TRAILGATE 2016 UPDATE

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Trailgate 2016 is this weekend!

Saturday July 9.

trailgate-209Trailgate 2016 event posterTrailgate gets rolling on Saturday morning at 10am. Come on up to Billy Bob SnoPark located about 10 miles east of highway 35 on FR44.

Hood River’s reputation as a mountain bike destination is well deserved given the wide array of riding options available within a 30-mile radius of town. From flowy freeride descents to forested singletrack routes, the Hood River area has it all and July 9 marks the date of the second annual TRAILGATE Event to celebrate the area’s single biggest network of forested singletrack known as 44 Trails.

The 44 Trails zone is a classic singletrack trail network accessible from Forest Road 44 on the east side of the Mount Hood National Forest. The nearly 100 miles of multi-use trails accessible from the 44 Road includes area classics like the Surveyor’s Ridge, Dog River and Eightmile trails. The combined drier Eastside climate and higher elevation of the area create an ideal riding environment.

Trailgate is a day to celebrate the trail network and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow singletrack aficionados. Organized by the 44 Trails Association, a nonprofit trail stewardship group based in Hood River, in collaboration with the Mt Hood National Forest, Trailgate is free and open to the public.

Come on by at 10am on Saturday to check in on ride options, grab a cup of coffee compliments of Dog River Coffee and learn more about 44 Trails Association.

Unfortunately, our demo bike program is in question, so please be sure to bring your own bike!  

Once you’ve been out to enjoy the trails come on back at 3pm to enjoy food, drink (non-alcoholic – byob for alcohol) and music!

Trailgate 2016

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Trailgate 2016 – July 9

Hood River Mountain Bike trailsJoin the 44 Trails Association and the Mt Hood National Forest for a day to enjoy the fine single track trails accessible from Forest Road 44 on the Mt. Hood National Forest – TRAILGATE 2016!

There’s plenty of great riding and hiking to be had from the Billy Bob SnoPark, including great rides for all abilities, even kids! There’s even some killer road/gravel grinders to be had in the 44 zone.

Trailgate 2016 event posterWe will be staging from the Billy Bob SnoPark located about 10 miles east of highway 35 on FR44. You can also get there from the east side out of Dufur. There’s plenty of great camping available at Eight-Mile and Fifteen-Mile campgrounds as well as other dispersed camping in the area.

Come on by at 10am on Saturday to check in on ride options, grab a cup of coffee compliments of Dog River Coffee and learn more about 44 Trails Association, meet local USFS rangers and to check out demo bikes from Hood River Bicycles (demos are limited so please bring your own bike).

Once you’ve been out to enjoy the trails come on back at 3pm to enjoy food, drink (non-alcoholic – byob for alcohol) and music!

more details to follow . . .

mt hood single track

 

15 Mile and Cooks Meadow Open!

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44 trails single track

Hey, where did the trail go?

The winter blowdown on the Mt Hood National Forest 44 Trails single track system was substantial this year, but we are making solid progress clearing the damage.

You can now add the 15 Mile / Cedar Creek (#456/#457) loop and Cooks Meadow (#639) to the open and ready to ride list!

That brings the 44 zone close to wide open. We still have work to do on upper 450 and High Prairie, but the following trails have been cleared in the past few weeks:

15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – open
Cooks Meadow trail #639 – open
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

The lower Cedar / 15 Mile area is still a little brushy, so throw some small loppers or hand snippers in your pack and spend a little time helping us brush out the overgrown spots if you head that way for a ride!

Remember, the 44 Trail System on the Mt Hood National Forest is a multi-use system and trails are open to hiker, horse and biker traffic. Please be respectful of all users! Also keep in mind that trees fall during every season and new trees may come down since we have cleared. There a places where uprooted trees and tree impacts have damaged the trail tread, so ride and hike with care.

Finally, if you enjoy the 44 Trail System on the Mt Hood National Forest, turn out for one of our 2016 trail work days to return some energy to the trails or donate to the 44 Trails so we can help cover costs of logout and trail repair materials!

 

Here’s a few before and after shots of a couple 15 Mile / Cedar sections cleared today.

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

 

Polallie Cooper Timber Sale

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Polallie CooperIn case you were not aware, the Forest Service is preparing a longterm timber / fuels reduction plan, aka a Timber Sale, for what is called the Polallie Cooper area on the east side of Mt Hood.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Polallie-Cooper Timber Sale was released recently and the public comment period ends on February 25, 2016.. 

You can download and view a pdf copy of the Polallie-Cooper EA here. It’s a long (300+page) document, but one of the critical concerns to 44 Trails is the USFS proposal to move ahead with a 55-foot buffer on either side of trails that fall within the timber sale. This means cutting to within 55 feet of either side of existing trails.

44 Trails Association, among other groups involved in a collaborative process before the EA was completed, suggested a 100-foot buffer (on each side) be used. The idea behind our 100-foot per side recommendation is to preserve the quality of the trail user experience as much as possible. The trail user experience being based on forest quality and trail/tread quality, both of which, we believe, are directly related to forest canopy where more forest canopy equals a better experience and better tread quality/durability.

Of the trails impacted by the proposal, the Dog River Trail (#675) is the highest profile within the mountain bike community. Not only, could the proposal result in cutting within 55 feet of the trail, it will surely impact the trail with extended closures while the work is being done.

There is a public meeting on Weds., Feb. 10 from 5 to 7 pm at the Hood River fire station in next to the pool in Hood River. We hope to see you there.

This is an important opportunity to let the Hood River Ranger District hear your opinion of the proposal.

You can also submit written comments to the Forest Service, by February 25th, your opinion could help preserve the riding experience on the Dog River Trail and beyond into the future.

To comment or to learn more
contact: Casey Gatz – Interdisciplinary Team Leader
(541) 352-1255 cgatz@fs.fed.us
www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ mthood/landmanagement/projects

Download Polallie Cooper Timber Sale Environmental Assessment

 

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.

 

November 21 Trail Work CANCELLED

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We are CANCELLING the November 21 work day due to snow. The 44 road is a mess of frozen snow and slush.

We will look toward December 5 as the next possible work day, weather permitting and will keep you posted here, on FB and via our e-mail list.

Thanks for your support!

Cooks Meadow November 21 Trail Work

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2015 trail work scheduleOur November 21 trail day is this weekend!

Help us establish the latest new connecting trail on the 44 Zone! The more we get accomplished this fall, the sooner we will be riding the trail!

Meet at 9am at the Little John SnoPark on Highway 35. The weather has made serious turn toward winter. We hope to work on tread development on the upper section of the Cooks extension but have a lower elevation plan if necessary.

As usual, please be prepared for the weather and remember helmets are required – bike helmets ok. Gloves, boots, etc are also part of the program.

We’ll probably work ’til about 2pm and will have sandwiches thanks to New York City Sub Shop in HR.

We’ll be doing light tread work, so tools like lat blade shovels, steel rakes and mcleods are most appropriate.

Want to know more about the trail?
check out the map

DETAILS:
WHEN:
Saturday, November 21, 2015 – 9 am @ Little John SnoPark on Highway 35
Sign-in at the SnoPark and then move up to the work site as a group.

PROJECT:
Early stage tread work and brushing of pin line on the Cooks Meadow Extension trail.

TOOLS:
Wet weather work gear including a helmet – required – bike helmets ok, gloves, boots, etc. Bring a flat blade shovel, steel rake or a mcleod.

questions = 44trails (at) 44trails.org