2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[Trackhead]

^^^ Awesome WRG.....expand to BLM lands in Townsend...please.

Plenty of low elevation stuff that could be rideable nearly year around as we get very little snow.

[singlesline]

Copper City and Caverns were riding before this last round of moisture hit - should be fine if it hasnt been actively raining lately. I heard Corbly was good up to the creek crossing. Gravel (not dirt) roads near town have been good.

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Sounds like stuff is still a lot wetter than what we have in the flathead.

I think I'm just gonna bring gravel bike, trail bike, and touring skis...who knows what I'll get up to!

If anyone is planning some spring touring sat or sun and doesn't mind if I tag along, I might be interested--I'll have my avvy gear.

[Gnar_Shralp406]

Hey all, I'm now the Development Director for the Bozeman chapter of SWMMBA. People say they want cooler shit done and I figured I would try to make that happen. There is some good stuff all but confirmed to start this summer regarding new directional trails. Stay tuned. In the meantime GiveBig starts tonight at 6pm. I'll be hanging at the Martketplace at Ferguson Farm at the SWMMBA tent. 70ish other non-profits will be there as well. There will be beer if that may entice some people out.

Also, we have a movie event at the fairgrounds on 5/16. There will also be beer, food, and raffles (including some Freeride Systems stuff). Come get hyped for bikes and hang out.

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TICKETS

Good on ya WRG! I'll see what I've got in the piggy bank to put towards trail work.

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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I like that idea Trackhead. It was actually brought up at a meeting I had yesterday. We need as many people on board as possible if we have a chance to ever get the FS here to play ball. Luckily we do have BLM though.

Every little bit helps. If anyone can donate at all please help us out! GiveBig goes until 6pm tonight!

GiveBig to SWMMBA 2024

[Trackhead]

I don't know anything about the nuances or challenges of developing trails on BLM, but the land immediately west of Townsend (near Indian Creek Road) is mostly BLM. There are plenty of roads that go up that could be used as shuttle access for downhill "flow" trails, etc. Townsend is a fair bit lower elevation (1,000ft+) than Copper City and gets significantly less snow.........it's a damn dustbowl here and pretty suitable for extended season riding.

When I first moved here I thought about buying a moto again and just "riding" some trails in. Yes, illegal, I know, but..........I didn't do it.

My kids ski buddies parent is on Gallatin NF permitting/management team, maybe she could help in some way in the future. She used to work for Helena NF but now Bozeman/Gallatin.

Happy to help in anyway possible.

[evasive_MT]

IIRC that area was TH’s first proposal to the BLM, and it fell through because of archaeology. I know there’s a Folsom site over there somewhere. His next was Doherty Mountain by Whitehall, which was moving forward until some locals blew up over it because they wanted to import bighorn sheep for a backyard hunting range. Copper City was his 3rd attempt.

[Bunion 2020]

^^^ And he had to fight like hell with the long distance target shooters for that small but important victory.

[Norseman]

Ok trail dev duders....

Every time I drive the Cardwell hill I gaze northward to Doherty Mountain and daydream that maybe one day someone will install a sweet MTB trail network up there.

It's a good chunk o BLM land, with a solid 1500 feet of vert down to Cottonwood Canyon below the freeway.

Check out these south facing gullies

[Norseman]

,

[Norseman]

Dammit, evasiveMT dashing mah dreams while I drafted the above.

[Bunion 2020]

Lot of dreams get dashed by red-neck NIMBYs.

I recall a public meeting in Ennis regarding developing some trails near the Revenue Flats area outside of Norris. After the 5th speaker railed against, Bozeman, Subaru's, faggot bikers and hippie environmentalists I got up and left.

[Trackhead]

After the 5th speaker railed against, Bozeman, Subaru's, faggot bikers and hippie environmentalists I got up and left.

I work in ranching town, the other night I came into the ER for a patient and I was wearing Birkenstocks driving a Dodge 2500 flatbed. I'm a non-binary faggot, hippie, environmentalist, redneck I guess Birkenstocks are just easy to put on and get out the door when you're on call....that's my excuse.

Oh well, I'll just keep riding my gravel bike....suits me fine. But love projects that benefit the community.

[Bunion 2020]

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of more trails and especially anything close to year round. Unfortunately there are a lot of vocal yokels who see it the other way.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Lot of dreams get dashed by red-neck NIMBYs.

After the 5th speaker railed against, Bozeman, Subaru's, faggot bikers and hippie environmentalists

LOL they just described fly fishers but they're okay I guess?

[Trackhead]

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of more trails and especially anything close to year round. Unfortunately there are a lot of vocal yokels who see it the other way.

Yup, especially 'round these parts. People want it to be 1924, not 2024. No growth, no taxes for school improvements, and CERTAINLY NO STINKING BOZANGELES HIPPIE FAGGOTS FROM CALIFORNIA!

