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Limbo no more....

ods

Monkey
Feb 22, 2008
389
0
Port Angeles
About 9 years ago, I was bitten by the trail building bug. From never even considering building a trail, to being virtually addicted to it. I still say that even if I were unable to ride, I would still need to move dirt around.

The first attempt at trail building was a more "freeride" addition to the downhill trails on Dry Hill in Port Angeles. My friend Steve Johnson and I had just gotten back from our first trip to the Shore and were a bit inspired to say the least. We found a spot to start and forged ahead not really considering the whole permission thing.
A couple of weeks of building had gone by when one day we rode up to where we left off (this was before we had a key so it was bikes and a BOB trailer) and nailed to a tree was a ziploc baggie, and not the good kind. In it was a note from our local DNR rep letting us know that we were not following the proper procedure and we were putting all the trails in jeopardy.

There were a lot of things we could have done at that point, but we chose to go in with our tails between our legs and try to build a relationship with them. This has proved to be a good idea as most of you know. They allowed us to finish the trail we started, but only after we rebuilt an old defunct trail as somewhat of a "penance". We gladly accepted.

Our penance trail was called Mitch's Loop, named after the original builder. The trail that started all this was Limbo. It was quite a bit different that the rest of the trails on Dry Hill. It grew into one of the favorites and probably stayed that way because it is one of the few trails we never raced on.

Limbo went through several evolutions, starting out with a couple of the gnarlier wood stunts I've ever ridden, to eventually being more of a flowy trail. The one thing that stayed consistent was the fact that it went through an old, mossy, beautiful forest. Limbo's biggest asset was sure to be its demise.

That day has come unfortunately. I just came down to see the first bits of destruction and it ain't pretty. They have punched in the road right-of-way and it follows quite a bit of the trail. You can see some remnants of the trail occasionally and the random cedar bridge to nowhere amongst the rubble.

Ironically, both Limbo and Mitch's Loop are what got me into trail building and they are the first to go. This is a total harvest, so it's safe to say that there won't be much of a trace left. I took my daughters up with me today and they cried for about an hour talking about their memories of taking their friends up with us to keep here occupied while daddy worked in the dirt. Taking care of her this evening probably helped me be a bit less depressed.

Enough bad news, the good news is that we are going to have a blank slate, with a view! Maybe it's time for that machine built trail???

I wish I could have ridden it one more time though....
 

klikboom

Chimp
Jul 11, 2005
38
0
EveRett
Kind of sucks about the lost work, but keep in mind the logging is what keeps the land available to use for us, unless we're going to pool our pennies. Good news is you have a good 20 year window before you have to worry about it again. :D
 

ebxtreme

Monkey
Apr 25, 2007
195
0
Bellingham
Scott,

My condonences dude. Everything you said resonates with me on a personal level. Ironically, I'd not ridden Limbo before the last NW Cup, but MattPatt said it was about to be logged, so we hopped in for a rip down to end our practice day. Super fun, dude!

It's the bummer and reality of building in a working forest. As you know, we're going through that in a BIG way on Galby right now and also elsewhere east of town, we're losing another trail or two.

Time to make lemonade out of those lemons though. I think a machine built line through the clear cut makes good sense since it's so much effort to build trail through that amount of mess. Let me, Durand or Hawk know if you need any insight into that....we're still on hold for our 2nd machine built line, but it's 100% cleared and ready to go.

Cheers,
EB
 

ods

Monkey
Feb 22, 2008
389
0
Port Angeles
Scott,

My condonences dude. Everything you said resonates with me on a personal level. Ironically, I'd not ridden Limbo before the last NW Cup, but MattPatt said it was about to be logged, so we hopped in for a rip down to end our practice day. Super fun, dude!

It's the bummer and reality of building in a working forest. As you know, we're going through that in a BIG way on Galby right now and also elsewhere east of town, we're losing another trail or two.

Time to make lemonade out of those lemons though. I think a machine built line through the clear cut makes good sense since it's so much effort to build trail through that amount of mess. Let me, Durand or Hawk know if you need any insight into that....we're still on hold for our 2nd machine built line, but it's 100% cleared and ready to go.

Cheers,
EB
I hope I didn't sound too whiny. I have known from the beginning that it would be on the chopping block and understand that the only reason we are allowed to do anything there is because we're cool with what they have to do. I am looking forward to having it behind us so we can look at a blank slate to build trails that will outlive me.

ST
 

thad

Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
388
21
Feel your pain, dood. Just checked out the clearcut where Deadfall used to be last weekend. R.I.P., sucks to lose trails, especially when you have years invested in them.
 

ods

Monkey
Feb 22, 2008
389
0
Port Angeles
Feel your pain, dood. Just checked out the clearcut where Deadfall used to be last weekend. R.I.P., sucks to lose trails, especially when you have years invested in them.
Deadfall was my favorite trail up there. Last time I was there it was too snowy to ride and I knew the end was near for it. That sucks.
 

Fitz

Chimp
Jun 4, 2011
1
0
Had to stop lurking and post. The road has had it's ups and downs but I think for many has worked out amazingly well. This partnership is a good thing and helped lead the way. More good trails in the future!
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
I am looking forward to having it behind us so we can look at a blank slate to build trails that will outlive me.

ST
Word, before you guys started out there, there was really little or no opportunity in this state to even have permission to build (mt. bike specific) anywhere. Now to have the opportunity to direct it back in a place where there will be a guarantee it will stick around for years, decades, or maybe even centuries if things turn out right. Well that is a wish i think we all want to happen, and i'm glad that this hope can hopefully someday outshine the loss.

Regards
T
 
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MattPatt

Monkey
Apr 3, 2008
111
0
A, A
To Scotty and Thad and all the others out there who helped build or even just loved to ride Limbo and Deadfall, my deepest condolences. Both of these trails are (or were) on my top 10 in the state, so it's a real blow, for sure.

But hopefully out of the ashes a phoenix will rise. Keep us posted. We'll be there to help rebuild and someday ride something even cooler!

Thanks for the memories.
 

RRBFUN

Chimp
Jun 15, 2010
7
0
Scoped out the logging today. On the positive side. The ride up in the back of the Uhaul will be a lot smoother, you now have short cuts for the biginner XC race next yr. Nuckler's now got a nice 15 foot downhill gap jump. They have done a lot but a lot left to do. Are they going to be done before the last race?