| Being Good Stewards Of The Trail By Laura Vonk |
| Copyright 2006 Missouri Trailblazing.com. All Rights Reserved |
| Soapbox Alert! |
There are many ways each and every one of us can be a good steward of the trail, even if
you can't officially adopt-a-trail or take part in organized trail work days. Little things we can
do will make a big difference in the condition of the trails.
Of course, following good trail ethics is the first step in taking good care of the trails that we
enjoy riding on. They are not just a set of words that have no meaning, nor were they
developed just for safety or to keep the land managers happy.
Sadly, I think many people, even though they might know what good trail ethics are, don't
follow them. I've heard more than one trail rider has said that they were riding at a particular
trail that day because their trails at home were too wet to ride. If it's too wet to ride at your
house, then it's too wet to be riding at the public trails near you, especially if they are easily
erodible trails. If you want to ride during the spring rainy season, there are many other
options for you to enjoy. One is gravel road riding. If you don't want to ride the gravel
roads at home, or you're not lucky enough to live in an area surrounded by gravel roads, both
the Missouri Dept. of Conservation (MDC) and Mark Twain National Forest allow some
form of gravel road riding in their areas. Mark Twain allows riding on all of their roads,
which is about 2000 miles of riding from one estimate I heard. MDC allows horses to
be ridden on roads open to vehicular use in most of their areas. Some areas do not have any
gravel roads open to vehicular use except driveways, so if you have any doubts about being
able to ride there, call the area in question and ask. Some areas that do have enough roads
to make great places to road ride include: Peck Ranch C.A., White Ranch C.A., Gist Ranch
C.A., and Coldwater C.A., to name a few. Lastly, another option for wet weather riding is
most of the trails down in the southern part of the state in the Missouri Ozarks. Most of
those trails have a solid foundation of bedrock, so with the exception of slightly boggy areas
here and there in the lower lying areas, these trails are less erodible.
Of course we have all heard about, and have seen the evidence of, riders who do not stay on
the trails that are designated for equestrian use. Again, this is not an ethic made up just for
the purpose of making the land managers happy. Riding on trails not meant for our use, or
worse yet, making our own illegal trails, not only causes user conflicts, but also damages what
is sometimes sensitive areas, causes confusion for trail riders who follow days or even months
later, and can make an area look like a "rat maze". I know a lot of people might think, "It's
only me, and it's only this one time." The problem is, if everyone thinks that, and everyone
does it, then it's being done thousands of times, not just once, and it does make a difference.
Then there are the people who seem to enjoy thumbing their nose at the rules and delight in
doing whatever they please. Case in point, this illegal trail at Cuivre River State Park:
you can't officially adopt-a-trail or take part in organized trail work days. Little things we can
do will make a big difference in the condition of the trails.
Of course, following good trail ethics is the first step in taking good care of the trails that we
enjoy riding on. They are not just a set of words that have no meaning, nor were they
developed just for safety or to keep the land managers happy.
Sadly, I think many people, even though they might know what good trail ethics are, don't
follow them. I've heard more than one trail rider has said that they were riding at a particular
trail that day because their trails at home were too wet to ride. If it's too wet to ride at your
house, then it's too wet to be riding at the public trails near you, especially if they are easily
erodible trails. If you want to ride during the spring rainy season, there are many other
options for you to enjoy. One is gravel road riding. If you don't want to ride the gravel
roads at home, or you're not lucky enough to live in an area surrounded by gravel roads, both
the Missouri Dept. of Conservation (MDC) and Mark Twain National Forest allow some
form of gravel road riding in their areas. Mark Twain allows riding on all of their roads,
which is about 2000 miles of riding from one estimate I heard. MDC allows horses to
be ridden on roads open to vehicular use in most of their areas. Some areas do not have any
gravel roads open to vehicular use except driveways, so if you have any doubts about being
able to ride there, call the area in question and ask. Some areas that do have enough roads
to make great places to road ride include: Peck Ranch C.A., White Ranch C.A., Gist Ranch
C.A., and Coldwater C.A., to name a few. Lastly, another option for wet weather riding is
most of the trails down in the southern part of the state in the Missouri Ozarks. Most of
those trails have a solid foundation of bedrock, so with the exception of slightly boggy areas
here and there in the lower lying areas, these trails are less erodible.
