[Update: According to a rep from Friends of Forest Park—who were instrumental in making this trail happen—some minor work remains to complete this trail.]
Last Saturday was the second of two trail work parties to complete a new mountain bike trail in Forest Park. The trail, which extends off an existing firelane, is the first new mountain bike trail added to the park since 1988.
The work parties were organized by the Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP), a local non-profit group who organizes rides, maintains trails, and advocates for new ones. PUMP rallied over 40 volunteers who willingly sacrificed a beautiful day of riding to donate an estimated $4400 dollars in sweat equity to the project.
According to PUMP’s Roger Louton, the volunteers trimmed brush to improve sight lines, placed boulders and logs on the trail to control speed, and restored trail edges to reduce erosion.
Their hard work was rewarded by a hearty BBQ (compliments of PUMP) at the bike-friendly Skyline Tavern.
With the new trail complete, eager mountain bikers are awaiting the official “O.K.” to ride it from the Parks Department. Louton says,
“At that point we will notify everyone and schedule a ride. I have heard a date of September 1, but that’s not official.”
Stay tuned to the PUMP website or sign-up to their email list for ride times and details.
Thanks for reading.
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That’s great that they started on the trail. I would gladly have given a day to the cause. I just searched the PUMP site and could find no info about the work party. I’d like to find out the next time they plan to do trail work so I can help.
Thanks to PUMP for investing their time and sweat equity in the Firelane 5 extension. The project is moving along nicely, though a bit of work remains on the upper and lower transitions. Also, the surface material is currently very dry (similar to a fine talcum powder) and could easily be displaced with minimal use. Before long, a few autumn showers should help with this. In any case, it would be great if folks could wait for official word before riding the trail. Mid-September is a likely target.
Friends of Forest Park has been advocating for this project for some time. We secured the grant money to hire a Project Manager and fund construction (Americorps crews), and invested considerable time and energy tracking down a permit. Volunteer efforts – from PUMP and other willing individuals – have helped us keep this project under budget. Again, thanks! We are working to arrange a few more volunteer work days in early September. Feel free to contact me if you have interest in helping out.
Stephen Hatfield
Program Director
Friends of Forest Park
503.223.5449
Hi Tim,
Next time you are on the PUMP website, check out the Ride Calendar (link at the top of the page and under Menu on the left) available at http://www.pumpclub.org/modules.php?name=Ride_Calendar. Here you should be able to find information on past and future trail work parties.