Teton Pass is melting out slowly but surely. Most of the south side trails are in good shape except for upper Blacks, Lithium, and History trail which remain in the snow zone. The north side trails have patchy snow but are passable. Ski Lake has intermittent snow up to the Phillip’s Pass junction and the Arrow, Snotel, Ridge loop has been cleared of trees and the trail is ~50% free of snow. Good for people on foot but not so much for bikes or horses. The BPA road however is almost entirely free of snow and lets you connect to the lower Ridge Trail which is cleared and snow free. Snow King and the Munger Mountain trails are all in good shape and crews addressed many of the water problems from last weeks run off. There were a few new trees down from the storms last week so if you see any blocking the trails let us know and we’ll get them cleared for you!
The trail word of the week is High Water! Use caution when crossing creeks and inspect bridges before crossing. In particular Bridge 3 in Cache Creek has water flowing over it, and the Crater and Lower History bridges broke under heavy winter snow load. The trails are holding up well in spite of this with only a few scattered seeps and some damage from creeks flowing onto the trail itself. The crews have been working hard to divert water off the trails back into the creeks, saving the day on Phillip’s Canyon, Blacks, West Game, Game, and Wilson Canyon to name a few. More good news, all of Snow King is open and cleared with the exception a few trees we left at the top of Wilson Canyon just before the wash out to slow people down. The Skyline Trail remains closed until July 1 for elk calving, please respect this closure. Teton Pass is opening up too with good options being Big Rocks, Lower History, Crater, and Black Canyon for the first 2.5 miles. Parallel and the Jumps Trail are dry although Jimmy’s still has some snow and muddy spots. Phillip’s Canyon is clear almost to the Arrow junction and the Ridge Trail is good up to the switchbacks just below rock world. The Ridge would be my recommendation for an out and back adventure this weekend. Remember to tag any problems you see on the trails with #jhtrails as a quick way to let us know where we should go work next week!
The theme of the spring is trees down on the trails. This week the crews cleared 22 trees off of Hagen and Putt Putt, 16 trees off of Crater and Lower History, and a whopping 91 trees off of Ferrins, Wilson Canyon, and West Game. I would suggest that as the outing for the weekend, the burn section is really interesting with all of the trees blown over in the same direction. The upper sections of Cache and Game are still holding snow and have a few wet spots and trees left to clear. Old Pass Road is also open thanks to Team Jackson Hole, it is worth a trip to the top to see the 6 foot banks of snow. The rest of Teton Pass is slowly melting out and trails can be accessed as out and backs from the lower trailheads. If you notice down trees or other trail problems tag them in social media with #jhtrails and we will get out to fix the problem asap!
The trails continue to dry out and the crew had a busy week clearing 162 trees off of Wilson, Ferrin’s, and the Munger Mountain trails. Munger is in good shape with only a few seeps and wet spots and a few trees left on Wally World where we ran out of time and gas. Ferrin’s is dry up to the bottom of the meadow but there are several feet of drifted snow above that. The upper reaches of Hagen and Putt Putt are also slowly melting out and you can make it several miles up Game Creek with a few spots where the creek is on the road or water is bubbling out of gopher holes but it is passable. On Teton Pass Parallel is in good shape and the lower parts of Crater, History, Old Pass Road, Blacks, Ridge, Phillip’s Canyon, and Big Rocks are melting out and make good excursions to find where the snow line is each day. The crew will be clearing trees and cleaning drains there starting next week. Remember when we do get precipitation a good gauge of when the trails are dry enough to not cause damage is when the roads start to dry out. Have a great weekend!
Trails are still slowly melting out with lower Cache Creek and Sink or Swim and below being your best bet for the weekend with the Hagen side still covered in patchy snow and mud. The crew found some carnage this week with a waterfall flowing down the steep section of Wilson Canyon and ~40 trees down on the upper part of Ferrins. The full USFS and FOP crew is on starting Monday and will be clearing the high number of downed trees resulting from the heavy snow and ice load and high winds this winter. We will aim to get Munger and some of the lower trails on Teton Pass cleared early next week!
With the nice weather this weekend there are several trails around Snow King that are in great shape for short excursions. The Sidewalk to Wiggle to Putt Putt link up offers a great 5K loop from the Cache or Nelson Dr. trailheads. The Hagen Highway and Sink or Swim are clear of snow except for the usual 100 ft section as you cross the ski area. All of the lower trails from the Wildlife Lane and Flat Creek trailheads are in good shape and Josie’s Ridge is snow free most of the way to the top. Around the Summit Trail area please stay on the trail and don’t shortcut straight up and down the hill to avoid snow. This causes highly erosive fall line trails to form. Have a fun weekend and enjoy the warm weather!