Of course we have all heard about, and have seen the evidence of, riders who do not stay on
the trails that are designated for equestrian use. Again, this is not an ethic made up just for
the purpose of making the land managers happy. Riding on trails not meant for our use, or
worse yet, making our own illegal trails, not only causes user conflicts, but also damages what
is sometimes sensitive areas, causes confusion for trail riders who follow days or even months
later, and can make an area look like a "rat maze". I know a lot of people might think, "It's
only me, and it's only this one time." The problem is, if everyone thinks that, and everyone
does it, then it's being done thousands of times, not just once, and it does make a difference.
Then there are the people who seem to enjoy thumbing their nose at the rules and delight in
doing whatever they please. Case in point, this illegal trail at Cuivre River State Park:
| Click on any picture to see larger view |
This trail is obviously marked as no horses
allowed. It's also obviously being totally
ignored. Then, as if trying to add insult to
injury, people were riding past both sides
of the sign. You can't see it well in the
picture, but I can assure you, there's hoof
print on that trail. Can't try and blame it on
the hikers.
allowed. It's also obviously being totally
ignored. Then, as if trying to add insult to
injury, people were riding past both sides
of the sign. You can't see it well in the
picture, but I can assure you, there's hoof
print on that trail. Can't try and blame it on
the hikers.
This is the same trail a little further in.
You can see that it's very well worn,
so obviously this was not just ridden
once or twice by one or two trail riders
.
You can see that it's very well worn,
so obviously this was not just ridden
once or twice by one or two trail riders
.
I know that I'm not the only one who does not appreciate getting lost. Places like Rudolf
Bennitt C.A. are notorious for being a place you don't want to go ride if you don't like getting
lost. What was supposed to be only 12 miles originally, turned into what some people
estimated as over 40 miles of trails that made no sense. They were all but impossible to find
your way through if you weren't a local that knew your way around because of lots of years
of riding there. Rudolf Bennitt is in the northern half of the state. An area that has so few
trails available to us equestrians, that we couldn't afford to loose another one. Luckily, the
land manager there agreed to work with some of the local equestrians to totally overhaul the
trail system instead of closing it, so we can look forward to a much better trail system there
to enjoy in the future. Now it'll be up to us to help make sure that the small percentage of
equestrians out there who don't care about anyone but themselves, aren't allowed to abuse
the area again in the future, and ruin it for all of the rest of us who just want to do the right
thing and enjoy a beautiful trail in an area where there are so few to enjoy.
Another thing we can do to make our trails better places to ride, is to train our horses better.
Good trail horses should be trained to go over downed logs that are small enough for them to
step over, go through muddy spots on the trail, or step over water bars, not go around them.
I'm not talking about jumping a big log here, I'm talking about logs that can be stepped over.
Most muddy spots, if you're not riding when the trail is too wet and boggy, should not be
bad enough to lose a shoe in. I know horses don't automatically like riding through these
areas, that's why it's our job to teach them to trust us and that it's okay. Just like we have to
teach them to go through the water in a creek or stream. When you don't properly train your
horses to handle these obstacles, unnecessary multiple trails emerge, or trail widths widen to
sizes they are not meant to be, both causing the trail to become unsightly and/or confusing.
Bennitt C.A. are notorious for being a place you don't want to go ride if you don't like getting
lost. What was supposed to be only 12 miles originally, turned into what some people
estimated as over 40 miles of trails that made no sense. They were all but impossible to find
your way through if you weren't a local that knew your way around because of lots of years
of riding there. Rudolf Bennitt is in the northern half of the state. An area that has so few
trails available to us equestrians, that we couldn't afford to loose another one. Luckily, the
land manager there agreed to work with some of the local equestrians to totally overhaul the
trail system instead of closing it, so we can look forward to a much better trail system there
to enjoy in the future. Now it'll be up to us to help make sure that the small percentage of
equestrians out there who don't care about anyone but themselves, aren't allowed to abuse
the area again in the future, and ruin it for all of the rest of us who just want to do the right
thing and enjoy a beautiful trail in an area where there are so few to enjoy.
