Trail Conditions - Harmonie

[timbarnes]

Raining in the park - trails too wet to ride. More rain expected today and tomorrow. Maybe Sunday on the Sycamore Loop. This trail has shown excellent drainage capability except for a few places that need some repair work.

[timbarnes]

Still too wet to ride. Probably need another day to be right.

[timbarnes]

The Sycamore Loop and Walnut Connector are dry and in good shape. The trees are still down on the Walnut Connector. I flagged a potential reroute around the really bad one and cut back some of the underbrush. It can be ridden now. May try to bench cut it out next week if I have time. This will probably be the lesser of two evils. If we ever do get the tree removed, maybe we can set up an obstacle on the new section.

[nathan]

I was out there today around 1:00 and the Sycamore loop was in great shape. There are still a couple spots that have the consistency of a warm Powerbar, but they are few and far between. Some sections could definitely use a weed-eating though, and there are a few spots that need to be raked. The trail gets a bit thin through some of the flat sections.

Today was the first day I really noticed the gnats coming back. Stupid insects.

[timbarnes]

Nathan, I'll be cleaning up the Sycamore Loop the next two days. Still have about 2/3 of it to weed-eat, then I'll walk the whole trail making sure its clean.

[Tim]

I'll be camping this weekend at harmonie. thurs - mon.
ill bring some tools and a weed eater.

Are we allowed to use a weedeater ?

[timbarnes]

Both trails dry and ready to ride. Still some overgrowth but easily rideable trails.

Tim, yes you can bring your own weedeater and use it per Chastity. She said on scheduled work days, the leader can access some of the HSP tools, like weedeaters, if she knows about it.

[timbarnes]

Ditto today for the trails. Same as yesterday - some more undergrowth cleared away on the Sycamore Loop.

[Tim]

They should build you your own cabin out there ;D

[timbarnes]

The dirt is PERFECT - loamy and solid. Think it will be dusty by the weekend if we don't get rain. Over half of the Sycamore Loop has been trimmed and raked. The rest of the trail has been walked and the briars pruned back. Sight lines are good to see oncoming riders/walkers. Still need to do some work completing the trimming and need to trim back the end of the Walnut Connector where it hasn't been ridden in a while. Some touch-up with a rhino will follow the de-weeding effort.

Tim, I'll just try to get a cabin this winter for a cozy weekend when there's nothing to do.

[timbarnes]

Also posted on HMBA site:

Harmonie SP had a small thunderstorm yesterday evening, but as of 4 pm today, the trails were very rideable w/ only two small puddles that were easily dodged while staying on the trail. That's the good news. The bad news is as of 6 pm, its raining again in the park. It's a light rain, so hopefully the trail will dry out again during the day tomorrow. There were serious winds and tornado alarms going off in New Harmony, so we had to cancel working on the downed trees on the Walnut trail. Hope to get them Monday.

[Tim]

Sittin' on a picnic table at the trailhaed, trails are in good shape, some soft spots but nothing bad. Weather was hit and miss last night up here. Big storm last night just south but no rain here.

[alex]

Tim we must have just missed you. We left right around 12.

This after my handlebar became a tree magnet and I went OTB within 30 feet of the trailhead and either bruised or cracked a rib. We still rode the loop and connector, checked out some of the work on the new section as well.

Met a nice couple on a Spec Enduro and Pink Yeti ASR in the parking lot and later in the trail. Always nice to meet new people enjoying the park.

Tim Barnes has been obviously doing alot of work out there. Many thanks. The trails were great and the mini-sticklog pieces in the trail really helped the softest spots.

[Tim]

Yeah, must have been close. I got there about that time. Well, I rode from the campground about that time.

Tim is doing a great job,I wish I lived closer so I could be of more help. I didn't get to see much of the woods since I'm just flying through there but I did notice a few areas where the canopy was so thick it barely let's light through. Trail looked like it took more time to dry in that portion. I also checked out the new parts. That first big drop looks scary between the two big trees. I would be cool if they could run the trail up the hill to continue the momentum.
Its a good trail right now but I think in the next few years it will be great.

[timbarnes]

Alex, I feel your pain - literally. I broke two ribs in Moab in March. Slickrock doesn't forgive mistakes. The pain just completely went away a couple of weeks ago.

Hope to ride today. Maybe I'll see you Tim if you're still camped out.

Had a good time at the IMBA seminar yesterday at O'Bannon SP. Paul A. from Indy will be here tomorrow and we'll try to remove the trees on the Walnut trail. We'll look at the new trail, too. I'll pick his brain from ideas to make it more challenging.