Category Archives: News

Surveyor’s Ridge Trail Re-Route

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Surveyor’s Ridge Trail Re-Route

single track trail constructionThe Mt Hood National Forest announced their decision to authorize the re-route of approximately three miles of the Surveyor’s Ridge trail (trail #668) where it parallels the current water pipeline for The Dalles – near the start of Surveyor’s.

The project is necessary because of a comprehensive project to update The Dalles Watershed Pipeline that will interrupt and conflict with the existing Surveyor’s trail infrastructure. In addition, the Barlow District Ranger, Kameron Sam, authorized the adoption of the pipeline project staging area into a new recreational user parking/staging area once the pipeline project is complete. This is all good news for the multi-use trail system accessible from Forest Road 44.

Here’s the quick snip directly from the decision document to support the Surveyor re-route. Read full Surveyor’s decision document here.

DESCRIPTION OF DECISION

“It is my decision to authorize the rerouting of approximately 3 miles of the existing Surveyors Ridge Trail #688 where it follows the Dalles Pipeline. The north end of the reroute would provide a short loop approximately .7 miles in length for non-motorized recreationists looking for a short distance trail opportunity. The reroute would also connect Surveyors Ridge Trail directly to the Super Connector. The area that will be used for staging for reconstruction of the pipeline would become a trailhead 1.5 acres in size. The trailhead would provide needed centralized parking for the trail system in the vicinity of Forest Road 44.

The existing Surveyors Ridge Trailhead would remain accessible; however, this trailhead is inadequate for the amount of use it receives. The new trailhead would be large enough to accommodate the amount of use the trail system receives. The segment of Surveyors Ridge Trail #688 that would be impacted by the pipeline replacement would remain open to non-motorized travel, although it would not provide the same semi-primitive experience it now provides.”

44 Trails hopes to slide this project into the trail work mix after we finish the Cooks Meadow Extension project early this fall. Stay tuned.

Hood River Mountain Bike Trails – 44 Trails Conditions Report

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Hood River Mountain Bike trails

Attention 44 riders, we’ve been busy clearing spring blowdown on Hood River’s finest single track. Here’s the latest update on what trails have been cleared and are ready to ride in the 44 zone for Memorial Day weekend:

44 trails conditions report44 Trails Conditions

Dog River Trail # 675 – open
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – open
Knebal Springs Trail #474 – open
Bottle Prairie Trail #455- open
Eightmile Trail #496- open
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – open
Super Connector – open

Fifteenmile Trail #456 – Clear
Cooks Meadow Trail #639 -Clear

Higher elevation trails including upper 450, Boulder Lakes area and Bonnie Meadows have not been cleared of blowdown and are still too wet to ride. Please refrain from riding upper elevation areas that are still wet. Riding wet trails degrades the tread and fuels the argument for those who oppose mountain bike use.

Please respect the multi-use aspect of all trails in the 44 Zone and be prepared for new downed trees and changing conditions. There’s still some trail damage on open trails where downed trees have torn up the existing tread or uprooted trees have blown out the tread, so be alert for hazards. In other words, respect your fellow users and use your head! Have fun out there this weekend.

Hood River mountain bike trail conditions

Spring 2016 Trail Update

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44 trails mt hoodSpring has come early this year and the high country snow around the 44 zone is rapidly melting away! The 44 road is fully open, but some of the spurs – including the 4410 road to High Prairie – are still blocked by snow.

As usual, winter has left us with a mess of blowdown on the trails. We are working on getting things cleared out, albeit slowly.

Here’s what’s currently been cleared:

  • Surveyor’s Ridge north of the two track (Shellrock Mountain)
  • Knebal from 8-Mile trailhead north to Super Connector
  • Dog River (full)

We hope to have Knebal/Super Connector/Dakine Trail trail clear to the Knebal parking area this week (May 15-20) and, hopefully, 15-Mile, remaining Surveyor’s and more by Memorial Day weekend.