Another thing we can do to make our trails better places to ride, is to train our horses better.
Good trail horses should be trained to go over downed logs that are small enough for them to
step over, go through muddy spots on the trail, or step over water bars, not go around them.
I'm not talking about jumping a big log here, I'm talking about logs that can be stepped over.
Most muddy spots, if you're not riding when the trail is too wet and boggy, should not be
bad enough to lose a shoe in. I know horses don't automatically like riding through these
areas, that's why it's our job to teach them to trust us and that it's okay. Just like we have to
teach them to go through the water in a creek or stream. When you don't properly train your
horses to handle these obstacles, unnecessary multiple trails emerge, or trail widths widen to
sizes they are not meant to be, both causing the trail to become unsightly and/or confusing.
| This was supposed to be a single track, now it looks like a nasty pimple on the side of a double track trail. |
| Neither the mud, nor the downed limbs was a good excuse for this. |
Lastly, another thing that we can all do, is get down from our horse and move a downed limb
to the side of the trail, instead of going around it, when we encounter one. I'm talking about
the large limbs with lots of limbs, twigs, and leaves, that often fall across a trail after a storm,
not a large tree trunk. These are too large and "bushy" to step over, so often times people
will ride around them. Again, this makes unnecessary trails because most times, these are
plenty small enough for one or two people to drag out of the way. There is no reason to
leave them there to litter the trail. Then if you do come across a whole tree down across the
trail, or a limb that really is too big for one or two people to move, make note of aprox
where it is located, then call the land manager when you get back home and let them know
about it so they can go out with a chain saw to cut it out of there. They really do
appreciate our help in matters such as that.
Yes, I fully admit that this is another "soapbox" issue to me. We have so many miles of trails,
and there are many people who want even more, but to me it doesn't make sense to have so
many trails when we can't even take care of them. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I no
longer enjoy riding a trail that I feel like I have to ride with the reins in one hand, and a
machete in the other. I don't have to have 12 foot clear "bridle paths", but I do like to have a
reasonably cleared trail corridor with a few interesting natural obstacles that can be safely
negotiated over for variety. If some of our trails become overgrown, littered, and eventually
abandoned, having all these trails designated for our use means nothing more than an
impressive number on paper. I realize not everybody can adopt-a-trail, or work at a lot of
work days for various good reasons, (like lack of time or lack of physical conditioning), but
these few suggestions will go a long way in keeping all of our trails in generally better
condition. That way when a trail is adopted by someone or a work day is scheduled, the
heavier or more work intensive things can be concentrated on instead of wasting time with
general "grooming" of the trail corridor.
to the side of the trail, instead of going around it, when we encounter one. I'm talking about
the large limbs with lots of limbs, twigs, and leaves, that often fall across a trail after a storm,
not a large tree trunk. These are too large and "bushy" to step over, so often times people
will ride around them. Again, this makes unnecessary trails because most times, these are
plenty small enough for one or two people to drag out of the way. There is no reason to
leave them there to litter the trail. Then if you do come across a whole tree down across the
trail, or a limb that really is too big for one or two people to move, make note of aprox
where it is located, then call the land manager when you get back home and let them know
about it so they can go out with a chain saw to cut it out of there. They really do
appreciate our help in matters such as that.
Yes, I fully admit that this is another "soapbox" issue to me. We have so many miles of trails,
and there are many people who want even more, but to me it doesn't make sense to have so
many trails when we can't even take care of them. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I no
longer enjoy riding a trail that I feel like I have to ride with the reins in one hand, and a
machete in the other. I don't have to have 12 foot clear "bridle paths", but I do like to have a
reasonably cleared trail corridor with a few interesting natural obstacles that can be safely
negotiated over for variety. If some of our trails become overgrown, littered, and eventually
abandoned, having all these trails designated for our use means nothing more than an
impressive number on paper. I realize not everybody can adopt-a-trail, or work at a lot of
work days for various good reasons, (like lack of time or lack of physical conditioning), but
these few suggestions will go a long way in keeping all of our trails in generally better
condition. That way when a trail is adopted by someone or a work day is scheduled, the
heavier or more work intensive things can be concentrated on instead of wasting time with
general "grooming" of the trail corridor.