SWK Spring Scout Out.

I did a walk through at Saw Wee Kee Park in Oswego Tuesday afternoon to scout some potential trail work projects for CAMBr West. Temps were near 60 degrees. Normally there is a lot of mud and water to contend with on the trails. With the mild winter we've enjoyed in this region there is no melt off. Specifically, many parts of Wildcat are underwater in the Spring and when I walked through this trail I found no mud or standing water. It will be a good Spring for mountain biking at SWK.

This is the water crossing at the start of Colossus. I wish I had taken a "before" pic. Normally the damn-up here is much worse. I pulled out all the logs, sticks and muck and got the water flowing through. It may flow for a few days before the water levels out. Then we can go in and pick the rocks that have washed through and rearrange them on the high side again. This is a yearly maintenance task. I think it makes for a nice water crossing, especially when you splash through the crossing on a hot day.

I will propose a repair of this downhill rut. I think we could break down the dirt on the left side of the trail and pull it into the trail. We could also cut the lip down. Then pack it so that the water sheds down and to the left.

Trail damage from horses can tend to be an issue this time of year. It will usually work itself out over time with rain, bike and foot traffic. At times riding through it can be bone jarring. If it is real bad we'll propose a workday to go in and rake it out. Again, with the mild Winter, things look pretty good right now.

I did find a few other minor trail projects. Most, similiar to the scenario pic'd above.