Trail Report for Friday, May 24 2019: The Blaine County Recreation District has opened the new non-motorized 4.2-mile-long Quigley Loop Trail east of Hailey. The trail can be accessed off of Quigley Road. Please enjoy the trail safely and responsibly. The Ketchum Ranger District (KRD) has opened a bit more trail, but things are still wet…
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Three Tips for Better Trails
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
You can help others have fun and stay safe while doing your part to keep the trails in good shape by following a few simple etiquette tips: 1. Expect the Unexpected Slow down and approach blind corners with care. Approach areas with restricted lines-of-sight at a mellow speed. Be ready to stop safely if someone…
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Rattlesnake Common Sense
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
The only venomous snake native to Idaho is the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis). Each spring snakes emerge from hibernation and we sometimes see them here and there in the valley. Democrat Gulch is one area where they are often spotted. Those walking dogs are encouraged to keep their pets on leash, as curious canines and…
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Big Winter Long Spring
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
We’ll see how things shake out during the next couple of weeks, but for now, the vast majority of our local singletrack remains temporarily closed due to wet conditions. The trails are closed to protect them while they are wet and muddy. When people travel on wet trails the resulting damage is costly and difficult…
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Lake Creek Bridge Repairs
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
On Thursday night, Sept. 27, six volunteers took part in the final BCRD Adopt-A-Trail Night of the 2018 season. Making repairs to the BLM Lake Creek Trailhead footbridge was the project. The BLM‘s John Kurtz and Mike Houser brought the materials and tools, and they had all the replacement boards pre-drilled and cut to length.…
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Alden Rebuild
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
The temperature was in the low twenties and it was breezy as 15 workers gathered recently for an early morning briefing near the mouth of the newly rebuilt Alden Gulch Trail. Crew members with the Ketchum Ranger District and the Idaho Conservation Corps formed a circle and discussed the day’s work, then they headed up; hiking five…
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Greenhorn Volunteers
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
Fifteen volunteers recently worked in Greenhorn Gulch on the Greenhorn Trail. A BCRD Adopt-A-Trail event on Tuesday, September 11th brought workers together to perform maintenance on portions of the trail that had become heavily sloped to the side. The excessive outsloping made walking on the trail difficult. The volunteers dug into the trail tread and reshaped…
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Deer Creek Beckons
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
Many areas burned hot in the 2103 Beaver Creek Fire. Since then, the Ketchum Ranger District and its partners have been working hard to rebuild the facilities lost during the fire. Last year saw a huge push from the KRD Trail Crew on the reconstruction of the Deer Creek trails. The Kinsey Creek Trail 319…
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Oregon Gulch Repairs
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
Gaining ground is the name of the game when it comes to servicing the backlog of needed maintenance on area trails. Volunteers Chris Keenan, Mike Keenan, and Laurie Leman made some headway recently by working on damaged facilities at the Oregon Gulch Trailhead. On Thursday, August 23rd they repaired the trailhead’s horse hitch-rack and a…
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Placer, Aspen, Lane’s Maintenance
by Chris Leman, B.C.R.D. Wood R. Valley Tr. Coordinator •
Placer Maintenance The Ketchum Ranger District has wrapped up two weeks of work on the Placer Creek Trail 141. The KRD Trail Crew, and an eleven-person Idaho Conservation Corp youth crew, performed heavy maintenance on the trail, and it needed it. Maintenance had not been performed on the trail, other than the cutting out of…