Tag Archives: 44 trails conditions report

Latest 44 Trails Conditions Update June 26

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Singletrack Mountain Biking Mt Hood National Forest – Our first trail work day is July 22 – more details soon! Sign up for our email list to be notified of work days, trail conditions, and to get a free digital map of the area!

singletrack mt biking mt hood national forest

Here’s the latest 44 trails conditions report as of Monday June 26, 2017:

The Best Singletrack Mountain Biking Mt Hood National Forest

Knebal Springs Trail #474 – Cleared and OPEN 
Bottle Prairie Trail #455 – Cleared and OPEN 
Eightmile Trail #496 – Cleared and OPEN 
Oak Ridge Trail #688A – Cleared and OPEN
Super Connector – Cleared and OPEN
Dog River Trail # 675 – Cleared and OPEN
Surveyor’s Ridge Trail #688 – Cleared and OPEN
15 Mile / Cedar Creek loop trails #456/#457 – Clear and OPEN
Cooks Meadow trail #639 –  Ridable with caution – a few downed trees – upper section has a few areas under construction but it’s open to ride – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown.
Lookout / #450 – Ridable with caution – 3-4 trees down and a few small snow patches – carry a hand saw and help cut out the lingering blowdown.

Extra Beta

– Cooks Meadow has a handfull of small trees and couple sections are still under construction but rideable with caution

– Lookout / 450 has four trees down and a few patches of snow – all rideable with caution.

If you plan to ride and have a handsaw – please cut back five feet either side of trail!

44 and 4410 roads are fully open – High country trails like Gunsight, Boulder, Forest Creek still have significant snow sections and unknown tree blowdown.

Mid Summer Trail Work Day

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Summer is here – in case you hadn’t noticed – and it’s time for our second trail work day of the season.

Saturday, July 26 is the day.

Continued Super Connector tuning is the plan.

Where: 9am Little John Snopark, Hwy 35
What: Trail maintenance, Super Connector
When: Saturday, July 26, 9am-2pm

HELMETS required! Bring shovels, McLeods, metal rakes, wheelbarrows, gloves, water, long pants, work shoes.

We’ll meet at the Little John SnoPark on Hwy 35 at 9am for coffee and registration. We’ll shuttle up to the work site and get started. There are a variety of projects including continued trail armoring with reject and corner alignment. We’ll break into two or three smaller crews on the trail.

Lunch provided by Hood River’s New York City Sub Shop.

Reach out via e-mail with any questions – 44trails (at) 44trails.org

Trail Conditions Update – Fire Activity 7/15

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Red dot marks the location of 10-15 acre fire near popular 44 trails trailheads

Red dot marks the location of 10-15 acre fire near popular 44 trails trailheads. click for full size

The recent thunder and lightning storms have sparked a few fires around the area including a small one in the 44 trails zone.

The fire is located just east of the junction of 44 and 17 roads, not far from the Knebal and 8-Mile Crossing campgrounds, as well as the Super Connector (see red dot on map for location). The fire is small (10-15 acres) and the USFS is on it with a dozer and heli water drops. They expect full containment without incident, but they would like to ask forest users to avoid the area as much as possible. There are no official trail closures at this time, but there is increased fire vehicle traffic in the area.

If you are headed up to 44 to recreate, please be alert for fire traffic, give fire vehicles and associated personnel plenty of room and report any additional fire starts.

UPDATE: Fire is contained and in mop-up stage as of 5pm 7/15.

Trail Conditions Update 6/4

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While Mother Nature has been melting snow and drying out access to the 44 Trail zone, log clearing stud Paul Gundlach has been cutting through blow down on the 450 trail. 450 is now clear to the junction with 15-Mile at the meadow. Thanks Paul!

Roads 4410 and 4420 are also now open to vehicle traffic.

What’s next you ask? Attention turns to clearing downed trees on Boulder Lakes!

Trail Conditions Update 5/23

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44 Trails AssociationThanks to the hard work of our favorite USFS Ranger, Jim Thornton, and some skilled 44 Trails Association volunteers (Paul Gundlach and Dana Hale!), 8-Mile trail, Knebal Springs trail, the Super Connector, Bottle Prairie trail and 15-Mile/Cedar creek are open to USFS spec and ready for riding! You’ll still encounter a few isolated single logs, but the big blow-down sections have been cleared!

As for High Prairie and 450 up higher, it’s still a no go. Too much snow and water on the tread (see photos). So please stay off the trails to avoid permanent tread damage.

You can also check out the Camas, Clear Creek, Rim Rock (connects at Clear Creek CG) and Bear Springs race course trails – all in the Barlow District on the east side.

Check the fed web site for beta on these trails. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mthood/null/recarea/?recid=52772&actid=34

Clear Creek trail

Camas Trail

If you’re keen to help with continued clearing efforts, reach out via e-mail to us and we’ll connect you with the ranger to make a plan.

New Two-Way Traffic Signs

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New Yield to Uphill Traffic Signs

Yield to Uphill Traffic

Keep an eye out for the new two-way traffic signs up on the 44 trail system. 44 Trails Association helped pay for the new signs and they are being placed in high traffic areas on the trails.

The idea here is to yield to uphill traffic, so those of us who like to let ‘er rip down need to stay tuned in to other users, be they bikers, hikers or horse riders. Although we have some ideas (in the future) for downhill only development, all 44 area trails are currently open to two-way traffic.

Enjoy the spring weather!

Trail Conditions Update 5/19

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Latest trail conditions update May 19:trail2

Knebal / Bottle Prairie – 75% clear of trees and tread dry – Hope to clear this week.

8-Mile – Good shape but there’s one big section of blowdown on streamside trail 20+ trees – hope to  clear this week.

High Prairie / 450 – Not ready. Snow on trails and tread too muddy for riding. 4410 road is also still closed due to snow. Please stick to lower trails.

15-Mile – Not ready. Needs clearing work. Hold use until after Memorial Day weekend, thanks.

Surveyor’s Ridge – Clear an ready to ride

Dog River – Clear and ready to ride

 

Current Conditions Report

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Fresh snow

Fresh snow

44 Trails Conditions Report
May 9, 2014

It’s wet and muddy with snow in places. Please ride elsewhere until trails have time to drain and dry! 

We got a call from the ranger today (May 9, 2014) with a first hand report that it’s too muddy up in the 44 Road area for riding right now. We need some high pressure, sun and time for the soil to drain as well to melt new and lingering snow. The current storm system has only made already muddy trails worse with a combination of wet snow and rain depending on elevation and aspect. Please ride elsewhere this weekend to avoid damaging the trails. Normally, the bulk of the trails are ready by Memorial Day Weekend – only two weeks away but it’ll be a critical two weeks for drying and draining, plus some clearing work.

Lingering patches of snow up high - taken before recent storm

Lingering patches of snow up high – before recent storm

Hold tight and enjoy the lower elevation riding for now. Oakridge, Surveyor’s and Dog River have seen a lot of moisture in the past 48 hours and are also muddy right now. However, they are the best bet for ridable trails once the weather drys out again.