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I have a couple of acres to play with at my house. This acreage backs up to a couple dozen more acres of dense, unpopulated forest. It is on a very steep slope (around 13-16%) and I have been generally frustrated with the fact that I can’t really do anything with it unless I start with heavy construction equipment and about 50 truckloads of fill dirt.
However, my recent foray back into mountain biking and trail running has me eyeing it again with bad intent. Bolstered by my success building an insane sled run during the recent blizzard I have decided to build/dig out/mark off a trail around the property that will give me someplace to practice both mountain biking and trail running close to home. My best estimate is that I can get about a half mile of trails in if I wind them back and forth across the fall line of the property. I have always know that running hill repeats up the property would be painful (about 300 yards) but winding trails will be more fun and I really don’t need much more than a couple of shovels and some heavy duty Round Up to clear out the offending brush and make a path. There is plenty of dead fall to act as markers and barriers to help with erosion and being closer to home might be more motivation to ride!
I walked it yesterday and kind of came up with the concept for how to work it so I may have a new spring project… One small jump, lots of switchbacks, and some decent climbing. Nothing fancy or too technical, just practice runs. I should be able to use them to walk, run or bike on. It’s not the 20 acres of fun trails I wish I had, but it’s a start. Who knows. If I ever find out who owns the land next to me… I might buy it!
I will mark it off in the next month and start digging. I’ll post pics as I progress!
