O'Connor Creek Trail

[etroyer]

Hello,

I write a newsletter called the Interior Trails Quarterly. (Anyone who would like to be on the distribution list just send me an email. The newsletter is free.) I received the following email from a long-time trail user in the Goldstream Valley:

"I have been told by two long-time Valley mushers that the heavily used O’Conner Creek trail is badly torn up by 4 wheeler-in-the-mud use. I don’t know if you have any insight as to how to stop this sort of thing. Education by 4-wheeler advocate groups seems best. I love multiple use trails but evidently this is very bad."

She goes on to mention two mushers she has talked to about the situation. I use the O'Connor Creek Trail periodically throughout the year and agree with the assessment. I'm willing to bet some ATV enthusiasts like the mud-bogging challenge of the trail, but unfortunately that make for a very rough trail. I'm just wondering if you guys have any suggestions or comments. I'm a non-motorized trail user and a strong supporter of multi-use trails, and know all users need to work together on situations like this.


Eric Troyer

[TJVigilante]

Who mushes in the mud? If it's that bad, the snow cover in the winter should smooth it out considerably. I understand that ruts can cause problems even in the snow and that snowfall in the interior isn't exactly substantial. Therefore, we as a club also have a trail groomer in progress to take along on winter runs to smooth out the trail after we pass. This is an effort to make multi-use trails usable and more pleasant for all user groups, allowing us to have our fun and not ruin it for others

Additionally, and more importantly, we are not primarily an ATV club and do not regularly travel this trail, winter or summer. In fact, I do not even recall a single instance of an AO-sanctioned trail ride in this area.

Finally: 4x4 clubs in the area do not encompass every motorized recreation user in the area, and we cannot police those who are not members. Unfortunately, this puts the organizations such as AO in a bad light when non-affiliated individuals go around tearing up land without regard for others. We as a club practice Tread Lightly! principles and do not make efforts to tear up trails for our own personal gain. I hope you understand this and are not of the mindset that all 4x4 enthusiasts are part of the problem.

Just my $0.02.

[akram]

This sounds like it is best left to our new pr rep. Mostly so we avoid too much confrontation. No I'm not saying you ar being confrontational Joe, Stuff like this is why we hve a PR rep.

[ChevyKev]

Eric, I greatly appreciate your post and would like to get that newsletter.

Educating the ATV population would be a great start, unfortunately, most people who are in the mindset to simply "romp through the mud" won't necessarily care.

I wonder if maybe some of the ATV groups that do care about Tread Lightly could create some sort of a drag to hit the trail with right before freeze up to smooth it out. Dunno - just an idea.

[etroyer]

Education is key. That's what my newsletter is all about. Often times trail users do things that irritate other trail users but have no idea how they are affecting the other trail users. The more trail users know about each other's needs, the easier it is to work together.

The main problem with O'Connor Creek Trail is that much of it is in boggy lowland. A trail drag might help. I'm not familiar with them enough to know how effective they are in such a situation. My gut feeling is that it wouldn't work well. I had a nice conversation last night with Cory Bellows of the Fairbanks Offroad Lions Club. I told him that ultimately I think the trail needs to be rerouted to higher ground.

But the other problem is that people who like to mud-bog need places to do it so that they aren't negatively impacting others. I talked to one guy at the borough Parks and Rec and he agreed, but their resources are limited. They've got their hands full right now with other projects. I hope they can address that in the future and will encourage them to do so.

As to TJVigilante's comment about mushing in the mud, the problem with O'Connor Creek Trail and others is that it takes a while up here before we get enough snowfall to smooth out the ruts. Sometimes weeks, sometimes months. Once we get enough snow, then it's fine. I know about your trail groomer and I mentioned it in one of my earlier newsletters. You guys deserve praise for that consideration to others.

I realize you guys don't represent all offroaders in the community, but you and the other two groups are the best place to start a conversation. (I posted my comment on the other two groups' sites, too.) My assumption is that all organized trail users are responsible trail users, but sometimes we just don't realize how we are affecting others. That doesn't mean we necessarily change what we're doing (for example, I don't expect mushers to clean up all the poop in the trail just because some people accidently ski over it), but if we understand each other better, I think we can all get along better.

Geez, I've gone on long enough. Thanks for all your efforts in being good trail stewards and practicing Tread Lightly.

Eric

[TJVigilante]

This sounds like it is best left to our new pr rep. Mostly so we avoid too much confrontation. No I'm not saying you ar being confrontational Joe, Stuff like this is why we hve a PR rep.

I'm aware that you feel the need to keep communications between as few people as possible, but I feel that it's my right and responsibility to have a say, As long as I'm not telling the guy to go pound sand. Mike can handle the down-and-dirty of the talks but that shouldn't exclude me from making a post about it, should it? Having a PR rep doesn't automatically mean that other members should refrain from talks regarding our sport and its implications and impressions on other user groups. In fact, the more people offering their opinions, the better these other user groups can understand our mindset. As long as we're not coming off as selfish yahoos, and only posting facts, I think more voices is a benefit rather than the opposite.