March has always been a special time of year; that first hint of dirt season as snow begins to melt out and the sunlight slowly, begrudgingly, lifts itself higher and longer into the sky.
While it feels like most of this winter has been a spring-in-disguise, there is still something about March that really gets you looking forward to actual spring, and then summer. Seasons can be marked by how long one dares après in the PCMR parking lot; the higher-angle sun dispelling the valley shadow for a few more precious minutes. When the sun is still shining on First Time after a day of slush and sunburns, you know something in the season is certainly afoot.
With that comes a shift in mindset; kind of like in August we all start thinking about snow again, in March we start thinking about all the dirt, trails, and projects lined up for the summer. I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a hard time keeping my mind off cracking beers with friends on warm summer nights, after a good ride, under a Wasatch sunset.
Sometimes it’s easier look forward than to ruminate backwards; if it’s going to be spring all winter anyways, let’s get about it. Hopefully soon, we can pull those bikes out of storage, lose them to the shop for a good 3 weeks with the repairs and tune-ups that should have been done in November, and pick up where winter has left us off.
As we’re headed into dirt season, headlong, we’ve framed out and prepared for our operations and project plans for the summer. It’s going to be something a little different from normal; the last couple years have been marked by big-ticket trail builds which have consumed much of our time and resources. This season there will be an emphasis on restoring and improving many of the trails already existing within the system.
With the increased use and impact on the PC-area trails, as well as a fully-staffed maintenance program within Mountain Trails, we have set our sights on addressing deferred maintenance issues. Many of the flow trails, especially on PCMR, will receive much needed attention this summer; washed-out lips, flat landings, and brake bumps begone! We plan to do extensive restoration work to get these trails back to where you can fly higher, flow smoother, and land softer.
This deferred maintenance push will, also, include the less “sexy” but exceedingly important tasks of side-veg cutback, heavy tread repair, and the strategic installation of structures for retaining/drainage/tread protection on trails.
Also, in a partnership with South Summit Trails Foundation and US Forest Service we plan to, again, be doing significant work in Oakley Bike Park and the Slate Creek system as last years program was such a success. Piggybacking on that success, we have also been given the opportunity to complete light maintenance on portions of the Wasatch Crest trail.
All is not lost for those who like the sexy, shiny new things; our big build project of the season will be the completion of the Silver Queen Extension/Upper Loose Moose. It will be an ongoing project through the summer and will add a new downhill flow element to the system that the people have clamored for. Give the people what they want! And indeed we shall!
As always, we here at the Mountain Trails Foundation crew greatly appreciate all those in the community who continue to support us with donations, suggestions, and volunteer work. It takes a community, and we will do our best to uphold our side of the bargain by providing the best trails to suffer up, rip down, and hike around.
Emil Harry, Trail Maintenance Manager
