Rode St. Edwards for the first time since mid-July and everything in the Big Finn Hill area is gone. All of the stuff: drops, dirt jumps, and natural features (i.e. the log in open area) are not there anymore. What happened?
WTF happened at Big Finn Hill?
- Thread starter Tarpon
- Start date
Think ya kinda answered your own question.. they got torn out... not sure who did it but it was a long time coming. most of the stuff in there wasnt well built anyways.
what he ^ said....
also it was to much fun..... the county isnt down with people having fun... haha.. im sure theres a better reason though...
also it was to much fun..... the county isnt down with people having fun... haha.. im sure theres a better reason though...
Obviously it got cleaned out, I was interested in knowing why and who did it. Did one of the kids at the DJ's get hurt? It seemed to me that the better built stuff was over there (the two drops anyway). The real crap is that rickety mess of ladders in the second section of the park. Since those two drops were there for almost a year I thought they would stay put. What really gets me is they took out that log in the open area.
I think the state did it. But there was a post a little bit back regarding it. Maybe you could do a search and find the thread.
Okay, I did the search; I was too lazy to look too far back in the posting history. Sounds like it happened right after I was there last time.
Too bad, there was some nice stuff over there. Don't really see a reason to go back (until new stuff gets built).
Question: What do you call 10,000 lawyers chained to the bottom of the sea?
Answer: A good start.
Too bad, there was some nice stuff over there. Don't really see a reason to go back (until new stuff gets built).
Question: What do you call 10,000 lawyers chained to the bottom of the sea?
Answer: A good start.
Oh yeah. I don't read the PNW forum very often. Otherwise I would have seen the old post.
I think it had to do with people building where they obviuosly weren't supposed to, not listening to people when they told them that they really shouldn't be building where they were building, and then, of course, whining about the big bad parks people that came and tore everything down.... or something like that.
I think it was actualy the WA trails club that did the bulldozing, much to their glee, at the request of the state.
The reason the stunts in the Bastyr section are still there is that is Bastyr's property, but don't be suprised if/when it disappears too.......
I think it was actualy the WA trails club that did the bulldozing, much to their glee, at the request of the state.
The reason the stunts in the Bastyr section are still there is that is Bastyr's property, but don't be suprised if/when it disappears too.......
Amen, and we can chain all the narc's to the lawyers.Tarpon said:
If unchecked the whole park would be cleared of udergroth for stunts. To bad tho, it was fun to watch. I also enjoyed some of the small dirt jumps.
Toss a line like this and I'm sure to take the bait...
We (BBTC) gave the County a call this summer to find out the scoop on what was happening. Most of the stuff that was removed was on King County land in Big Finn Hill Park. The county had the stuff removed, and I'm not sure if they did it themselves or contracted with an outside group such as WTA to have it removed.
Bastyr is privately managed, and Saint Edwards is a State park. The areas we ride kind of overlap onto all three.
I'm not sure why something natural like the log was removed, but the structures and DJ's aren't allowed in that park according to King County policy. Even though I love riding that kind of stuff, it really worried me that people were building here. The only possible outcome was for King Co. to eventually rip it all out.
We really need jumps and drops in that neighborhood, but the existing trail systems aren't the place for them. Anything that gets built on those trails will just get ripped out, and makes our relationship with the Big Finn and Saint Eddies more difficult.
If someone wants to organize a group of locals who want to get a local jump park built, give me a shout and I'll provide the organizational support. I'm convinced we could get grant money to get it done - we just need someone to step up and take the reigns. The thought of badass dirt jumps, drops and stunts makes me drool....
Justin Vander Pol
Executive Director
Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club
justin@bbtc.org
206-524-2900
We (BBTC) gave the County a call this summer to find out the scoop on what was happening. Most of the stuff that was removed was on King County land in Big Finn Hill Park. The county had the stuff removed, and I'm not sure if they did it themselves or contracted with an outside group such as WTA to have it removed.
Bastyr is privately managed, and Saint Edwards is a State park. The areas we ride kind of overlap onto all three.
I'm not sure why something natural like the log was removed, but the structures and DJ's aren't allowed in that park according to King County policy. Even though I love riding that kind of stuff, it really worried me that people were building here. The only possible outcome was for King Co. to eventually rip it all out.
We really need jumps and drops in that neighborhood, but the existing trail systems aren't the place for them. Anything that gets built on those trails will just get ripped out, and makes our relationship with the Big Finn and Saint Eddies more difficult.