As usual in early spring there are a few dry trails out there in sunny spots and at low elevations. The trails between Snow King Ski Area and the Winter Wildlife Closure to the west are 99% snow free and dry. They can be accessed via the Rodeo and Pine Drive neighborhood access trails or by hiking up some snow from the base of Snow King. Over in Cache Creek the road and trails on the Hagen side are still covered in snow and passable but starting to get muddy in spots. The Sidewalk Trail is snow free and dry up to the Bridge 2 junction and Putt Putt is 95% snow free from the Cache Creek trailhead to the Nelson Drive trailhead. Remember to try to stay on snow or dry dirt this time of year and if you see yourself gathering mud on your shoes or tires or leaving tracks you are doing damage to the trails.
RESULTS ARE IN FROM TETON TRAFFIC BUSTERS’ OPEN HOUSE
Before the crush of summer traffic, Friends of Pathways and other community organizations invited citizens to engage and share ideas that can be enacted as proactive solutions to aggravating traffic congestion. The goal of the event was to generate community conversation and to invigorate people around positive solutions that can easily be implemented, some as soon as this summer.
Partner organizations shared ideas and available solutions for reducing traffic on 22 and 390, and information about current efforts underway. We explored how we can collectively reduce year-round traffic by invigorating transit, using traffic management tools and other forms of alternative transportation. 125 people attended the event and others participated online, by filling out a survey about transportation options. A summary of the event and survey follows.
Meeting Date & Time: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 from 4 ‐ 7 PM
Meeting Place: Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center
Meeting Intent:
Before the crush of summer traffic, the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center, Teton Village Association, Snake River Fund and Friends of Pathways invited citizens to help innovate smart ways to take an additional 200 or more vehicles off of Highways 22 and 390, everyday all year-round.
Meeting Announcement:
The meeting was announced in a March 22 Guest Shot published by the JH News & Guide and distributed by all four host organizations. It was also placed on the Community Calendar, and advertised in the print & online versions of the JH Daily and JH News & Guide, as well as Facebook. Host organizations invited their contacts via email, as well as the Teton County Commission and key County staff, Mayor & Town Council and representatives from the Teton County Sherriff’s office, WYDOT, START Bus and Pathways.
Meeting Format:
Open House format, allowing community members to attend when most convenient for their schedule. Refreshments were available, and four stations were set up around the room’s perimeter offering information and soliciting feedback on four themes:
1. Downtown Wilson/Hwy 22
2. Traffic Reduction/Stilson
3. Wilson Boat Launch / Stilson
4. Alternative transportation: pathways, rideshare, START Bus
These stations were manned by staff and volunteers from the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center, Teton Village Association, Snake River Fund and Friends of Pathways. A series of exhibits were displayed and helped generate productive conversations. The meeting was attended by approximately 125 people. Attendees were asked to provide feedback about traffic solutions via a brief written or online survey. Additionally, the board & staff of Old Wilson Schoolhouse conducted one-on-one interviews using the appreciative inquiry approach. In preparation for the meeting, and as a means of continuing to communicate with people about traffic solutions, the Teton Traffic Busters Facebook page was created. It currently has 115 likes, and its posts have been served to more than 5,000 people.
Surveys:
A written and online survey asked people to help generate positive solutions to take cars off highways 22 & 390 that our elected officials can enact so that this summer, and in summers to come, we have fewer frustratingly long lines of traffic. People were asked to answer the questions knowing there are 15 acres at the Stilson park & ride for this purpose, a dedicated stream of revenue from Shooting Star real estate transfer fees for traffic mitigation between Teton Village and the Town of Jackson, and there hasn’t been regularly scheduled START Bus service to/from Stilson in summers past.
The survey was available online from April 15 – 28, and participants were invited to fill it out at the open house – 318 responses were received. A brief summary of the survey responses appears below, and the final survey results including comments are included in the Traffic-Busters-Event-Summary
