Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New Trail Design In Progress

GORC is entering a new phase at Greensfelder and hopes to connect the DeClue trail to the Eagle Valley singletrack segment via a brand new trail on the north-facing hillside across from the internal paved road within the park. This will extend the singletrack portion of the "Greensfelder Challenge" loop and may prove to be the new race course IF weather and trail conditions permit.

At the previous workday, GORC trail armored three critical drainage areas on the Eagle Valley singletrack portion. The trail now rides much smoother and features three less permanent bog sections. The Eagle Valley singletrack may be perhaps the LONGEST sustained climb or descent in the St. Louis region - but this is unofficial. GPS will prove the truth in the coming months.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

MonkeyHead Damage at DeClue Fixed

About a week ago someone defaced the DeClue on the infamous "Monkeyheads" section. They removed 14 of the large rocks to groom the descent. GORC assessed the situation and sent out a crack team to repair the damage as best they could. In the end they felt the trail was repaired in a satisfactory condition by deeply embedding the removed rocks. They should weather in nicely.

Without further delay, here's some important info you should keep handy...
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With last year's trail vandalism at the Chubb and now with the painful extraction of some monkeyheads at Greensfelder we at GORC felt it was high time to post the St. Louis County Parks Trail Hotline - 314-615-8911. Now we can all help police our favorite trails.

This hotline is for St. Louis County parks only. Parks include West Tyson (Chubb), Cliff Cave, Creve Coeur, Greensfelder and ALL of St. Louis County's parks.

If you encounter somebody destroying trail first-hand be sure to get involved by calling the hotline at 314-615-8911. Approach the individual if you feel comfortable and respectfully explain that he or she is wrecking the trail through their grooming actions.

Never start a confrontation and remember they probably think they are IMPROVING the trail. However, no matter the situation, always let the county parks staff know that this is occurring so they can better protect their valuable trails.