Goldstream Sports Fairbanks Alaska

TRAIL MAPPING PROGRAM RELEASED FOR PUBLIC USE
A Fairbanks-area trail user recently released a beta version of a program he is working on
called TrailMapper.
This is a web-based trail-mapping program that uses Google Earth and allows
users to add trails. Currently, most of the trails in the program are from interior Alaska,
but the program is set up for use by trail users statewide. As more users contribute trail
data this will become a very useful tool. Alaska Trails, a statewide non-profit trail group,
is helping facilitate development of the program.
To access the program go to: http://www.trailmapper.org
Click the link “Help” for a short tutorial. You’ll be prompted to download the
Google Earth plugin. It’s about 5 megabytes.
Because TrailMapper is in its beta version, it’s critical to give feedback to its
developer, Tom Clark (aksnowbiker@gmail.com). This is a volunteer effort and Tom is
busy with other projects for the summer, so further development and bug fixing is likely
to be delayed.

Many trails are already on the system including the Ester Dome Single Track and the Goldstream Sports Classic Ski Trail.

100 People Donating $100 Needed ASAP

We have an opportunity to increase our original plan for the summer from 5 miles to 6.6 miles but we need more funding. We have flagged the entire 6.6 mile loop but will need to cut the length if we do not receive more funds.  Please donate now. Larger donations are welcome, as are smaller donations.

People interested in donating money to the project should make a donation via PayPay (http://www.alaska-trails.org/get_involved/onlinemembership.html) or send a check to Alaska Trails; P.O. Box 100627; Anchorage, AK 99510. Alaska Trails is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group, so donations are tax deductible.

Volunteers are also still needed for the project. Volunteer work parties are being held Thursday evenings. To be put on the notify list contact Geoffrey Orth (geoffrey.orth@alaska-trails.org). Joel Buth, owner of Goldstream Sports and another organizer of the project, is leading weekday sessions behind the dozer and excavator Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. People interested in helping with those should give Joel a call at 455-6520.

The Blade has dropped. Phase Two has begun.

The first phase of the Happy Valley Trail was a great success.  We were able to lay in two separate loops last year, one 3 miles and the other a very technical 1/2 mile, and both have gotten rave reviews!  These are the blue-colored trails on the above map.

The shorter trail was completely hand built (about 220 hours of work) while the longer loop was carved out by a mini-dozer under the control of Jon Underwood (dba Happy Trails), then partly hand-finished.  This hand work was done by 68 individuals who volunteered a total of 683 hours!

Now, as we move into Phase II of the project, we realize that we have enough area and terrain features to increase the miles on the Outer Loop (marked in red) from the initial 5 to an estimated 6.6.  To accomplish this though, we need additional funding.  We’ve received a second $50,000 State Recreation Trail Program grant and a $5,000 facilities grant from Bikes Belong.  But if we want those extra 1 1/2 miles, we are still about $15,000 short.  So we need your help in both dollars and volunteer time.  If we exceed the $15,000, we’ll use the excess to hire a crew to do the hand-finish work and apply it to other trail projects on Ester Dome.

**  Remember, Alaska Trails is a 501(c)(3) so those dollars are tax deductable  **

Use the button at the bottom of this link (http://www.alaska-trails.org/get_involved/onlinemembership.html) to make a donation via PayPal or snail mail to:

Alaska Trails
P.O. Box 100627
Anchorage, AK  99510

And, to supplement our Thursday evening volunteer sessions, Joel Buth (455.6520) will be leading weekday sessions behind the dozer and excavator Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, 8.30a to 11.30a.  So give him a call and sign-up for some morning exercise!

We’ve all heard it, Trails Don’t Fall from the Sky! Thanks again for your generous contributions and support.

Unfortunately, riders that could not wait until the trail dried out before riding it have in effect vandalized what they love. The trail now has deep wheel gashes in the berms and the water drainages have been backed-up by ruts. It will take many hours of work to fix the damage done to this point.

