Time to give the trails a break

This is a friendly reminder that when the ground freezes at night and thaws during the day, the trail surface becomes like paste, a sticky, icky mess. The STA Trails took a bit of a hit last weekend and earlier this week.

Ride 'em when they're frozen, early in the day, or wait till the temp stays below freezing throughout the day.

Brown Bear and Black Bear were awesome, by the way.

Kincaid Singletrack Approved

Last night the Parks & Recreation Commission approved the Kincaid Singletrack Trails Project. Construction will begin next summer to create about 9-miles of sustainable, multi-use, multi-season trails.

This means that we’re going to have to look under a lot of rocks to find sources of funding. There are two grants that are no longer available to us, grants which funded the lion’s share of the STA Trails on the Hillside. If you know of any grant sources or potential donors to the project, please let me know. Our project budget is $200,000, of which we have raised $27,000. We have a long way to go before we can break ground next summer.

I’d like to thank Lee Bolling for providing the vision and inspiration for this project. Without Lee stepping up to plant the seed for the idea, we never would be at this point.

Congratulations everyone!

—Janice

Stuck in the Rut

It's the time of year for lovestruck moose, so please be alert on the trails. There was a family of irritated moose spotted on Stinger tonight, with both the cow and the bull quick to chase off anyone invading their privacy or getting too close to the yearling calf.

Several runners and bike riders have reported encounters with edgy ungulates this week, so keep your eyes open and give them a little room for romance!

Buttheads and Bears

Sadly, the tools that were donated and attached to trailhead kiosks back in June proved too tempting for thieves. Someone recently cut through the cable that held a chain tool and hex wrenches to the kiosk at the bottom of Drone Lane, then they took off with the tools. If you break down on the trail and need tools, they are still available at the kiosk at the intersection of Janice's Jive and the Gasline.

Meanwhile, a brown bear sow has been active on the northern section of our trail network—she charged a runner earlier this week—so please be alert and make plenty of noise whenever you're on the trails.

With end-of-the summer vegetation reducing sight lines all over the Hillside, this is an especially good time to use your bear bells or a lot of singing, yelling, etc., to warn bears of your approach. And don't forget to carry your bear spray!