This week we added a New Sun Deck to the shelter at the Muir.   It’ll be a nice place to relax with friends after a Good Ride.  Also added, was the first of the New Trail Maps at the TrailHead… AND… added was the Much Needed ‘Rainbow Bridge over Muddied Waters’ [ it's a twelve foot boardwalk over the BIG mud hole down by the Big bog].
Watch for many other New additions coming soon to the Muir!
“Yeah, the TrailCrew is stayin’ Busy!”
Look for more new signage in the coming weeks!
The signs are to ‘designate’ various sections of trail on the John Muir Trail System.
Don’t ride like this guy. The National Mountain Bike Patrol doesn’t want to have to come out and scrape any brains off a rock as a result of poor riding.
Every now and then, all the planets align and great rides just happen! I bet we had ~20 riders show for our usually (unusual) Wednesday evening group ride with spectacular results! Ahhh the power of the internet! Today it unites us….well yesterday evening it united us. We got to ride with friends (for one reason or another) that haven’t ridden with the group for what seems ages and we celebrated the addition of several newcomers to the group! After the ride we all enjoyed some tailgating, till a million stars filled the sky. Maybe the title of this post should have been ‘Best Wednesday Ever!’Â Next time…why don’t you come and join us!
Need a TrailRiding fix? Wanna know what Riding at the Southern Kettles is like?   Here is a video shot exclusively at the Southern Kettles on a GoPro Hero HD camera. This video only gives you ‘a taste’ of what is available at the John Muir System of Trails. If you like what you see, come out and ride. Then, consider giving something back to those Great Trails you rode, by Volunteering ’a little bit of your time’ to help build those GREAT Trails. Join the All Volunteer ”eSpeCially CrAzy IrRegular TrailBuildin’ Crew” on one of their Saturday morning TrailBuildin’ WorkDays. You’ll be GLAD you did.
There are lots of new projects in the works at the Muir Trailhead. The photo above, shows the materials for a new sun deck that is being constructed on the south side of the shelter for everyone to enjoy!  Funded by the Fall Color Fest. If you like to see new amenities and improvements at our Kettle Trails, please attend the 12 hours at Muir and the FALL COLOR FEST. All of the funds raised by these events go right back to support our stewardship of these facilities!
This week some great work was done adding sustainable trail to the Hell’s Kitchen area of the John Muir Trail’s BLUE Loop. Not only did we improve the overall trail design, we also added length.  In this video I was trying to call attention to those who earned an orange TrailBuildin’ Crew T-shirt by attending 4 or more TrailBuilding Days over the course of the spring.  ”Thank You” Crew for your dedication and hard work! For them, I present this TrailWork Video from 6/5/10, in Appreciation!
Also, ‘Thank You’ to the Hayes Bicycle Group for supplying the Manitou forkS and Answer handlebarS for the FREE raffle. SWEET!
WE Build AWESOME Trail!
I‘d say we had close to 40 volunteers come to our National Trail Days Celebration to cap-off a TrailBuilding Season to remember! We’ve had a great season and we’ve accomplished so much this year, it’s hard to list them all, but just thinking back on it, puts a big smile on my face. This week we returned to the Muir Trails to re-route the spot where the old connector used to split from the blue loop, just before ‘Hell’s Kitchen’. TBDave and I had walked the new section with DNR-Don Dane earlier in the week and I could see that the new section added quite a bit of trail and that the terrain was ideal for some swooping flowy singletrack. The new section featured an ample supply of glacial erratics , strewn about, to help keep things interesting, as well. We were able to split our crew into 3 or 4 smaller units and attack the new trail in two sections, with each crew working from opposite ends of those sections. We had quite a few new faces along with old friends, and we worked together like a well oiled machine….or maybe that would be a sweaty machine. We managed to finish up the re-route and cheered as the first riders came through to test out our handi-work, just in time to head back to the trailhead and get ready for our annual trail crew appreciation, luncheon, picnic – party – CELEBRATION!
When we got back to the Muir TrailHead Shelter, Mike Bettinger, from the LaGrange General Store, with help from Richard Palmer (of ‘Richard’s Revenge’ fame) were unloading coolers and getting the charcoal started. Mike has been a long time supporter of our efforts, and the General Store treated us all to great food along with ice cold beverages for our annual season finale. After everyone got changed and dug into lunch, TBDave unveiled the new ‘Dirty Dozen’ banner, listing the most dedicated Volunteers-of-the-Year, and Thanked everyone for their awesome efforts. Wisconsin’s own Hayes Bicycle Group supplied two forks and many other goodies that were added to, and given away, in our final weekly drawing(s) to lucky TrailCrew members. After all that, some were able to squeeze in some riding before the skies opened up with steady rain. The party lasted all of the afternoon, with visits from DNR Paul Sandgren – SKM Superintendant, and the Legendary Mike Ellis. The Event was very happy, very CrAzy, WELL DESERVED, good times!
The eSpeCially CrAzy IrRegular TrailBuildin’ Crew‘s (last official) TrailWorkDay is this Saturday, June 5th, which is also National Trails Day!  This is the day that each and every one of our volunteers is cordially invited to come and celebrate all of the fine work that we’ve accomplished together. The LaGrange General Store graciously supplies delicious vittles, along with ice cold beverages for everyone to enjoy after the workday.  I’m pretty sure that TBDave will have some trix up his sleeve along with more trail crew shirts to hand out for folks that have come to 4 or more work days.  More details to follow soon.
