Tag Archives: Hood River area mountain biking

44 Trails Conditions July 1 – High Elevation Status

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Hey 44 Trail mountain bikers, despite the summer heat the past couple of weeks, high elevation trails remain blocked by snow and blowdown; and we’re not just talking the occasional snow patch. Gunsight Butte trail #685 still has 3-5 foot snow berms and lots of trees down on the trail. Where snow is melted, there is standing/running water. There are even trees still embedded into the snow. It looks like the ridge got hammered with broken tops over the winter.
Our recommendation is to stay on the lower elevation trails until snow has a chance to melt further and we’ve had a chance to clear trees. Most of the roads are clear but the Bennett Pass road is still blocked by snow.
Here’s the latest 44 trails conditions report as of Saturday July 1, 2017:

The Best Singletrack Mountain Biking on the Mt Hood National Forest

Gunsight Ridge Trail #685 – Closed by significant snow and downed trees. 3-5 foot snow berms – Estimate 2-3 weeks before clear.

Boulder Lake / Forest Creek zone – Less snow but not yet maintained or cleared of trees

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. Hope to have the few remaining trees cleared by July 4.
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.

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

gunsight mountain bike trailGunsight ridge mountain bike trails

8-Mile Parking – temp closure

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IMG_4016Hey everyone, the 8-Mile trail parking area (just off 44 road, across from the 450 trail) will be closed on Thursday, August 14 while the USFS works to remove some standing dead trees.

All trails remain OPEN for riding! If you find yourself in the area on Thursday, be sure to give the tree crew the space they need. Thanks!

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 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.

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.

Trail Work Schedule

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Sweet new trail signs!

Sweet new trail signs!

The dirt is top notch in the Gorge right now and the riding season for Mount Hood’s 44 Trails area is fast approaching. As of May 8, there is still some lingering snow and plenty of downed timber on the upper trails accessible from Forest Road 44. Typically, the bulk of the system will be cleared and ready to enjoy come Memorial Day Weekend.

In the meantime, we’ve set a schedule for summer trail work parties to keep our mission of maintenance and expansion moving forward. Please mark these dates in your calendars and join us when you can. We strive to work for 4-5 hours in the morning and then enjoy an afternoon trail session, so you don’t have to give up a day of riding! More details about each event will be provided as the date nears and as we evaluate trail needs:

June 14 – Celebrate National Trails Day with a 44Trails work party – (Nat. Trails Day is actually June 7, but our event will be on June 14)

July 26 -Mid summer work day to armor and maintain high-traffic areas

October 4 – TBA Special Event – riding related event to thank everyone for all their support

October 18 – Final trail day before winter transforms the forest floor

Although random acts of kindness in helping to clear the trails is appreciated, all significant clearing and trail work needs to be organized through the USFS to maintain trail standards. The process on 44 Trails is different from that in Post Canyon or Sandy Ridge, and we need your help adhering to this policy. We have a great relationship with the Mt. Hood and Barlow Ranger Districts, and we aim to keep it that way. If you have time and energy to help with trail work, please reach out to us. We have ongoing opportunities to help clear and maintain the trails outside of our scheduled events. Give us a shout and we can connect you with the details.

Mt Hood Fusion Pass

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fusion passThanks to everyone who rallied out to Double Mountain in support of 44 Trails last week. The event was a great success. We sold loads of t-shirts, had a great raffle and raised valuable funds for future trail development with the silent auction. Your support is much appreciated! We were too busy to capture the night with photos, but it was a full house.

We have two more special auction items available: Mt Hood Fusion Passes. These ski passes are good for a full season of riding at Timberline and Ski Bowl. The pass also gets you into the Powder Alliance where you get three free tickets at all partner resorts. You can get the full lowdown on the Fusion Pass and all its perks at www.mthoodfusionpass.com.

You can submit a bid for one of the fusion passes by e-mailing us at 44trails at 44trails.org. The passes are valued at $495 each. The bidding starts at $350 and bidding ends October 31.

44 Trails Association Party

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Hey 44 Trails supporters, don’t forget the party this Thursday eve (10/17) down at

Fall Riding in the Gorge

Fall in the Gorge

Double Mountain Brewing. We’ve got live music, a silent auction, a raffle and, of course, beer by Double Mountain.

Auction items include generously donated products from supporters like Dakine, Kona, Shimano, Oakley, Timberline, and Mt Hood Ski Bowl (who just kicked down two night ski passes!). Money raised goes directly toward helping to defer costs of EIS work and planning costs associated with developing trails on the National Forest.

Come on down between 6 pm and 10 pm to celebrate the completion of the Super Connector Trail and find out what’s next on the trail development list for the 44 zone.

We’ve got new t-shirts and stickers, too!