Category Archives: Trail Work

PHP in the News, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

PHP AWARDED Loyal to our soil grant

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We are proud recipients of the Loyal to Our Soil Grant sponsored by Ranch Camp, MTBVT, and Specialized Bikes. Last summer Ranch Camp held two raffles for Loyal to Our Soil Grant. Specialized donated two bikes for the raffle, tickets were $100 each. Also, Ranch Camp donated, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every bike sold in 2020 toward the grant.

We are one of 5 groups to receive this grant. This will help us pay for a VT Youth Conservation Corp group to build Maximum Capacity, our next trail construction project.

A big thank you to Ranch Camp, Specialized Bikes, and MTBVT! #ranchcampvt #specializedbikes #mtbvt

Mountain Biking, Observations, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Milk run is open!

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As of late Monday September 7th, our newest trail, Milk Run, is fully open!!

Our newest trail, Milk Run (pink line), is now open!

We started building this trail with YES plan from Rutland High School and Youth Works volunteers in 2018. That first year we completed about 1300′ of trail with 400 volunteers and 1600 volunteer hours. In 2019 we completed about 1000 feet of trail with 1225 volunteer hours, 286 volunteers. 2020 the year of corona and no major volunteer groups like YES plan or Youth Works we accomplished quite a bit.

The trail is just under 3900 feet (.74 mile) long. FYI, the longest trail in the park is Stegosaurus at 4100 feet.

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corp (VYCC) came in with 4 crew members for 2 weeks and we completed just under 1500′ of trail. With VYCC removing organic material and our three Pine Hill Partnership volunteers doing finish work behind them it was a perfect combination utilizing the work force. We completed just under 1500′ trail in a little over 500 hours. We did have an extra hand two days that really helped with getting a couple of small banked corners built along with finish work. Having a trained work crew was instrumental on getting this trail done.

VYCC is a paid trail crew. We are still soliciting donations and contributions to help defray the cost.

A time lapse of work on Milk Run during a hot, humid August day makes it look way easier than IRL!.

The trail still will need a touch of refinement next year (hopefully our big volunteer groups are back). We expect to build two banked corners on the new section.

5 pry bars to move ‘Deborah’. VYCC was naming the rocks.

Keith came down and helped for two days.
Follow the yellow brick road
It poured for about 30 minutes one day.
Rock armoring to raise the trail tread
  • Dropping the rope on Milk Run
Fat Biking, Hikes, Mountain Biking, PHP in the News, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

WE’RE DIGGING IN !

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Update October 28, 2020: We received a check from IMBA/Shimano for $2300. to help pay for the VYCC crew we had in the park the end of July. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this fund.

We have been selected as one of 10 recipients of the IMBA Dig In Grant program. With the support of Shimano, IMBA is doing a grant to pay for trail building at Pine Hill Park. Read the announcement from IMBA here.

This program will help us raise money needed for the VT Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) to come in at the end of July and help finish off a couple of trails in the park that volunteers have been working on. (map below)

Thanks to COVID-19, large volunteer groups are not happening in 2020. VYCC will be a big help, but we will have to pay for their services.

Our newest trail, Milk Run, was started in 2018 with the help of volunteers. At the end of July we are having VYCC come in and hope to use their time to get all the organic material off so that we can open the trail up to the top of Upper Halfpipe. This is about 1500′ of organic top layer to be removed.

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Why remove organic in Pine Hill Park? We have found for long term sustainability, our trails hold up better by removing it early. Early on in our learning process of building trails we would do a ‘rake and ride’. Those trails now have been rebuilt at least once if not twice.

If you’d like to help us with this effort, please consider making a donation here. As always, thank you for your support!

Education, Fat Biking, Hikes, Mountain Biking, Observations, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Trail build out

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We are reaching our limits of trails in Pine Hill Park. We currently have 17 miles. With Milk Run, Bone Spur and Maximum Capacity all adding about another mile and a half we will have reached our limit for density of trails inside Pine Hill Park.

This is a rough map of where Milk Run is completed in 2018, 2019. 2020 we hope to break open the rest of Milk Run with a VT Youth Conservation Corp crew in July. They are a paid crew so we are trying to raise money to cover this expense.

Bone Spur will be a pretty bony section off Milk Run.

Maximum Capacity will branch off Milk Run and head towards Intersection 20. This will be a fun trail utilizing trail contours.

If you are able to donate money to help defray the cost of a VYCC crew it would be greatly appreciated. We are applying for multiple grants-we have been turned by a couple and are patiently waiting to hear on other applications. https://pinehillpartnership.org/donate-2/

Hikes, Mountain Biking, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Community work nights

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Community Work Night: Bring a weed wacker

Wednesday, August 12th

5-8pm

Meet at Giorgetti parking lot 5pm. We will be trimming the Carriage Trail back from the top of Library Pass back to Rocky Pond. We will shuttle folks up to Rocky Pond in vehicles from there hike in with weed whackers. We will have a few spare weed whackers for folks to use.

Bring a headlamp, work gloves, water and bug dope.

Photos, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Benches are coming

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Snowdog got a work out over the weekend moving 6×6 lumber up to the Overlook for future bench project. Nate N and Augie spent a half of day moving lumber up the Pond Rd then up Shimmer.

