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Post by Angela on Apr 19, 2019 21:35:57 GMT -5
As a reminder FATS is still under official USFS closure. Thank you for respecting the closure and helping protect this awesome forest resource.
Now the rest of the story....Augusta sometimes manages to dodge the weather fronts coming in from the west. They appear to split and go on either side of us. That is what we were hoping would happen but that was not the case today. We had three waves of rain across the area today that dumped about 1 1/2 inches of rain. Stay tuned for updates.
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Post by Angela on Apr 23, 2019 19:58:21 GMT -5
Good news! FATS is officially back open. There are some wet/mucky spots but overall the tread is really good!
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Post by Angela on May 5, 2019 6:00:53 GMT -5
We avoided the rain yesterday but it came roaring in last night about 11pm and lasted for a couple of hours. It was very heavy at times but with the dry trail conditions, higher temps and foliage in growth mode it should be absorbed in app 24 hours. Please do not use the wet trails for the next 24 hours. Thank you!
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Post by Angela on May 12, 2019 9:11:29 GMT -5
It rained last night between about 6pm and 9pm some of it quite heavy. FATS needs a little time to dry out before you use it. It’s been dry for a while, the temps are higher and the foliage is absorbing the rainwater more quickly now.
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Post by Angela on May 29, 2019 14:21:30 GMT -5
Members of the USDA Forest Service are out at FATS right now fighting a wildfire that is located on the Brown Wave end of the trail system. They have cordoned off FATS and ask that users stay away. We will update you as soon as we have information. Thank you!
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Post by Angela on May 29, 2019 20:46:27 GMT -5
FATS is under closure by the USDA Forest Service due to the fire. Once the fire is out and the trail assessed for damage and any hazards removed, it will be reopened. Stay tuned for updates!!
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Post by Angela on May 30, 2019 11:40:05 GMT -5
Update> The south loops at FATS will remain closed until early next week.The USDA Forest Service is working to ensure the fire is completely extinguished and dealing with hazard trees that fell during the fire or are at risk of falling. During the course of containing the fire a bulldozer breached the trail 4 or 5 times, we will know the extent of that damage once we are allowed access. Please note the north trails (Tower and Big Rock) are NOT closed!If you are visiting from out of town there are other trails in the area to ride. Go to the sorbacsra.org website and select trails. If you are looking for longer trail systems, the Bartram Trail provides an in/out riding experience of over 30 miles (minimal climbing) or if you want a more challenging experience Long Cane Horse Trails is a great riding experience (over 20 miles) be sure and take a map with you! images.app.goo.gl/9ykFgjKoZzyk3qs38Feel free to post here or reach out to us at sorba.csra@gmail.com
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Post by Angela on Jun 3, 2019 20:15:28 GMT -5
FATS is officially open Tuesday, Jun 4th. The fire is out, hazard trees have been removed and the trail has been repaired where it was breached by the bulldozer. Kudos to that crew they did an excellent job of repairing the trail. It might be slightly soft in those crossings so be aware.
There are trees out there still smoking and you might see a flame in some of them. That is normal. The effect is similar to the prescribed burns that are done from time to time. The areas that were burned (approximately 34 acres of USDA Forest Service managed land and about 19 acres of private land) will not need additional foliage removal during the upcoming work party.
Signs made it as did the bench at the intersection of Skinny and the connector trail to Brown Wave.
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Post by Angela on Jun 9, 2019 6:15:57 GMT -5
FATS took some hits yesterday with some heavy rain and more is predicted today. that pic below is just one of the waves that rolled through. At this point users needs to stay off FATS for at least 24 hours after the rain stops to give them time to dry out. Thank you!
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Post by Angela on Jun 9, 2019 20:10:48 GMT -5
FATS is under official closure by USFS Forest Service due to heavy rain over the weekend. Please do not access the trails during the closure. Stay tuned for updates!
