Willington to McCormick. If this section gets built, there will be about an 8 mile loop of this singletrack, a short piece of the railbed and the parkway. And the connection b/n the parks would perhaps get done again with this piece of trail in the middle.
I also stopped and poked my head in the woods at BCSP. I looked at the trail by the green box, somewhat near Todd's house. I could see the trail because I knew where it was and the corridor was clear. But the trail tread looked no different than the forest floor. :-(
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Post by azdrawdy on Mar 6, 2011 16:23:53 GMT -5
Obviously your trail prep is off the SVRR railbed, like you described, and that gives me great joy. I sincerely hope that what you flagged becomes reality. I plan on camping at HKSP for many years, and would love to be a part of building and/or maintaining some new singletrack in that area.
Re: Your comments about BCSP. It's been heading that way for several years now. YC and I love riding that trail. It amazes me that our chapter, and the Greenwood group, hates this trail. We volunteered this past fall to blaze the trail so it is not lost. We were told that we were not allowed on the trail for any reason since it was closed for the season. I hung my head. I may venture out this spring and blaze it...Then again, I may not. There are only so many volunteer hours in this body each year.
MD
FYI: Todd is now at HKSP.
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Post by Angela on Mar 6, 2011 19:07:55 GMT -5
Hate is a pretty strong word  I for one don't "hate" any of our trails but with 13 trails or trail systems in our inventory and 150 miles of sweet singletrack, people are simply going to ride their favorites or ones most convenient for them.... most of the time. I think there are some folks out there chapter wide and others that do like Baker Creek - maybe if those folks could speak up and step up and devote their time specifically to that trail we could roust some of the other volunteers to take care of the other ones and Baker Creek would not be lost?? P.S. Didn't help the trail to charge by the person to get into the park to ride it since it clearly wasn't the favorite trail of a lot of people already. Thoughts?? |
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Post by oddcouple on Mar 6, 2011 19:40:01 GMT -5
I have said it many times and will say it again BAKERS DOZENS at BAKERS CREEK.
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Post by Angela on Mar 6, 2011 19:49:10 GMT -5
I'm not saying it isn't worth a try now but as you remember that trail was the original intended venue of the Baker's Dozen - hence the name. Many, many months of effort, letters, pleading, begging, and on and on led to final approval to do it ------------------------------------ as long as the night portion of the ride would be limited to circling the parking lot down by the pavilion for the final hours...........  |
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Post by seenvic on Mar 6, 2011 20:43:05 GMT -5
I plan to ride BCSP again soon. And I like the thought of somehow reviving it. But I doubt it happens.
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Post by azdrawdy on Mar 6, 2011 20:46:41 GMT -5
Hate is a pretty strong word .... Thoughts?? I will quit at any attempts to be politically correct (which seems to be the norm in this world). Many, many people in this chapter have made many, many comments to the effect that they would be happy to never ride, or participate in work parties, at Baker Creek State Park mountain bike trail again. YC and I specifically requested a work party this past year, but were told that it would be a waste of resources. We have taken it upon ourselves to do a few chainsaw parties at BCSP, and will do the same this year. For those that have ridden pre-IMBA trails, and don't mind working your azz off to get in ten miles, ride it. Or don't. When was the last time that you hurt after knocking out ten miles, in the CSRA? Back on topic, for now, maybe... MD |
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Post by Angela on Mar 7, 2011 7:00:56 GMT -5
Well actually I was looking for thoughts on what to do to keep this trail from fading back into the forest. The Baker's Dozen venue was a good idea and at the meeting tomorrow night that can be brought up with the race committee to see if they want to pursue. Since we can't make people ride there and volunteers will volunteer for the work parties they want to, I still think having the folks step forward that love that trail and have them advocate for it is a viable solution. We are doing regularly scheduled monthly work parties now and Baker's Creek can certainly be thrown into the mix of trails that need some love this year! |
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Post by wooglin on Mar 7, 2011 10:21:08 GMT -5
I'm not saying it isn't worth a try now but as you remember that trail was the original intended venue of the Baker's Dozen - hence the name. Many, many months of effort, letters, pleading, begging, and on and on led to final approval to do it ------------------------------------ as long as the night portion of the ride would be limited to circling the parking lot down by the pavilion for the final hours........... How about a 6 hr then? |
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Post by Angela on Mar 7, 2011 12:25:08 GMT -5
What an excellent idea! Could be a cursor or chance for folks to try an endurance event as a ramp up to the Baker's Dozen. If we keep it fairly local or at least grass roots we might could pull it off (there are a lot of moving parts to events . We'd obviously have to get the trail in shape for the event and then with the riders actually riding it it would at least keep it alive! I will bring this up at the meeting tomorrow night and gauge the interest...........the big issue might be getting someone to step up as race director |
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Post by wala on Mar 7, 2011 12:45:35 GMT -5
I'm working in McCormick now, and I'm very intersted in both working and riding some at Baker's Creek. I've never been on Hickory Knob either.
