Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Southern bike path plowed; Quigley free

Bikers and skiers both have reason to cheer


By TREVOR SCHUBERT
Express Staff Writer

Spring is in the air, and the Blaine County Recreation District is embracing Mother Nature's warm disposition.

Erik Rector, director of trails, facilities and operations, made the decision last week to plow the Wood River Trails main north-south artery from East Fork south to Bellevue to allow for early season bike riding, jogging and many other terra firma based activities.

"The cat that grooms the Wood River Trails lives at East Fork," Rector said. "One night it goes north and grooms to Ketchum and the next night it goes south and grooms to Bellevue. It got to the point where the lower part of the trail was one-third pavement. This can damage the cat, and there really is no point grooming a trial people can't ski on anyway."

The decision was relatively easy.

"There are so many other uses for the trail—kids going to and from school, moms and dads use it for walking—so, we decided to plow it," Rector said.

The challenge faced by Rector and the Nordic trail team was to continue "to provide as much outdoor activity as possible for Wood River residents.:

"I really didn't want to ruin someone's Saturday," Rector said, referring to the fact the plowed section comprises roughly half of the valley's free Nordic trail system.

"That's why we made the decision to open Quigley, free of charge, for the rest of the season," Rector said. "If we get two-feet of wet snow, followed by a cold stretch, we will go back to grooming that part of the trail. But, if the cat gets land-locked between East Fork and Ketchum, we may plow that section, too."

Nordic skiers need not worry. The Quigley Trail system in Quigley Gulch east of Hailey is still in good condition, Rector said.

"We made Quigley free because we didn't want to take Nordic skiing away from residents, not because the trails are degraded," Rector said. "And Galena is still in great shape as well."

The weather in Galena has been in a cycle of melt-freeze in recent days. The snow during the warm part of the days has softened and re-frozen at night.

"If skiers get out early enough there is really good 'crust-cruising' right now," Rector said. "The best window is usually between eight or nine in the morning through about 10:30 or 11:00 a.m."

Crust-cruising is when the layer of freeze atop the snow is strong enough to keep Nordic skis from punching through, allowing skiers to venture off the groomed trails and into otherwise inaccessible areas.

"Ski early, and then ride or run in the afternoon," Rector said. "We are going to finish this season as strong as we started it."




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