[toast2266]

No idea how it is down towards Bozeman, but around the Flathead, there are certain locations where user built trails enjoy something of a "don't ask, don't tell" situation with the land managers. Some of the trails are built by mountain bikers, but most are moto trails (some of which also ride well on a bike). They range from barely there "routes" to very much there, well established, well used trails. And more trail gets built every year. The land managers (most of the stuff is on forest service land) are very much aware of a lot of it, and they've had good opportunities to shut most of it down, but they didn't. My impression is that the land managers acknowledge that getting new legal trail is massively difficult for a hundred different reasons, but trail use and demand for more trails is exploding. So while they're more proactive about regulating illegal use and building in areas that they consider to be sensitive, other areas that aren't noteworthy from an environmental or wildlife standpoint get something of a blind eye. I wouldn't call it an ideal situation, but it's better than nothing.

[Bunion 2020]

Don't know about this year but the Gallatin National Forest made some friends (DB & CbZ) reclaim trails they were caught building in a location that was ideal, their biggest sin according to the USFS was the features they built. Probably 5-7 years ago.
One of my favorite areas these days (once the snow melts) is a network of trails created by horse traffic and then used by bikes. (Moser Creek). Many of these trails were designated as system trails with little additional work.

[Trackhead]

No idea how it is down towards Bozeman, but around the Flathead, there are certain locations where user built trails enjoy something of a "don't ask, don't tell" situation with the land managers. Some of the trails are built by mountain bikers, but most are moto trails (some of which also ride well on a bike). They range from barely there "routes" to very much there, well established, well used trails. And more trail gets built every year. The land managers (most of the stuff is on forest service land) are very much aware of a lot of it, and they've had good opportunities to shut most of it down, but they didn't. My impression is that the land managers acknowledge that getting new legal trail is massively difficult for a hundred different reasons, but trail use and demand for more trails is exploding. So while they're more proactive about regulating illegal use and building in areas that they consider to be sensitive, other areas that aren't noteworthy from an environmental or wildlife standpoint get something of a blind eye. I wouldn't call it an ideal situation, but it's better than nothing.

That happened in Utah, near Fruita. Moto riders on desert singletrack, undesignated. Ultimately the BLM just recognized the trails, published a map, and it became sanctioned use. And yeah, motos work great for establishing desert trails from a minimalist perspective at least.

[toast2266]

That happened in Utah, near Fruita. Moto riders on desert singletrack, undesignated. Ultimately the BLM just recognized the trails, published a map, and it became sanctioned use. And yeah, motos work great for establishing desert trails from a minimalist perspective at least.

Yeah, the Forest Service has said they'll likely bring a bunch of the trails into the official network. I think that'll likely be messy though, as they're not allowed to add any net mileage of moto legal trail. So they'll either have to make the new trails non-moto legal, or they'll have to close some other trails to motos to retain the same mileage of moto legal trail in the Forest. Either way, the moto guys are gonna be pissed. Hopefully the Forest Service will recognize this, and just go along with leaving the trails as unofficial social trails.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

As anyone knows there ARE a ton of illegal trails out there. It's not a secret. Some are skidders and could certainly be adopted. Some are full on jump lines and safety is the argument against ever adopting those, etc.

SWMMBA provided enough trail work hours FOR FREE last year to provide the FS with a full time employee's worth of trail maintenance.

It's a systemic malfunction that will take serious grease to remedy. I spend a lot of time looking for private land that would be suitable for a bike park. $$$ being the greatest hurdle. How amazing would it be to have a Marshal Mountain in the Gallatin Valley? What about a Windrock?

It always starts small and we are trying. I didn't want to sit on the sidelines anymore so got involved.

[evasive_MT]

But to return to the BLM land west of Townsend, we have to be realistic about where to site nonmotorized recreation trails… I mean, there is already an artillery range and a limestone quarry, how much more use can that area support?

[sarcasm]

[Gnar_Shralp406]

Bozeman mags: I'm coming down for a few days over this weekend.

Any suggestions for a good bike loops that are melted out?


Alternatively, I wouldn't mind another day of skiing...you can skin Bridger post-season, right?

Your best bet is going to be the South Hills of Helena or Copper City (Lewis and Clark Caverns too, but meh. Its a last resort riding destination). In my opinion, if you have all day to ride, it's worth the extra trek to Helena. Leverich was interesting today. Great dirt and snow.

If you'd like loop suggestions in Helena/Copper City, let me know.

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[byates1]

https://www.kbzk.com/news/crime-cour...man-police-say

Bunion stop swatting the MSU hotties fer christs sake...

[Trackhead]

But to return to the BLM land west of Townsend, we have to be realistic about where to site nonmotorized recreation trails… I mean, there is already an artillery range and a limestone quarry, how much more use can that area support?

[sarcasm]

At first I missed the sarcasm disclaimer ….

You forgot to add all the designated OHV trails in that area….

[Iowagriz]

I grew up in Three Forks on motos in the 70s. Camped every weekend either in Potosi or Crow Creek (past Radersburg). No idea if the latter is the blm land near Townsend. And I really don't remember the distance from the hwy, but I do fondly remember some great trail riding as a kid.

As a side note, I'm fairly confident that the Toyota camper is still owned by my parents friend and has been in covered storage since approx 1980.