UPDATE: April 26th, We are pushing start time back to 10AM in hopes the hard rain will have stopped. We still have projects that can be done in the damp. We need YOUR help. Thank you.
9AM at the front entrance of Pine Hill Park. We will be working to clean up the front entrance and do repair work to Exit Strategy. We have tools and gloves. Bring water and sunscreen.
2024 Community Work Day: Saturday, April 27th-9AM-noon. We will do a little bit of work in the front entrance to help Master Gardner’s out. We also have some trail tread repair work on Overlook to improve drainage. Meet at Giorgetti parking lot. We have tools, bring water, bug dope, sunscreen and gloves. Thanks and hope to see you there.
Yes Plan dates are being set by Rutland High School teachers now. Yes plan runs from May 31st until June 14th. Please contact us if you have folks who would like to join us. pinehillpartnership@gmail.com
VYCC will be joining us the first two weeks in July. We could always use extra hands to work with local high school students in the park. Work day is Monday-Thursday from 8-4pm. For more information email: pinehillpartnership@gmail.com
Join us on Saturday, April 27th for our first trail day, 9AM at Pine Hill Park. We have a couple of projects to tackle. One is to repair Exit Strategy corners, clean drainage’s out and clean up the front entrance. Many hands make light work! Hope to see you there.
Community Bank gave us a very nice contribution this spring. We used it to purchase materials to build two benches for the park. Thank you to Augie Levins who built the benches and to all the other volunteers that helped move them.
One is located on Underdog powerline and the other one is on Droopy Muffin powerline. We have several other locations we would like to install the same type bench in the future.
RUTLAND’S SHELLEY LUTZ RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN BIKING ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
BENTONVILLE, Arkansas (Oct. 29, 2018) — The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has presented Shelley Lutz (Center Rutland, Vt.) with the 2018 “Scott “Superman” Scudamore Volunteer Leadership Award” for her relentless and selfless service to her community. Lutz is one of the founding members of the Pine Hill Partnership and currently serves as the organization’s secretary.
The award honors outstanding volunteers who are making a significant contribution to the mountain bicycling community. IMBA received more than 20 nominations from all ten regions in the United States.
“I may seem biased when I say this, but I am continually learning that Shelley Lutz has done more for mountain biking in Vermont than any one person I’ve yet to meet,” said Bryan Sell, executive director of the Pine Hill Partnership. “She is the backbone of the trails in Pine Hill, which has achieved a cult-like status among mountain bikers and would not exist without her efforts.”
“Also, consider that growth in the sport is in no small part being driven by women and children, and Shelley has been a leader since the early days of mountain biking. Again, I do not know of any other woman who has done so much to get women and children pedaling on trails. I think that few of our residents appreciate how uncommon it is to see so many women and children on mountain bike trails, so this honor is as good for Rutland as it is for Shelley.”
Lutz has devoted thousands of hours to Pine Hill Partnership since the organization’s start in 2006. For over 25 years, she mountain biked, hiked, and skied in Pine Hill, and helped to layout, create, and maintain the trail network that we know today. In addition to trail work and organizing work days, Lutz has led a women’s mountain bike clinic and youth mountain bike clinic in Pine Hill Park for the past 10 years. She also has helped other trail advocacy groups in the region begin and grow their trail networks. Lutz exemplifies the Scott “Superman” Scudamore attitude of getting everyone she meets to volunteer in the Park.
Lutz has lived in the Rutland area since graduating from Castleton University in 1975. She worked for UPS for 36 years before retiring in 2011.
Scott “Superman Scud” Scudamore was a retired Air Force Captain who exemplified mountain bike volunteerism through his work with the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiast.. Scud’s specialty was introducing new riders to mountain biking advocacy and to the efforts needed from local voices to ensure the sustainability of off-road trail networks to the growing population of outdoor enthusiasts.
Lutz was presented with the award at IMBA’s 30th anniversary party in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Saturday, October 27.
ABOUT PINE HILL PARTNERSHIP
The Pine Hill Partnership is a non-profit formed in 2006 to create, build, and maintain trails in Pine Hill and surrounding areas. The organization raises money for trail projects, recruits and organizes volunteers to repair, maintain and improve the non-motorized multi-use trail system in the city park at Pine Hill and adjacent lands. The Partnership also volunteers for the youth and women’s mountain bike programs that are run through Rutland’s Recreation Department, and also to help with the Rutland Go Play races in the park. This past summer the Partnership hosted over 20,000 visits to Pine Hill Park, either pedestrian or biking. New for winter 2018-2019, the Partnership will be winter grooming on some trails for fat bikes, hikers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers.
ABOUT IMBA
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is the worldwide leader in mountain bike advocacy, and the only organization in the U.S. focused entirely on trails and access, for all types of mountain bikers in all parts of the country. Since 1988, they have taught and encouraged low-impact riding, grassroots advocacy, sustainable trail design, innovative land management practices and cooperation among trail user groups. IMBA U.S. is a national network of local groups, individual riders and passionate volunteers working together for the benefit of the entire community. They are focused on the quantity and quality of mountain bike trail communities as the catalyzer, resource provider, and builder of more trails close to home.
A huge thanks going out for an awesome job by the Rutland High Cross-Country team. Evergreen Fall ( a favorite training route for the team) is now a great trail not only for hiking & running but mountain biking too. Lots of improvements in drainage were also part of the upgrade.
Check it out on your next trip to the park and think of all the hard work these folks donated today to get it done.
Thank you Team!
[envira-gallery id=”5117″]
Thank you to Augie Levins for taking the project on for building a park bench. Community Bank donated money for two benches. One bench will go on the view point on Droopy Muffin and the other one will go on Underdog. There are more benches planned in the future.
We wouldn’t have our trail system today without Youth Works coming to Rutland every year. The hard work these folks put in without the benefit of using the trail system is amazing.
Summer of 2018 we have started a new trail near Intersection 36. It has about 1000′ of finished trail tread that still needs a few refinements next year. 2019 will bring another summer of working on this trail which when done will be roughly 3800′. It’s a very long, curvy trail that could use a lot more volunteers to complete it. We can only build about 1000′-1500′ of trail a summer depending on volunteer groups and weather.
Are you interested in learning how a trail comes to life?? Contact pinehillpartnership@gmail.com for more information on how to become involved.
Pine Hill Partnership over sees the building and maintenance of Pine Hill Park, Redfield Trails and the Carriage Trail. We are ALL volunteers, we are not paid by Rutland Rec or Rutland City. We raise all our own money to build, maintain the park. Please consider helping out with contribution, labor is always needed. If you can run a chainsaw and have safety gear we would love to add you to our list of sawyers primarily for downed trees. Could we count on you? Contact pinehillpartnership@gmail.com
THANK YOU!
August 15th, Stegosaurus will be closed for the day while we remove a couple of large dead oaks near Hour Glass Bridge. Please refrain from riding, hiking or trail running on Stego Wednesday. THANK YOU.
Lower part of Aaron’s Air is temporarily closed. It is getting some much needed refurbishment. Please DO NOT ride the lower part please.