1. Should the Stilson park & ride be used in peak summer months to reduce traffic?
Yes – 94%
2. What actions would you take to reduce summer traffic? (multiple responses)
Bike or walk to work and/or to run errands regularly – 74%
Use the Stilson park & ride – 55%
Change work schedule/travel habits to avoid peak traffic – 53%
3. If you had $250-500,000/year to help get cars off the road, what’s the first thing you would do?
Schedule frequent START Bus service with regular stops at Stilson year round – 46%
4. What would motivate people to leave their cars at Stilson instead of driving? (ranked)
1 – Scheduled START Bus service every 30 minutes
2 – Bumper-to-bumper traffic on Hwys 22 and/or 390
3 – Paid parking in downtown Jackson
4 – Scheduled START Bus service every hour
5 – Covered bike storage
5. What would make it more convenient for people to park vehicles at the Stilson lot to use the
Wilson boat launch, public access levees, &/or R Park? (ranked, but in a virtual 3-way tie)
1 – Designating ~25 parking spaces nearest the Hwy 390 pathway underpass as “preferred river
access parking”
2 – Restrooms that are unlocked for use at Stilson
3 – A dedicated bike share hub for river users (Stilson to river & back)
6. What transportation infrastructure would you support funding for? (ranked)
1 – Roundabout at the intersection of highways 22 & 390
2 – Carpool and/or transit lane on Highway 22
3 – Improvements to Stilson (bus stop, bike storage, road and parking)
4 – Widen roads
5 – Additional pathway underpasses on highways 22 & 390
7. How do you think our community should pay for transportation improvements to reduce
summer traffic on Hwys 22 & 390? (ranked)
1 – Use existing Shooting Star real estate transfer fee
2 – Voter approved SPET funds for specific transportation
It has been a difficult winter for our trial year grooming singletrack in Cache Creek. We have managed to stay ahead of the storms and keep a little over 9 miles of singletrack groomed for hikers, bikers, runners, and skiers. We are hoping your donations to this bike raffle will allow us to purchase all of the equipment we need to continue this grooming program in future years. If you have enjoyed the trails in Cache this winter or could use a new fat bike, please consider purchasing a raffle ticket. Each $100 donation will get you entered to win a Salsa Beargrease size large from Fitzgerald’s Bicycles. The drawing will be held at the Togwotee Winter Classic Race on March 4th and you need not be present to win. You can donate here: Bike Raffle
https://friendsofpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WinBike.jpg321845FOPMasterhttps://friendspathway.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FriendsofPathways.pngFOPMaster2017-02-17 12:10:022017-12-04 12:22:04Bike Raffle to Support Cache Creek Singletrack Grooming
We are excited to announce that Friends of Pathways, Mountain Bike the Tetons, and Teton Mountain Bike Tours have worked with the Bridger-Teton to pilot a Singletrack Trail Grooming program in Cache Creek for this winter. This program which is being supported by donations at our Crowd Rise campaign site and will include a mixture of snowmobile and human grooming on 10 miles of trail. Cache Creek saw an average of 286 trail users per day last winter, 66.1% hikers, 14.7% bikers, 10.3% runners, and 8.9% skiers. This program will help to maintain a compact groomed trail surface for all trail users that is wide enough to allow people to pass each other without stepping off into deep snow on the side of the trail. We worked with the BTNF to provide options close to the trailhead as well as additional grooming farther up the drainage to help spread out use. We also are grooming upper Cache Creek road to Noker Mine an extra day each week to help bolster Parks and Rec’s grooming efforts. If you enjoy using the trails in the winter take a look at our Crowd Rise site to learn more about FOP and MBT’s joint venture to groom trails in Jackson, Victor, and Driggs!
https://friendspathway.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FriendsofPathways.png00FOPMasterhttps://friendspathway.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FriendsofPathways.pngFOPMaster2016-12-08 16:18:382016-12-08 16:18:38New Singletrack Grooming Approved for Cache Creek this Winter
The crew has had a whirlwind couple of weeks out on the trails. They finished four bridges in Black Canyon and one in Phillip’s Canyon with the help of Carney Logan and Burke Architects who had 30 volunteers haul lumber and rocks to finish the bridge just this morning. The style of bridge we are building assembles quickly but the slow part is hauling all the lumber miles into the forest to the bridge sites and then getting rocks, gravel, and dirt for the approaches. Anyone interested in what we call “trail crew crossfit” should come out with us one day. The crew also cleared Phillip’s Pass and Ski Lake, brush cut Putt Putt and Hagen, and cleaned all the drains on those trails. We also had help from Lillard Flyfishing who brush cut the Kelly’s and lower Josie’s Ridge loop which was getting overgrown in places. We are still working with Wildflower Watch and Nature Mapping JH to monitor plants, animals, and trail use in Cache Creek each week to look at long term trends. Next week look for the crew working with more volunteers on bridges on the History Trail and West Game. ps they like taking a funny picture after finishing each bridge so feel free to suggest something for the next one.
Trail Conditions for 7-27-18
The crew has had a whirlwind couple of weeks out on the trails. They finished four bridges in Black Canyon and one in Phillip’s Canyon with the help of Carney Logan and Burke Architects who had 30 volunteers haul lumber and rocks to finish the bridge just this morning. The style of bridge we are building assembles quickly but the slow part is hauling all the lumber miles into the forest to the bridge sites and then getting rocks, gravel, and dirt for the approaches. Anyone interested in what we call “trail crew crossfit” should come out with us one day. The crew also cleared Phillip’s Pass and Ski Lake, brush cut Putt Putt and Hagen, and cleaned all the drains on those trails. We also had help from Lillard Flyfishing who brush cut the Kelly’s and lower Josie’s Ridge loop which was getting overgrown in places. We are still working with Wildflower Watch and Nature Mapping JH to monitor plants, animals, and trail use in Cache Creek each week to look at long term trends. Next week look for the crew working with more volunteers on bridges on the History Trail and West Game. ps they like taking a funny picture after finishing each bridge so feel free to suggest something for the next one.