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Post by Angela on Jun 14, 2019 7:56:08 GMT -5
FATS is open! Please ride in the middle of the trails rather than around any wet/mucky spots to avoid widening the trails.
If you spot any trees down we would appreciate a heads up (trail and approximately how far in would be helpful).
Thank you!
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Post by Angela on Jun 21, 2019 12:17:20 GMT -5
Tomorrow is our annual FATS maintenance day. Yes, the trails will be open but just as a heads up, there will be workers and equipment out on Great Wall, Skinny and Deep Step until about noontime.
Brown Wave, Big Rock and Tower are NOT on the schedule tomorrow so if they are in your plans for riding, you might want to consider riding those trails first.
Be sure and stop by our tent and say hello and if you do see volunteers working along the trail please let them know you appreciate the effort. That goes such a long way on a hot summer day since I'm sure they would rather be riding too!
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Post by Angela on Jun 28, 2019 12:06:02 GMT -5
Everything is fueled up, restringed and ready to go for the smaller, follow up work party at FATS this Saturday. What’s missing??? You! We are still short 6 volunteers to fully staff this work party. If you can help please contact us at sorba.csra@gmail.com or share this with a buddy. This work party will last about 3 hours, if you can free some time in your schedule it would be greatly appreciated. You don’t have to be a member, you don’t even have to be a FATS trail user, we will take any able bodied volunteers 😉. Please spread the word!! But we need to know if someone is coming so we have equipment/tools for them to work with!!
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Post by Angela on Jul 24, 2019 11:17:27 GMT -5
We had a front move through yesterday afternoon that dropped from between 1/2 to an inch of rain. The trails should be fine to ride today due to three factors> it has been very dry for the past few weeks, the plants are still in growing mode and the temps are warm.
There might be some wet spots here and there, please ride stay on the trail and ride in the middle versus riding around those spots and widening the trail. Thank you!
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Post by Angela on Aug 20, 2019 5:58:32 GMT -5
The rain moved over FATS just after 9:30 last night and settled in until after midnight. More rain in the early morning hours before finally moving off around 6. Reports are that we had over 2 inches of rain. Please give FATS at least 24 hours to dry out before using the trail. Thanks!
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Post by Angela on Aug 21, 2019 11:54:39 GMT -5
Scout reports that FATS is still pretty wet and it will probably be Thursday before most of the trails have dried out enough to use. Lower Skinny will probably not be ready to ride until Saturday. Thanks to everyone who gives the trails a chance to dry out after heavy rain!
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Post by Angela on Aug 22, 2019 12:01:59 GMT -5
Update from the USFS on the logging activity around the north trails (Tower/Big Rock)>>> They are currently logging a 49 acre block (highlighted in yellow on the left side of the map) and have brought in an additional logging team and have probably already started logging on the east side of the USFS Road 661 (highlighted in yellow on the right side of the map). It is going to be best to avoid that area due to having two crews working on that narrow dirt road at the same time. We will update you as we receive information.
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Post by Angela on Oct 4, 2019 11:29:08 GMT -5
Just a reminder, the FATS 50K trail running event will be held on Sunday, October 6th. It will probably be over about mid-afternoon on Sunday.
If you are a mountain biker, hiker, dog walker, etc you might want to spend the earlier part of the day elsewhere since there could be 200 - 300 runners out on the trails and they have the right of way.
The north trails, Tower and Big Rock, would be a good option. The Bartram Trail is not far away and would make a great option as well as would any of our outlying trails!
Please help spread the word! Thank you!
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Post by Angela on Oct 14, 2019 5:57:42 GMT -5
We had some badly needed rain last night (under 1/2 inch recorded). Due to the drought conditions we have had for weeks it would have been absorbed quickly. Trails are good to ride/run.
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Post by Angela on Oct 19, 2019 22:35:17 GMT -5
FATS is under official closure by the US Forest Service as a result of the continuing rain from tropical storm Nestor. We do not anticipate this being a long closure due to drought conditions leading up to this rain. Stay tuned for updates!
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