November 15, 2005

I completed two days of field research in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area this weekend, i.e. I went mountain biking. Seriously, for about a year now, I have closely observed the trail construction at the places I have ridden. I noticed that the topography around the North Welcome Center at L.B.L. is similar in a lot of ways to that of Rotary Park. Those trails were constructed many, many years ago and most have withstood the test of time. However, evidence of improperly benched trails was evident throughout the park. Based on what I saw, I plan on going back over the areas that have already been benched and benching them deeper and more fully, i.e. the upside of the cut will have a more gradual angle into the hillside. I.M.B.A. encourage's this and I now see why. In the areas at L.B.L. where this was not done, water erroded the bottom of the cut faster than the top, causing the hillside to hang over the trail tread. This creates a dangerous condition on the trial as well as making it less attractive visually.

With the recent rain (finally), the benched areas at Rotary should be packing down. I know that some of these areas have been difficult to pass, but this should change with the season. I will fix those areas that fell subject to the wind and gravity before the rain packed the new trail.

No official work day is scheduled at this time but will be soon. Stay tuned.

Chris