The South Kettle
where new MTB trails didn't appear by magic
A textbook example of private and public cooperation
by Lee Borowski Two issues ago, we saw that the war between the mountain bikers and
skiers essentially ended. Simply put, the main reason was the establishment of separate bike and ski trails in high-density areas. However, for moderate-use trails, yearly maintenance was more time and cost effective than developing separate trails. But ironically, in low-use areas, another problem arose: there wasn't enough traffic to keep the "grass" down.
Let's take a little closer look at how an existing trail system is updated and developed by focusing on perhaps the most
popular off-road bike trails in the Midwest, those of the South Kettle Moraine. Located between Milwaukee, Chicago and Madison, the John Muir/Emma Carlin trail system is within 100 miles of 8 million people and gets a pounding like no other.
Yet last summer, to my surprise, the whole trail system was in better shape than when I had last seen it seven or eight years ago. It almost seemed like magic. My first thought was, "Where was all the erosion?" I knew that the DNR does close
these trails during the wettest days, but there had to be more to it than that.
After some digging, I discovered that it wasn't magic but the result of a concerted effort by a number of groups. In fact, I found a perfect model for cooperation between the state DNR, local businesses and a national mountain bike organization.
A little history: For perhaps 50-plus years, developing new trails and expanding the public's usage of state lands has been a cooperative enterprise between private
and public sectors. The John Muir trail system, for example, was the product of a push by the Sierra Club for more hiking trails. And the Nordic ski and hiking trails just across the road were laid out by Milwaukee Nordic Ski Club member David Harrison. The Greenbush warming hut was built by local volunteers of the Northern Kettle Moraine Nordic Ski Club, who also groom the ski trails in the winter.
The redesign and upgrade of the Muir/Carlin mountain bike trail system is likewise a
cooperative effort. But unfortunately, many bikers who enjoy those trails have no clue as to how they are improved and expanded -- almost by magic to the uninformed. For sure, those who bike there are very much aware of the new singletrack on the north end of Muir and the constant improvements made to Carlin. But how do these changes actually happen?
Let's start with the money, for without it, no trail maintenance or development would be possible. I was very much surprised to discover how
much private money had been raised for trail improvement. This group comprises commercial businesses that make their money, one way or another, from mountain biking. It was definitely in their interest to promote trail design, if for no other reason than to cut off any attempts to completely ban mountain biking on state land. Or looking at it from a positive angle, better trails meant more riders and growth of the sport.
Of course you might be skeptical and say whatever's good for the
trail is good for bike sales. But we're talking big money and a lot of donated labor. How much? I was flabbergasted when I found out. How about $100,000 over a 10-year period donated to the South Kettle! This is more than just a token amount.
Now the specifics about how this huge amount of money was raised. The John Muir Trail has been host for the last 10 years to the Fall Color Festival. This mountain bike event has been able to generate about $10,000 a year, all of which is donated to
the Wisconsin DNR. For more information on this event see www.fallcolorfestival.org.
The main sponsors are Wheel & Sprocket, Trek and La Grange General Store. All of these sponsors, in addition to donating prizes, are actively involved with the event. Sherie Nelson, marketing director for Trek, has handled most of the administration of the event for the last several years. Mike Bettinger of the La Grange General Store has been responsible for course layout. Wheel & Sprocket
supplies volunteers and manpower to do much of the actual trail work.
The most obvious result of this fund-raiser is easily seen from the parking lot the shelter located just to the left of the trailhead in the Muir parking lot. And next to the shelter is a small play area for children and even a water and hose system for cleaning bikes before transporting them home.
There is a third player in this cooperative effort, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). IMBA is a
nonprofit, public-supported organization which promotes mountain bicycling opportunities that are environmentally sound. They offer expertise in laying out trails that are environmentally self-sustaining (requiring low maintenance) and yet challenging to bikers.
IMBA has developed a manual that lays out a procedure to "make it right the first time," in the words of Wheel & Sprocket's Jerry Kegel. These sustainable trails are designed so that rain will not cause excessive
erosion. By designing trails that crisscross the hills, rather than running straight down the fall line, water tends to cross the trail rather than running down its length. And the surface water that doesn't flow across the trail, but tends to meander rather than become a torrent, ripping up soil along the way.
