Trail Conditions 6-16-23

Trees, trees, big trees!  The crew did some more clearing on Arrow, Snotel, Ridge, Ski Lake, and Black Canyon this week and cleared a few dozen trees including some big firs and spruce.  We cleaned drainage on Big Rocks, Blacks, and Ski Lake and started laying out some of the project work in Black Canyon that a Montana Conservation Corps crew we hired will be helping with next week.  These include a number of small reroutes to improve drainage, decrease erosion, and minimize the amount of maintenance we have to do each year on the trail.  We also continued the war on musk thistle in Game Creek and buffed out the Shade Monkey trail that Snow King reestablished after they finished burying their snowmaking lines.  The Teton Pass trails are almost snow free with lingering patches on Ski Lake, Phillip’s Pass, the north facing parts of Arrow, and most of the ridgeline of Black Canyon to Mt. Elly.  If you are tenacious enough to hike through a mile of snow, come visit us next week on the upper parts of Black Canyon and remember the trail crew loves cookies.