Cutting the new entrance.
I was fortunate enough to be able to take full advantage of my day off. Breakfast out with the wife and pups while running a few errands. Then some time in the woods both working and riding with the pups while she went off to horse around with Lil' Red.
A new line forming across the creek.
It's a critical time for trail work. Spring is knocking on the door and the plants, privet, and weeds are all staking their claims out on the trail. Last year I got behind and had a lot of extra work to do to clear the trail. This year I'm hoping to stay ahead of the curve. Since it always seems easier to find time to ride rather than for performing the back-breaking trail maintenance work, I made myself a promise to at least rake the trail before I could ride it. The raking went so well, I took extra time to cut a new line to bypass a fall line that is getting bad and open up a better entrance/exit to the trail.
Two tracks diverge from the new entrance.
The original horse trail went straight down and it's really starting to show it's age. Plus it was getting pretty slick even for the horses, so I opened up a more environmentally friendly entrance complete with a couple of grade reversals to hopefully curb some of the runoff entering the creek. It also afforded me an better way to begin the new loop on the west side of the creek.
Hopefully I can stay ahead of the shrubbery and get the full trail opened up in time for Spring. As the temps and humidity rise with the approaching summer, JD will be unable to go out on the long trail rides due to high risk of overheating. Having a longer trail at home will allow me to keep his fitness up, his anxiety low, and never be too far away from a lake where a quick dip will cool him down. It's also a damn nice luxury to be able to get a singletrack ride in before and after work. The longer the better.
Oh, and for all of those still battling the snow, it was my 3rd ride this week in just shorts and a jersey. Take that, Canardia!
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