[Ogre]

Not a ton of pictures, just some teasers for the moment.

Thanks to the work of the Alpine Trail Crew Association (ATCA), the Disciples of Dirt (DOD), the Forest Service, and some Lane county work crews all busting ass... we now have roughly 1 mile of trail roughed in on Cloverpatch. Not just logged out, but walkable trail surface. It will still need a second pass to make it rideable, but if it connected up it would be easily ridable with intermittent hike-a-bike sections.

Typical trail surface.

We are doing a trail work day on Sunday the 19th to work on wrapping up the section of trail from Road 130 to the first bridge crossing.

 

[Ogre]

Finally got back out there, the county crew has been crushing it, but they left us a few sections between 130 and the first bridge crossing.

We sawed out this section already, but between last time we were out there and now there was already a little deadfall on the new trail.

For some reason the county crew had dodged below this stump which would have made for a painful little dip in the trail so we did a little reroute over it.

Paul did this section more or less solo while I worked with Peter on a section a little higher up with a bunch of rotted out logs which slowed us down.

Finally, the before/ after shot of the piece Peter and I worked.

This is all still pretty rough, but mostly rideable and more important, should be wide enough for the forest service crews to get into the first crossing and start work on the first bridge in the spring.

On the 130 end we have about 3/4 of a mile of trail rough cut in. On the 5826/ Cloverpatch side we have about 3/8 of a mile. Still a long way to go, but a little bit closer. If the weather holds we should be out there quite a bit more.

 

[WHALENARD]

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[Sparticus]

Looking forward to riding this new trail.
How do I get in the loop to know when organized trailwork days are happening?
I joined Salem Area Trail Alliance because I moved. Should I renew my Disciples Of Dirt membership as well?
Thanks for the work you're doing, Ogre.
=sParty

 

[Ogre]

Looking forward to riding this new trail.
How do I get in the loop to know when organized trailwork days are happening?
I joined Salem Area Trail Alliance because I moved. Should I renew my Disciples Of Dirt membership as well?
Thanks for the work you're doing, Ogre.
=sParty

The DOD I think mostly promotes trail work days on Facebook right now I think. They might do it on their website.

In general Cloverpatch seems to be my project, I’ve been working with both ATCA and the DOD. Forest Service has been sending out crews as well and they’ve done some huge chunks of the treadwork. Last couple times we had scheduled trailwork dates it was pretty rainy and the December date we cancelled due to likely snow at that elevation.

This last date was very last minute and I just tossed out a few texts.

All that said. I will add you to my notify list, I have your contact info so I’ll ping you. On top of the big organized days I’m going to try and get out once every other weekend or so, weather permitting.

 

[KRob]

Is this the Clover Patch extension as shown here? God bless you sir. Keep up the good work. That will be a great addition to the ACTA route.

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[Sparticus]

Is this the Clover Patch extension as shown here? God bless you sir. Keep up the good work. That will be a great addition to the ACTA route.

Yup, that's it.
Won't it be nice to get rid of ol' NF-130! Ugh, what a climb.
=sParty

 

[Ogre]

Is this the Clover Patch extension as shown here? God bless you sir. Keep up the good work. That will be a great addition to the ACTA route.

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Yes.

Though it’s going to have more bumps than that map suggests. There are 4-5 creeks and it’s on a very steep side-slope. It’ll be a challenging little climb, but a lot more fun that the crap it replaces.

 

[KRob]

Yes.

Though it’s going to have more bumps than that map suggests. There are 4-5 creeks and it’s on a very steep side-slope. It’ll be a challenging little climb, but a lot more fun that the crap it replaces.

Creative, well routed, challenging climbs are always more fun than long smooth slogs. When do you expect to finish it?


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[Ogre]

Creative, well routed, challenging climbs are always more fun than long smooth slogs. When do you expect to finish it?

Wish I knew. I’m kind of spearheading most of this myself and my time is limited. Plus been hard to chase down a lot of volunteers.

I‘m hoping maybe 12-18 months? Might be optimistic. We’re hoping to get a grant and get a crew in to do some of the tougher rockier sections where it’ll be hard to get volunteers with the skill to work on it.

 

[TR Chensley]

I’m assuming effort wise it is not going to save a lot… but it will be nice not having to grind the gravel. Though I think everyone’s gonna miss bombing down that gravel!

