Trail Conditions for 7-19-19

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This week the crew teamed up with a great volunteer group from the Beckett YMCA to build 2 bridges on the History Trail.  These are a continuation of the Teton Bridge Project from last year bringing the grant total to 17 bridges built or replaced on the Teton Pass trail system.  The dimensional lumber bridges go together quickly but require many hands to carry all the lumber and tools needed into the field to construct them.  Randy and Cam cleared some trees on Phillip’s Canyon and Chris got a few on West Game that fell during all the wind this week.  If you see a tree down on the trails give us a shout and we will send one of the crew or ambassadors out to get it.  The crew also fixed a turnpike on the History Trail and built a new one on the Hagen trail at a wet spot that developed over the winter.  The Hagen trail is in prime condition right now, especially if you are a horsefly so be sure to go early in the day or keep moving on your adventure.

Trail Conditions for 7-12-19

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All the front country trails are good to go!  After a slow start tot he summer the warm weather has melted back the snow and its a prime time to get out on your favorite trails.  This week the crews finished a turnpike in Cache Creek, improved all the drainage ditches around the Crater bridges, fixed bench on the Ferrin’s trail, buffed out sections of the Ridge trail with Randy and Cam, and started on 2 bridges on the History trail that we will build with a volunteer group next week.  The Cache to Game race is going on this Saturday morning if you’re looking for a fun run or hike to start your weekend.  There will also be some closures on the Phillip’s Ridge trail starting next week as the USFS continues their fuels reductions project.  Please heed the closures as crews will be chainsawing and dropping trees along the trail corridor.  Read the information on the kiosks and they will be in different areas each day but will be done by 4pm each day and are not working Sundays.

Trail Conditions for 7-5-19

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Well we made it to the 4th of July with some patches of snow left on the Arrow, Black Canyon, and Lithium trails due to a pretty good snow year and a cool spring.  Everything is passable out there with a little bit of walking over the few remaining drifts.  Crews cleared the Ridge, Phillip’s Pass, and Black Canyon this week as well as fixing a hole in the Arrow trail where an avalanche tore out a tree and roots across the middle of the trail.  The crew also shored up the bridge at the end of the Arrow trail, improved the switchbacks on the eastern side of Skyline, and cleared and opened Skyline for the year.  We also worked with a great group from Teton Science Schools who helped to build a turnpike on the Cache Creek trail.  Have a great holiday weekend!

Trail Conditions for 6-28-19

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Chris P likes to say that the Teton Pass trails are always good to go by July 4th, and it looks like it’ll be right down to the wire this year.  Snow drifts remain in shaded north facing areas and ridges and while passable provide some difficulty.  The Cache Game area and Munger Mountain are in great shape and our youth crew was able to install several turnpikes on Wilson and West Game this week to improve it before the Cache Creek Mountain Bike Race.  The Snow King Hill Climb running race is this Saturday and the Cache to Game running race is also coming up on July 13 if you’re looking for a fun run or hike.  Next week the crew will be working on clearing Blacks and Ski Lake to Phillips Pass as well as clearing and opening the Skyline trail for the season on Monday July 1!

 

Trail Conditions for 6-21-19

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The longest day of the year should be the warmest right?  With cool temps the trails are still in great shape and slowly melting out.  Most of the south facing trails on Teton Pass are good to go but there are still drifts lingering in the north facing trees.  The Teton Freedom Riders are having their first Pass Bash of the year tomorrow so head by the coach for a shuttle ride up the pass.  Everything on Snow King is dry and good to go and our ambassadors have been clearing some new downed trees from the winds this week off of Putt Putt and West Game.  Our Youth Trail Crew started this week and this hearty bunch had a busy week, unloading the 12,000 lbs of rock from the helicopter drops on Josie’s Ridge, clearing and cleaning drainage on Crater and History, brush cutting for line of sight on KC, and building a turnpike and reroute around a beaver pond on West Game.  Look for the crew out on the trails this summer and remember they always love treats after a hard days work.