And why aren't ski and bike trails compatible? According to IMBA, ski trails and mountain bike trails require different designs. Ski trails tend to follow the fall line with more
gradual turns; and of course, water runoff also follows the fall line. Add the beating to these trails inflicted by bikes and some erosion is inevitable.
There is a lot more to the IMBA standards than this short simplification. Percentage grades, avoiding tree roots and many other details are part of their trail design manual. If you are interested, go to www.imba.com. There you will find studies that claim mountain biking has no greater impact on the environment than hiking, whereas
horses and motor bikes cause extensive damage.
And while the IMBA standards are very friendly to the environment, not everyone is happy with the changes. The "hard-core" or "expert" mountain bikers I interviewed unanimously preferred the "old look" of the Muir system. Paul Sandgren of the DNR agreed that many bikers like to see "as many rocks and roots as possible" and "the more technical, the better." But it's obvious that a leave-it-as-is
approach won't work on a trail system that gets as much usage as the Muir. The cost of maintenance is just too high, not to mention the "danger" factor.
Here I have to add an editorial comment: The IMBA standards prefer singletrack trails because they are environmentally friendly. But there is definitely a downside to that design. If the Muir system became all singletrack, there would be little room for passing. There are certainly bikers of all ages, speeds and skill levels who
use this system.
I would think that making the flat areas wider, where water runoff erosion is not a factor, would greatly alleviate that concern. I know that personal confrontations have all but disappeared on ski trails, now that they are wider, making for easy passing. Back in the striding only days, I observed angry encounters almost every time out on singletracked striding trails.
How is the Fall Color Festival money spent? Some is used for bringing an IMBA expert in to lay out new
trails and improve existing ones. Then much of the Fall Color's money is used to pay two DNR employees when they work on the trails. However, they are also joined by a band of volunteers, mainly from Wheel & Sprocket and headed by Bettinger of the General Store. Kegel estimates it takes 15 people, working three straight hours, to produce 1 mile of new trail.
One very promising development for the future is the plan to make a parallel connector trail between Muir and Carlin, so there
will be only one-way traffic. Those who bike there know that connector loop has some of the most difficult and dangerous stretches in the whole system especially with traffic heading both ways.
In fact, changes have already been made by this work crew to the Emma Carlin trails, changing some of the more dangerous sections. As this is written, plans for the next work session are to start cutting the parallel connector loop between Carlin and Muir.
If you haven't biked this system, be
ready for a challenge. In fact, if you can do the entire connector and the Carlin loop without "dabbing" your foot down, or even getting off and pushing, then you are truly a world class bike handler.
So you can see that new mountain bike trails just don't appear out of nowhere but come out of the collective effort of people in government and the private sector who love their sport.
However, there is one disquieting note. Chris Kegel owner of Wheel & Sprocket, an IMBA
board member and Jerry's brother made the following observation: "Mountain bikers (generate) 100 times the usage of snowmobilers but hardly a fraction of the political clout. Snowmobilers have 150 cells that e-mail and contact local supervisors or legislators."
So while "there is a great need for more mountain bike trails in southeast Wisconsin," as Kegel noted, the prospects are about nil at the present time since the master plan for the south Kettle excludes the
development of any new trails. All parties agree that opening it up for revision would be opening up a whole new can of worms. Every group from hikers, to bikers, horseback riders, snowmobilers and state biologists would be in that mix.
According to Sandgren, there just are not enough resources at this time to even consider new mountain bike trails. All of their efforts are being spent on upgrading the existing trails because of their poor design for mountain biking. But that should change
in the near future, since theoretically, these IMBA designed trails will be relatively maintenance free. Other than needing a little brush trimming and occasional new layer of mixed gravel and clay, the trails will naturally compact through use.
Once trail upgrades are implemented, it will be time to look at possible trail expansions. That certainly will be an uphill battle. But will the need be there? One only need visit the Muir parking lot on a weekend. It looks a lot like a day at the
Indy 500. As Kegel says, "More trails would certainly spread out the use and lessen the impact on the environment."
| |