 

[Ogre]

I’m assuming effort wise it is not going to save a lot… but it will be nice not having to grind the gravel. Though I think everyone’s gonna miss bombing down that gravel!

Is this sarcasm?

 

[poppa#1]

Yes.

Though it’s going to have more bumps than that map suggests. There are 4-5 creeks and it’s on a very steep side-slope. It’ll be a challenging little climb, but a lot more fun that the crap it replaces.

That road is not so bad. I like the soul crushing nature of it and it’s a perfect grade on the sspd. The trees are pleasant and it feels remote. You can chat on the way up, or you can stand and deliver. Very good memories of that section.

I DO appreciate all of the effort!

 

[Sparticus]

That road is not so bad. I like the soul crushing nature of it and it’s a perfect grade on the sspd. The trees are pleasant and it feels remote. You can chat on the way up, or you can stand and deliver. Very good memories of that section.

I DO appreciate all of the effort!

I haven't SS'd NF-130 -- but I do recall the first time I rode it.
It went on and on and on and on and up and up and up...
That was a long time ago. Since then I've ridden NF-130 so many times that I know every bend in it; my expectations have been lowered and it's become something I just go up.
No further disappointment.

But this new singletrack that's going in! I'm so excited about it!
Why?
Because it's NEW SINGLETRACK! That and because the area it goes through is bouldery and remote and, well, unknown.
A new universe to explore.
I believe once this new connector is done, it'll become one of the best ascents in the ATCA loop.
And that's saying something!
Plus less gravel road and more trail -- never a bad thing in my mind.

If I hadn't moved away a couple years ago, I'd be helping you, Ogre.
Considering this broken back is 68 years old, it's probably a good thing I moved.
Anyway thanks for leading the charge and best of luck in your gallant efforts to create more good stuff.
=sParty

 

[Ogre]

That road is not so bad. I like the soul crushing nature of it and it’s a perfect grade on the sspd. The trees are pleasant and it feels remote. You can chat on the way up, or you can stand and deliver. Very good memories of that section.

I DO appreciate all of the effort!

You might be the only person I know who has such a generous opinion of that climb. Regardless, my big beef about it is forest road descent which precedes it. I'm ok with a tough climb if it's paying for a super fun descent. A tough climb after a big forest road descent is no bueno.

One time I was training for the Cream Puff and it was 99-100 degrees out when we got to that climb and I was out of water. You are grinding up it after a long day, it's muggy in that hole and the bugs harass you constantly. Blech.

One of my favorite spots on ATCA is when we hit the singletrack above 130. You are still climbing, but there is more cover, fewer bugs, and the trail flows and rolls much better.

 

[KRob]

Wish I knew. I’m kind of spearheading most of this myself and my time is limited. Plus been hard to chase down a lot of volunteers.

I‘m hoping maybe 12-18 months? Might be optimistic. We’re hoping to get a grant and get a crew in to do some of the tougher rockier sections where it’ll be hard to get volunteers with the skill to work on it.

I built a 4.5 mile trail by hand once. It was all down hill and didn’t have many rocks or trees and it still took five years. Maybe more volunteers and some mini-x help will move yours along faster than mine.

I’m in Nevada but I do get up that way semi regular so I’ll watch for your trail day notifications. Would love to help.


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[Sparticus]

I built 1.5 miles of trail in 2020.
Less than 30 days after I finished, a devastating wildfire burned it all up.
Well, my fresh mile and a half plus several miles of decades old singletrack.
=sParty

 

[tbmaddux]

I warn people about 3 things when they come ride ATCA with me for the first time. The first is "yes, we are shuttling to the trailhead, but there is always more climbing, including a climb right at the start." The second is "if you are coming up on a corner and it looks like the trail is going to disappear out from beneath you, that's because it is." And the third thing is "everything about this climb we are doing now [up from Kate's cut-in]... you're in the woods, it's pretty, there's a breeze, you're on single track... NONE of that will be true when we are climbing up from the bottom of the road below the bottom of Cloverpatch."

I've bonked many times in that section. The only time I've been comfortable in that section of ATCA is when I was freezing my ass off up at Kate's.

Excavators are game-changers. Good luck with the grant.

You are grinding up it after a long day, it's muggy in that hole and the bugs harass you constantly. Blech.

 

[Ogre]

Heading out that way Sunday for a bit more work. Meeting at the Lowell Covered bridge at 9am.