The trail was built to sustainable standards, meaning that the entire trail was built with a five degree out-slope on the tread, grade reversals, drainages, and other construction methods of preventing erosion. The five degree out-slope is vulnerable to damage, especially during the first year, because the trail has not had enough time to fully harden. When ridden in soft conditions it forms a groove in the line most ridden by users. The water then runs down the groove and erosion becomes a serious problem. The best line, usually the most ridden line, becomes an erosion rut. All areas where this rutting occurs will need to be re-graded if the trail is to last for future riding enjoyment. The repairs will take many hours of hard work and manual labor.

Don’t be a trail vandal! Please stay off the trails until they are dry, and the trail has a chance to harden.

If you have ridden the trail this spring, please come and volunteer with us this summer.  Contact us at Goldstream Sports for days and times of volunteering.  The more help we have, the easier it is to build and repair the trail, and everyone can enjoy a fun and beautiful trail.  Thank you.

Ester Dome Single Track has had great reviews from those who road it last year. As we look forward to the mud drying up and being able to get out on the trail we are planning additional miles of trail to be added this summer.

Last year we build 3.5 miles of trail and we have 5 more miles planned for this summer. We will break ground on the next 5 miles of the project mid June. We still have hand finish work to do on the trail built last year.  We will be putting out a call for volunteers soon.

Ester dome Single Track has received $105,000 grants to cover the bulk of the construction cost to this point. However we are still about $10,000 short of our goal for this year. We are hoping that the requests for funding we have out will cover $5000 of the shortfall.  We still need your help in funding the last couple mile of this summers trail. Donations can be made though Alaska Trails. http://www.alaska-trails.org/

I am attending a meeting this morning to look at plans for a Down Hill Bike Park at Birch Hill. If all goes as planed it will make use of the ski lifts to get bikes to the top and provide gravity courses for those who want to launch themselves off the top of the hill over jumps, drops and more. More info will be coming soon.

The Ester Dome
Singletrack project just got another financial boost.
Alaska Trails was awarded $5,000 from Bikes Belong to help build the singletrack
project on the flanks of Ester Dome. The money will go toward construction of another 5-mile
loop that will encircle a 3-mile loop and half-mile loop built last summer. This is the first grant
Bikes Belong has awarded to a project in Alaska.
The Ester Dome project features the first singletrack trail built in the Interior to sustainable
standards. It has received two Recreational Trails Program grants and a lot of local support,
including from Alaska Trails, Goldstream Sports, Fairbanks Cycle Club, National Park
Service – Rivers Trails Conservation Program, Gold Hill Imported Beer & Fine Wines, Golden
Valley Electrical Association, and Running Club North. It also received a substantial donation
from Ben Barton, a local trail user.
While the project’s singletrack trails have been built with intermediate level mountain
bikers in mind, they are open to non-motorized use and have attracted hikers, runners, and
snowshoers.
In granting the award, Bikes Belong noted that the singletrack trails will help reduce user
conflicts on the motorized multi-use doubletrack trails that already criss-cross Ester Dome.
Bikes Belong, based in Boulder, Colorado, is sponsored by the U.S. bicycle industry
with the goal of putting more people on bicycles more often. It has nearly 400 members—
bicycle suppliers and retailers combining resources to improve bicycling in America.
For more information the group see: www.bikesbelong.org/.

We finished cutting about 4 additional km of ski trail today. It will be a blast but we do need another foot of snow before we will have it dialed with the grader and tracksetter. We should have a detailed map with accurate distances by Ski Fest. For now it is passable on rock skis but very bumpy with lots of sticks. Back Country skis would be best now, race skis when we have enough snow will work great. Thanks to Tyson, Kai and Lorien for  all their hard work.  Joel

Ski Trail work day Saturday Oct 24th at 11 am. We will be clearing trail that Tyson and I have marked out this week. We will be brushing with chain saws and a brush mower. We have 4 Km flagged that needs clearing. some of it is on existing trail that needs clean up and some is though birch that just needs some dead fall cleared. We also have some areas of small dense spruce that will be the most work. When completed and we have good snow cover we will have about 8 km of trail with a set classic track. Bring work gloves, if you have a chainsaw that you can bring the would be great.