Trail Conditions for 6-14-19

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Tree clearing, bridges, and helicopters what a fun week!  The crew cleared Big Rocks and Black Canyon up to Bridge 3 before hitting snow and Cam Eddy and an unknown trail Samaritan cleared Phillip’s Canyon and the Ridge trail from Fish Creek up to the snow line.  A few riders reported they were able to ride Arrow to Phillip’s Canyon with some hiking over snow drifts in the middle and also the Ridge trail by linking sections of Arrow, Snotel, and the BPA road to avoid most of the snow drifts.  The crew also replaced the bridge on the Phillip’s Canyon access trail from Fish Creek Rd. that had developed a crack after 2 winter of record snowfall.  Thursday we also had a ton of help from Teton Helitack, literally 12 tons of help from their training session where they dropped off twelve 1,000 pound loads of rock on Josies Ridge to continue the trail reinforcement project that we have been working on for a few years.  Josie’s Ridge is a the top end of what the soils here can sustain for trail steepness and by shoring up the steepest portions of the trail we can help ensure it retains its character as an uphill challenge for years to come.

Trail Conditions for 6-7-19

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Yay more rain!  The trails have definitely reached their saturation point since yesterday and should be avoided until it dries out on Sunday.  When it is like this I like to stay to the roads like Cache, Game, the BPA road, and even the Summit Road at Snow King.  They have much more gravel and are more hard packed so it is less likely you will damage them while recreating.  The Old Pass Road is also a good option and is plowed all the way to the top.  The crews are going to push up the Teton Pass trails next week and see how much we can clear before hitting the snow line.  Thanks to everybody who came and helped with National Trails Day projects in Cache Creek last Saturday!

Trail Conditions for 5-31-19

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Finally some sunshine!  This week helped the Snow King trail system dry out and it is now 99% snow free with a few lingering wind drifts near the top of Ferrins and the north side of the Cache Game divide.  The trail crews have cleared almost everything so it should be a good weekend to get out and explore, or better yet start your Saturday at National Trails Day at the Cache Creek trailhead to help Friends of Pathways and the Bridger-Teton with some trail projects in the morning.  We will have coffee and bagels before and beer and brats after to thank you for your hard work keeping the trails in good shape.  You can also explore Munger and the lower portion of the Teton Pass trails.  The crew will start clearing at Phillips Canyon next week and work up as the snow line recedes.

Trail Conditions for 5-24-19

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Ahh the winter that keeps on giving, we are still about a month behind last year in the trails drying out around the valley.  With the snow last night and rain in the forecast the upper elevations that were getting dry are pretty slimy and slick.  There may be some opportunities to get out during dry spells this weekend but I would recommend staying low and avoiding shady north facing trails.  The crew this week cleared Ferrins and Wilson Canyon and they are both dry up to the meadows.  Wilson Canyon has more water damage to the trail as the old cow retaining pond at the top has failed and water is running down the canyon for about a mile until it disappears underground.  The crew also cleared the lower parts of History, Crater, and Black Canyon on the pass.  There is still a lot of snow lingering in the trees there, but Jim Verdone was able to plow Old Pass Road so that is a good dry option.  If you see Jim give him a big thank you for all the work he is doing to keep the Old Pass Road in usable shape.  Have a fun weekend and hopefully we will get a little sunshine.

Trail Conditions for 5-17-19

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There are a few more dry trails but with 10 days of rain in the forecast be responsible when choosing to go out.  The rule I like to follow is wait for the roads to dry in town before venturing out onto trails to avoid damaging them while its too muddy.  That being said the north side of the Cache Creek drainage is pretty good to go with a few snow patches hiding on the end of Putt Putt.  Additionally you can get up the Hagen Highway and across Sink or Swim with only about 100 feet of snow on the ski area.  Munger Mountain is also close, the crew cleared all the trails there and cleaned drainage features on Monday.  There are only a few snow drifts left there on Wally World and Tusky Ridge.  Watch for the crew working on some more steps on lower Josie’s Ridge doing some more clearing up Game and West Game next week.