When the time changes, I'll be bringing the bike to work often. Lot's of other options on the way home too.
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Post by Angela on Mar 7, 2011 12:49:41 GMT -5
People often ride Hickory Knob and then jump over into Baker's Creek State Park - I think if you ride all the trails you'd end up over 20 miles on the singletrack portion alone.
Baker Creek was closed during the winter and I don't know what date it will be back open.
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Post by Angela on Mar 7, 2011 12:54:54 GMT -5
I couldn't locate the 2011 opening date but the year before they were closed from October 1st and reopened on March 1st so they might have just reopened. I called the park number but would have had to leave a message - Baker Creek State Park 864-443-2457
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Post by seenvic on Mar 7, 2011 13:34:19 GMT -5
I am 99% sure BCSP was open when I drove past it. I glanced that way and it appeared to be open.
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Post by brianW on Mar 7, 2011 14:32:20 GMT -5
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Post by azdrawdy on Mar 7, 2011 20:33:00 GMT -5
C'mon. April's Fool, right? I brought up this idea, as a Baker's Half Dozen, over and over again. Years ago. At BCSP, at HKSP, at Horn Creek...yep, over and over again. Shot down, over and over, because it will take as many volunteers to put on a 13 hour race as a 6.5 hour race, and Baker Creek won't pull in a crowd sufficient to justify the SORBA/CSRA volunteer commitment. I raise the flag here. MD |
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Post by Angela on Mar 7, 2011 20:55:38 GMT -5
And you are right - but that wasn't what I was referring to here - we already have Baker's Dozen scheduled for the fall and it would take as many volunteers to put on a full on Baker's Dozen type event for 6 hours than it would for 13 hours just over a shorter period of time.
When Wooglin mentioned it I was thinking (with no discussion with the powers that be - i.e. SORBA-CSRA Officers) if we could find a race leader and do something more grass roots and local we'd have the advantage of cleaning up the trail and then putting some wheels on it...............a save the trail event for local riders.
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Post by dparrott on Mar 7, 2011 21:26:36 GMT -5
I'll volunteer time with the backpack blower to define the trail - will need a sherpa or two to carry extra fuel.
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Post by mudonthetires on Mar 7, 2011 21:47:05 GMT -5
Having never ridden at Baker, and being fairly new to riding the area, may I ask why the vast majority of mountain bikers are opposed to riding this particlar track and have allowed it to get in the poor condition described above?
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Post by wooglin on Mar 7, 2011 22:17:13 GMT -5
Having never ridden at Baker, and being fairly new to riding the area, may I ask why the vast majority of mountain bikers are opposed to riding this particlar track and have allowed it to get in the poor condition described above? 1--They started charging to get into the park. 2--Many other closer places became available to ride. |
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I for one don't "hate" any of our trails but with 13 trails or trail systems in our inventory and 150 miles of sweet singletrack, people are simply going to ride their favorites or ones most convenient for them.... most of the time.