Of course, new trees could come down and there’s always a little more brush leaning in on the trails this time of year until they fully spring back from being buried all winter.

FYI, attempting to ride uncleared trails will yield varying success. Depending on the degree of blowdown, you might get an open mile or two only to find yourself faced with an extensive stretch of climbing and bike carrying. So, if you head up to explore, be ready for an adventure. The spring brushout of blowdown is a chainsaw intensive project that requires being certified by the USFS, so we have a select crew of certified sawyers making their way through the network as time allows. If you are up exploring and hear saw work, please approach slowly!

We should have a new trail conditions update by May 20. In the meantime, the lower elevation trails around the Hood River Valley are in fine form. Happy riding.

Mark your calendars for the following events:
July 9 – second annual TRAILGATE event – ride 44 zone, eat, drink and music –
details soon – read about last year’s event

July 23 – Cooks Meadow Extension Trail work – read about Cooks Meadow Extension
Aug 20 – Cooks Meadow Extension Trail work – read about Cooks Meadow Extension
Sept 24 – Surveyor’s/Super Connect connector – more details on this project in June
Oct 8 – Surveyor’s/Super Connect connector – more details on this project in June

 

44 Trails Update – Winter 2016

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IMG_8112Winter is in full swing up in the 44 zone this year, which puts our trail projects on hold until the snow melts back enough to allow access again. In the meantime, we do have a few projects idling in the background. First is the Cooks Meadow trail extension project that we started in the November. Second is the planning process for the second annual Trailgate event to be held in July of 2016. Finally, third is working with other mountain bike and trail advocacy groups regarding Oregon Wild’s “unfinished business” for a proposed expansion of wilderness designation on the Mt. Hood National Forest.

Cooks Meadow and the National Forest Foundation
44 trails updateCome spring melt, the Cooks Meadow extension trail project will be a top priority along with the annual logout of downed timber on the 44 trail network. We were awarded a grant in from the National Forest Foundation (NFF) in 2015 to help offset the costs of our annual logout and work related to the Cooks Meadow extension project. We were awarded money under the National Forest Foundation Ski Conservation cooper spurFund (SCF). The grant is designed for action-oriented, on-the-ground projects that improve forest health and outdoor experiences on National Forests. Award funds come from guest contributions at ski areas and lodges operating on or adjacent to National Forest. In our case, money came through the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort on Hood’s northeast side. It’s great to have the support of local businesses and their patrons in our efforts to maintain and support the 44 trails! We look forward to getting back on the dirt to put our NFF funding to work this spring!

trailgate 2015Trailgate 2016
Last summer, we held our first ever trail day event that focused on riding not working! Trailgate 2015 was a great success. Based out of the Billy Bob SnoPark on Mt Hood’s Barlow Ranger District, we hosted a couple hundred trail users for a beautiful day of pedaling, eating and music. Well, we filed the paperwork with the USFS to host Trailgate 2016 in July. We’ll be sure to keep you posted! You can also sign up for our mailing list (we never share it with anyone) and you’ll receive notices about 44 Trails Association related events and occasional trail news like fire closures, significant trail condition updates and such.

mt hood wilderness proposal mapWilderness Proposal
Oregon Wild is still working to expand the Mt Hood Wilderness designation in the Boulder Lake / Barlow District area of the Mount Hood National Forest. It’s all part of what they call “unfinished business” related to the 2009 legislation which added wilderness status to new sections of the Mt Hood National Forest.

We value our public lands and consider ourselves active stewards of our local forests and trails. We understand the value of wilderness but we do not support Oregon Wild’s expansion plan. We are working with other mountain bike trail advocacy groups including IMBA, OBRA and NWTA to create a unified and intelligent opposition to Oregon Wild’s efforts. We’ll be sure to keep you posted of any significant news on this front. In the meantime, you can read a little more about Oregon Wild’s plan and our reasons for being opposed as well as how and where to voice your opinion.