If someone wants to organize a group of locals who want to get a local jump park built, give me a shout and I'll provide the organizational support. I'm convinced we could get grant money to get it done - we just need someone to step up and take the reigns. The thought of badass dirt jumps, drops and stunts makes me drool....
Justin Vander Pol
Executive Director
Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club
justin@bbtc.org
206-524-2900
I have seen the punch/couterpunch between the kids building stuff and "The Man" . I say "The Man" jokingly because I don't know who it was that usually knocked their stuff down (poorly built stunts and DJ's in odd spots), I assumed it was whatever group that did trail maintenance. My real suprise was that the drops stayed up so long I guess I thought they were "okay". The log is something I still can't figure out.
I would love to see some legitimate DJ's and stunts built somewhere though.
I would love to see some legitimate DJ's and stunts built somewhere though.
Let's start organizing? Oregon organizations organized a trail that is legal for big hit stuff, why can't we?juice said:
Justin,
You mentioned that stunts aren't legal on King Co. property. Who owns the property under and around I-5? There is a lot of empty land around I-5 on Beacon Hill and also just above 509 in West Seattle. I would love to help make something happen around here. You mentioned before that after the Colonades was done, Beacon Hill was next on your list.
You mentioned that stunts aren't legal on King Co. property. Who owns the property under and around I-5? There is a lot of empty land around I-5 on Beacon Hill and also just above 509 in West Seattle. I would love to help make something happen around here. You mentioned before that after the Colonades was done, Beacon Hill was next on your list.
Yeknomedir, if you want help organizing, give me a call anytime on my cell at 206-390-2237. It just takes one person to lead the charge on projects like this, and then its easy for other people to join in. I can definitely help out, but I can't lead projects since we need to keep 4 or 5 different projects all moving forward at the same time. King County doesn't allow stunts at Big Finn, but that doesn't mean they won't allow stunts or jumps on new parks that we build specifically for that purpose.
buildyourown, the land under I-5 is owned by WashDOT, but the land next to it is owned by a whole bunch of different folks. Its pretty easy to check out at the City of Seattle's GIS website. I also have some large format maps of Beacon Hill if you want to hook up sometime and take a look at them. There's actually enough publicly owned land between Beacon and I-5 to put in a really cool park. There's also a problem with hard drug use and crime along there that would be solved by having a high-use mountain bike park in that area. I'm just trying to plant the seeds right now, but if someone wants to run with the idea I bet we could make it happen. One of the keys to these projects is to show the politicians that we're going to solve a problem for them and make their job easier, and Beacon definitely fits that criteria.
Shoots, it looks like I'm writing a book.... but seriously, think where we could be in a couple years. Great places to ride here in town
buildyourown, the land under I-5 is owned by WashDOT, but the land next to it is owned by a whole bunch of different folks. Its pretty easy to check out at the City of Seattle's GIS website. I also have some large format maps of Beacon Hill if you want to hook up sometime and take a look at them. There's actually enough publicly owned land between Beacon and I-5 to put in a really cool park. There's also a problem with hard drug use and crime along there that would be solved by having a high-use mountain bike park in that area. I'm just trying to plant the seeds right now, but if someone wants to run with the idea I bet we could make it happen. One of the keys to these projects is to show the politicians that we're going to solve a problem for them and make their job easier, and Beacon definitely fits that criteria.
Shoots, it looks like I'm writing a book.... but seriously, think where we could be in a couple years. Great places to ride here in town
So where exactly is this Beacon hill area or other possible spots? I'm down south of Tacoma east of McChord AFB so if it's in Seattle I'm not sure I'd be the one best suited to run it as I live far from there but I'd definently help out! Are the majority of the DHer'z up in Seattle or are there a fair share down here as well? Seems like all the good stuff is up that way and up in the Mtn.'s closer to Seattle(I-90 trails, SST, ratpac, hwy 2, etc) where as us south sound boys don't have too much to ride... I don't mind the drive and I'm glad to help out, I just wish we could have something to treasure down hear as well...juice said:
The area I am talking about is just south east of the I-90/I-5 interchange. It is right accross the street from Pacmed. The large tan building you can see from the freeway. There is a huge dog park there which is under utilized because a lot of bums use the park as access to thier homeless camp. I did a little exploring around there and there is a lot of potential for some jump lines and some good singletrack. I took my large dog and I still got sketched out. There is plenty of land farther south too. I live on the south end of Beacon hill where the homeless population is a lot lower.Yeknomedir said:
Justin, I'll check out those maps. I have to go to the city GIS office all the time for work anyways and I'm always looking at the maps and thinking...
Yeknomedir said:
because people in oregon have to drive 7 hrs to get to canada........