Barkeater Mountain Bike Network Adds Flow Trails
The Barkeater Trails Alliance undertook four major projects this summer--three machine-built flow trails and one sweat-built single-track. One day in late September, I rode them all and was blown away.
By Phil Brown
The new trails are in four different networks in four different communities: the Three Sisters Preserve in Wilmington, the East Branch Community Trails in Keene, the Craig Wood Trails outside Lake Placid, and the Fowler’s Crossing Trails in Saranac Lake.
The flow trails feature large berms for fast and fun cornering. Two of them also were designed for catching air.
The single-track in Saranac Lake was still under construction, but I was able to ride all but a short section that had not been cleared.
Incidentally, on the same day I took my road bike on a half-mile stretch of the nearly finished Adirondack Rail Trail. The trail has been surfaced with packed stone dust between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. During the long-running debate on the rail trail, critics argued that stone dust would not accommodate road bikes. I’m happy to report that I had no problem.
The contractor has until November 7 to finish the 10-mile section of trail between the two villages. Phase 2 of the trail, between Saranac Lake and Floodwood, is scheduled to be completed next fall. Phase 3, from Floodwood to Tupper Lake, should be done the following year.
But let’s get back to mountain biking.
Three Sisters Preserve
This 98-acre preserve, owned by the Adirondack Land Trust, is named for three old white pines, so it’s appropriate that the new bike trail is called Flobus, an allusion to the tree’s scientific name (Pinus strobus). It was built by Tahawus Trails, aided by the labor (more than 900 hours ) of BETA volunteers and staff.
One of my favorite BETA trails is the Three Sisters Trail, which climbs 340 feet over 1.1 miles to Quaker Mountain Road. The climb and subsequent downhill are easy enough that anybody can enjoy this popular trail. I think of it as a flow trail for novices, so I was eager to see how Flobus compared.
One way it differs is that Flobus is a downhill-only trail. It’s accessed from the Three Sisters Trail. Flobus crosses Three Sisters once and then merges with it.
Flobus also differs from Three Sisters in character. It’s wider, with bigger berms and a series of jumps. Unlike on Three Sisters, the jumps are not optional, though if you go slow, you can roll over them without catching air.
To reach Flobus from the Hardy Road trailhead, head up Three Sisters. In a tenth of a mile, you pass the new trail’s exit on the left. At 0.25 miles, Flobus crosses the climbing trail. At 0.85 miles, you reach the Flobus entrance on the right (just before the start of Noreen’s Trail).
Climbing to Flobus, you gain about 250 feet in elevation. The descent is 0.75 miles to Hardy Road, and all but the last tenth of a mile is new trail.
Here’s my suggestion to get the most out of a visit to the Three Sisters Preserve: climb to and descend Flobus; climb to and descend Noreen’s; and climb back to the Three Sisters Trail, take it to the top, and descend back to Hardy Road. Flobus is so much fun, though, that you may want to do it more than once.
East Branch Community Trails
In Phase 1 of this multi-year project, Peduzzi Trail Contracting built a wide beginner’s trail called Leepoff Loop and a mile-long climbing trail off the loop that gains about 340 feet in elevation. This year, Peduzzi built the first of several downhill trails planned for the network.
Called Downriver, this downhill-only flow trail is reached by going up the climbing trail about 0.65 miles. The trail descends in a series of swooping turns with huge berms, losing about 180 feet in elevation and reaching the start of the climbing trail in 0.45 miles. If you were do Leepoff and Downriver just once, without taking the climbing trail to its end, you’d ride about 2.2 miles with about 230 feet of ascent, but my prediction is that many people will want to do at least a few laps on Downriver.
Unlike Flobus, Downriver has only a few jumps (catching air not necessary). It’s a great trail for novices to get the hang of cornering on berms or for more experienced riders to blast downhill.
BETA hopes to build a pump track and more trails on the mountain during Phase 3 of the project next year.
Craig Wood Trails
Green Jacket, the new trail at Craig Wood, has big berms and big jumps, including gaps and hip jumps. Created by Backslope Trail Building, this intermediate jump line is significantly more challenging than the other flow trails, at least if you ride it at the speed it’s meant to be ridden.
For truly advanced riders, Back Slope also built Gold Jacket, which begins with a wooden ramp that resembles a ski jump. When you hit the landing you have to make a sharp right turn on a berm. Gold Jacket starts near Green Jacket and then merges with the latter trail.
Both Green Jacket and Gold Jacket are downhill only and start on the Back Nine trail. The quickest way to reach them from the bikers parking area is as follows: take the Scott’s Cobble trail 0.6 miles to a four-way junction and continue straight on the Cobblewood Connector. When you reach the junction of the Back Nine and 19th Hole trails, at 1.1 miles, turn left. You’ll soon reach the start of Green Jacket on the right. The start of Gold Jacket is a bit farther ahead.
Green Jacket is a quarter-mile long. At the bottom, it merges with 19th Hole. If you want to do laps, turn left on 19th Hole and ride to Back Nine, turn left again, and take Back Nine back to Green (or Gold) Jacket. The circuit, including Green Jacket, is about 1.1 miles. Eventually, BETA hopes to build a climbing trail that will start near the bottom of Green Jacket.
Craig Wood now boasts several expert trails in close proximity to each other: Green Jacket, Gold Jacket, Air and Stone, and Poppa Wheelie.
Fowler’s Crossing
Fowler’s Crossing is where the rail trail crosses Route 86 just east of Saranac Lake. A few years back, BETA built a beginner’s trail in the Forest Preserve on north side of the highway. In August, crews from BETA and the Adirondack Mountain Club started work
on a trail in Forest Preserve on the south side. It will form a loop with an old, unmarked hiking trail.
The new trail is expected to be finished in early October. It will be about 0.75 miles long, with only 35 feet of climbing. In addition, plans call for rerouting part of the old trail to ease the pain of climbing a steep hill on the approach to the new trail. This work probably won’t occur until next year.
When I biked it, the new trail was still a bit a rough but easily rideable, looping through the forest at mellow grades. It should appeal to riders of all abilities.
Mountain bikers will find rideable trails on both sides of Route 86 in addition to BETA’s handiwork. When the south-side trails are finished, the Fowler’s Crossing area will offer several miles of riding, with the two networks linked by the Adirondack Rail Trail.
Between BETA and the rail trail, Adirondack bikers have much to be excited about.
