Smooth as Butter

When ever I come up the Gussy (riding north) I hit this up and over and it's smooth as butter!

Cheesy Purple blazes on the Mulikin

Haven't been down the Mulikin in awhile so I thought I would give it a whirl.  Someone at Brookfield Bike said there was a by-pass to the rutted out section happening but I didn't see it.  I really need to get in there and re-route this trail so that it's more sustainable.

I first noticed a purple splotch on a tree further up the trail but it didn't register because I was thinking about the right turn after you cross the stream and why I have kept that a 90 degree turn and not changed it to be a swooping turn.  Anyway, further down there was more purple paint, here and there, and then I noticed on the rock.  Why?  Isn't this trail clear enough? 

Looks like the DEEP finally took care of the Wasps nest on the Gussy by the Snotober Reroute.  Not sure if it was too little, too late, because now that I think about it, over the years there always seems to be a nest of this size in the area and I wonder if they are like salmon and come back to the area that they were born in, the queens that is.  From reading various inputs around the interwebs, it seems that the workers and drones die at the end of the season and the queens go hibernate for the winter.  Come next spring, they emerge and start afresh.

On the other side of the forest, near the Echo Valley entrance, there is a part of a tree that has split off and is now a widow maker.  It's not hanging over the forest road but it will make a nice skinny when it comes down.

Some recent visits to Upper Pauggusset

Haven't posted in awhile but I have been riding so here are some pix, observations and commentary!

August 14th

Dead tree on the Mulikin

The steep section on the Mulikin is really rutted out and needs a re-route!

I have walked this section with the State Forester and he agrees

Details to come 

Somebody routed around the roots on Al's Trail

Stupid line, of course - people who don't know how to build trails

shouldn't be doing trail re-routes!

Gussy Singletrack look schweet!

August 21st

Ferns at the Sandy Re-route really define the trail well

Streaming sunlight at the Beer Stop Roller

Pedal Fcuker at the Beer Stop Roller

Qm'ing the Beer Stop Roller

Reach around is riding schweet!

August 28th

Did some clipping

 

Opened up the Log Ride Short section

No more leaves in the face!

I think I might take out this up and over before the Sandy Reroute

It hurts the flow

 

Always at a loss for naming this section, it's a transition point of sorts

It's a blind curved and there is a really nice white pine growing into the trail

that I want to preserve

The White Pine Preservation!

There is a nice spine line to the east of this pine tree that I want

to reroute the trail onto and give others a B option, too.

 

The section leading to the Irene Blowdown is also clear.

Wet trails abound at Upper Paugussett

Flooded section just down from the parking lot

(looks like the culvert is plugged again)

My rock armoring skinny is paying off!

More run off onto the Poly Brody

Ride the rocks, not the mud!

Sandy Re-Route is a quagmire

Spring time on the trails

Hoof print on the Mulikin

The Mulikin is getting ridden a lot

Blowdown on the Gussy

More blowdowns at the 3 Bears

This crossing needs a little work

Spring is near

Logging at Echo Valley!

Poly Brody is wet in the usual places!

Blow down on the Poly Brody that I was able to partly take care of.

Some snow still on the Gussy

 

Despite the snow, it's still very rideable

The WetSpot was even wet for once!

The WetSpot

Logging at Echo Valley

Last month I saw this sign as you entered the Echo Valley Lot

The parking lot is now being used as a staging area for timber harvest in the sugaring demonstration zone.

 

It looks really nice now.