New BLM trails
The BLM is currently undertaking trail construction projects in Hailey and Bellevue for improved accessibility and outdoor recreation. They have recently roughed-in a new 3.4-mile trail connecting Hailey’s Toe of the Hill Trail to the BCRD’s Quigley Canyon trails using a 48-inch-wide bulldozer. Presently, two mini-excavator operators are busy working on shaping the trail’s tread and adding final touches like turns and drains.
In addition to the Hailey project, the BLM is in the process of building a 1.8-mile trail and a 0.4-mile trail on the north side of Slaughterhouse Canyon in Bellevue. These trails, like the ones constructed on the south side of the canyon two years ago by the BLM, are located near the canyon’s entrance. They will enable users to primarily follow singletracks when creating loops within Slaughterhouse Canyon. The Bellevue trails are in the rough construction phase. Once the northern project is finished, the team working on the Hailey trail will shift to finish the Bellevue trails.
While there is still much work to be done before these trails are open to the public, progress is being made, and there are hopes to open some sections by late fall. The BLM and the equipment operators kindly requests that people avoid active work zones due to the risk of rolling rocks and to help minimize work disruptions caused by passersby.
KRD Trail Crew
The Ketchum Ranger District Trail Crew camped out near the top of Deer Creek Trail for a portion of last week. This left them in a good position to spend a few days finishing the cutting-out of the very large avalanche debris pile near the confluence of Deer Creek and Cinnamon Creek. The route is clear.
The Wolftone side of the Curran-Wolftone Trail #160 in Deer Creek will be temporarily closed on Tuesday, September 26. It will be closed that day so that the Ketchum Ranger District Trail Crew can efficiently carry out some heavy maintenance on the trail.
Volunteers
Last Saturday, Wood River Trails Coalition staff went out with a group of students, parents, and teachers from The Sage School to work on repairs of the Chocolate Gulch Trail at the Fox Creek Trailhead. They hauled and crushed rock for three hours. The resulting gravel was used by the volunteers to fill in and repair the trail where it had been washed away by springtime flooding.
Mid-week, staff with the Wood River Trails Coalition led team members, coaches, and parents associated with the Wood River Mountain Bike Team on the maintenance of Two Dog Trail. Overall, this summer, the Wood River Mountain Bike Team volunteered at four work events and contributed over 150 hours of maintenance to the trails.
The next WRTC volunteer work session is this Saturday, September 23 on Forbidden Fruit Trail in Adams Gulch from 9 am to noon (lunch to follow). Want to dig in? Visit the group’s volunteer page at: https://woodrivertrailscoalition.org/volunteer.
Some people pack folding hand-saws with them on their outings in the event that they come across downed trees that they can cut-out with such gear. Mountain bikers Steve Edsall and Kirk Anderson recently cut-out 4 trees on Osberg Ridgeline Trail between the Baker Lake TH and the high-point of Osberg. They report that four large trees remain down on that more western end of the trail. Reports have also come in of many large trees down on the more easterly areas of the Osberg Ridgeline Trail. More trees are also reported down across the Oregon-Fox Connector Trail and the higher reaches of the Adams Rib Trail.
Sheep band location info
– A flock is nearing Long Gulch in Corral Creek.
– West of Hailey, a band is grazing on private land near the mouth of Democrat Gulch.
– Warm Springs Band is in the Thompson Creek area between Barr Gulch and Rooks Creek.
– Northeast of Triumph, a flock is between Milligan Gulch and Bear Gulch.
– Near the north end of Cove Creek Road, sheep are in Hook Draw.
– Further south along Cove Creek Road, a band is between the corrals and The Narrows Trail.
Sheep guard dogs take their work seriously. Try to avoid areas with sheep if you are traveling with pets. For recommended best practices for interacting with bands of sheep and guard dogs visit the Trail Alerts section of the BCRD Summer TraiLink site.
Best, Chris
Chris Leman, BCRD Wood River Valley Trail Coordinator
cleman@bcrd.org