The benches will be built on site sometime this spring/summer. Would you like to help with this project? Please email pinehillpartnership@gmail.com.

Hikes, Mountain Biking, Programs, Trail Running, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Community work night

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Come join us on Tuesday, August 6th for a weed whacking party. Meet at the front entrance at 5pm, bring a weed whacker if you have one we will have a few extras for folks to use. Bring water and a headlamp. We will shuttle people up to Rocky Pond and we will hike on the Carriage Trail to get grass/ferns, berry bushes pushed back. We could use 15+ people so maybe we’re done before 9pm! THANKS!

Hikes, Mountain Biking, Programs, Races, Trail Running, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Summer events

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Community Work Night Tuesday, August 6th, 5pm. Bring a weed whacker, water and a headlamp. We will shuttle up to Rocky Pond and hike in the Carriage Trail to the top of Library Pass and work our way back to Rocky Pond. It is National Night Out please park down at baseball field. There will be a few parking spots on the Pond Rd just past the gate. Please do not park at the end of Evergreen Ave. We will have a few spare weed whackers for folks to use.

Summer Sunset 5K Race is coming up Tuesday, August13th, 6:30pm. More information at https://www.rutlandrec.com/races

Droopy Pedal Mtn bike race is coming up Tuesday, August 20th at 6:30pm. More information at https://www.rutlandrec.com/races

New trail at Intersection 36 has another section open. Thanks to YES Plan and Youth Works for breaking open 1338 feet of trail and doing over 900 feet of finish work. We only have another 1600 feet to go to Intersection 38. This trail does have a permanent name yet. A few trail names in the hat are: Milk Run, Milky Swirl, Milky Way, au Lait, Holy Roller all in reference to the milk crates found on the side of the trail while laying it out. If you have trail name suggestion please let us know at pinehillpartnership@gmail.com. We will hold a contest and winner will get a Pine Hill Partnership t-shirt.

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Summer Sunset 5K race Tuesday, July 9th, 6:30pm. Next race is Tuesday August 13th at 6:30pm.

Droopy Pedal Mtn bike race Tuesday, July 16th, 6:30pm. Next race is Tuesday August 20th at 6:30pm.

Volunteer Days: Monday July 15th, 22nd, 29th. Tuesday July 16th, 23rd, 30th. Meet at front entrance at 9:15. Bring water, food and bug dope. We will supply tools and gloves. We are working on the new trail off Intersection 36 with Youth Works. Many hands make light work.

Some trail names being kicked around:

Milk Run, Milky Swirl, Holy Roller, Rocky Ridge, Coulée de lait (French for Milk Run) or lait au chocolat (Chocolate Milk). The reason for the ‘milk’ in the name are the multiple milk crates found while laying the trail out.

Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

Exit Strategy repair

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UPDATE JULY 6th: Exit Strategy is now open.

UPDATE JUNE 14th: A mountain biker and runner felt they were entitled to run and ride on Exit Strategy despite the orange snow fencing saying the trail is closed. We have put in 220 volunteer hours to repair it for two people to basically set us back another couple of weeks before the trail can open.

UPDATE June 11: Exit Strategy has been repaired with new material added to the corners. Thank you YES Plan. The last day the two girls crushed it as their classmates decided to play hooky.

Thank you Omya for donating the crushed marble/quartzite material.

We are letting it firm up before the trail opens which hopefully will be in the next 2 weeks. Thank you for your patience.

Refurbishing corners

UPDATE as of Friday 5/31: Material is here and lots of it. Monday YES Plan will move as much as possible in a couple of hours. We will be holding a Community Work night Tuesday at 5pm. Come when you can to help us finish the repair work. Meet at the top of Exit Strategy with lots of bug spray and water.

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Monday, June 3rd we are hoping to repair the corners on Exit Strategy where the under lying material is ‘surepak’.

When Exit Strategy was built in 2013 we moved 17 tons of surepak into the corners for the foundation. We then covered those corners with dirt that was dug out from borrow pits. Between the heavy use Exit Strategy receives, the hard rains we’re getting and the people that felt it was ok to ride it when the trail was super fragile. The dirt is being eroded off so the surepak is starting to show.

We have material coming this week (5/27) that we hope will set up and provide a firm top coating. YES plan students will be moving the material on June 3rd but they are not allowed to run machinery. We will be using Nemo and buckets to move material.

What we’re really looking for is an adult(s) that can run the whacker packer and help with Nemo. YES plan runs from 9:30-1:30. If you could help us out for 4 hours great, only an hour or two-that’s great too. Please email pinehillpartnership@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Mountain Biking, Pine Hill Partnership, Trail Safety, Trail Updates, Trail Work, Volunteering

OUR Trail Building Policy

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Pine Hill Park is unlike many other mountain bike trails systems in North America, and visitors from in- and out-of-state travel to the park to experience our unique trails. This unique character includes hand-made single-track, berms, drainages, and playful bridges through the Park’s hardwoods and quartzite boulders and ridges. Since trail-building began in 2003, trail builders have worked to maintain this unique user experience. As of 2019, Pine Hill Park’s 325 acres are almost at capacity for trails. But anyone with ideas to improve sections of trail is welcome to make a plan, then present the plan for approval to the land owner and steward.

To that end, please take a look at our Trail Building Policy page for more information on how you can help to improve the park.