We've been discussing doing some trail work for a few years. Yesterday we finally got started.
The Lytle connector is a piece of trail that goes up from Lytle Road to Presley Ridge Trail. Clearing it off has been on Ohiopyle State Park's to-do list for a while, and the trail director told us that if we got it done she would be happy to consider approving some new single track in the park.
Lytle is on the opposite ridge from Sugarloaf Knob. The tire lever is pointing to the start of the trail.
After work we headed up the mountain. There were seven people, three chainsaws, two dogs, and one rake. Next time we might bring more rakes and less saws. We tried to double our body count, but the rest of the company was already busy:
They were having a vigorous debate about which piece of furniture in the house needed to be burned next. It's a rough life.The trail used to be an old logging tramway, but over the years it's narrowed down to about three feet wide. It's steep and should make a fun descent. We chainsawed all the big trees out of the bottom section, then got creative near the top.
The top of the ridge is full of big boulders and natural features.
It has the potential to be a really awesome piece of singletrack:
By the time it got dark, we had about three miles of rideable trail done. It was a solid start.
Our ultimate goal is to make Ohiopyle into a mountain biking destination. We have the elevation, we have the terrain, we have the post ride beer spot, and now we have the blessing of the state park.
It's a good time to be a mountain biker in the Pyle. We're going to make Wednesday evening trail work a regular thing, so if you want to come out and help, get in touch with me through the comments or email.
1 comment:
You'd be golden if you could get the state park to replace the horses and snowmobiles on the brochure maps with little bikes.
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