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Attention all 2021 MTG volunteers! Did you adopt a segment of the Mancos Spur? Show up for one of our work days to help construct new trails in Mancos? Help us out in some other way? Well, now's the time for us to say THANK YOU!
Mark your calendars - we will be holding a fun volunteer appreciation get-together on Saturday, September 18 at Transfer Campground. We'll have the group site reserved and will have fun, food, and stories to share. Bring your camping gear and spend the night! Note: due to our non-profit sponsorship, we are unable to provide alcohol so BYOB. Stay tuned for more details. We hope to see all of our great volunteers out there!
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 Next Trail Work Day: Saturday 8/14 at Chicken Creek MTG is hosting another trail work day to build on the progress we've made on the new Blue Jay trail at Chicken Creek. (For more information on the new trails at Chicken Creek, check out this post).
 August Social Hike: Not Just a Plein Air Affair ATTENTION: This month's hike has been moved to August 13th! Join us on Friday, August 13th for our first "Not Just a Plein Air Affair" event. You don't have to be a painter to enjoy doing art outdoors. Bring your knitting needles, crochet hooks, color pencils, crayons or whatever! This is a time to enjoy your favorite arts and crafts outdoors with a community of supportive friends. Meet at Boyle Park at 5:30 pm to carpool OR at the Transfer trailhead at 6:00 pm. We will be walking the Big Al Trail to a scenic overlook deck. Please bring any needed arts/crafts supplies and a camping chair. If you wish, you can also bring a beverage and a snack. Extra art supplies will be available for those who need them, so if you don't have any you can still join. Come let your artistic side be inspired by our beautiful trails and mountains! Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/190920289720885/ Mancos Trails Group has been busy! This month we have held three volunteer workdays where community volunteers cut new stretches of trail in two locations!
Our hard working crews added about half a mile of fresh trail at one of our newest trail projects, the Aqueduct Trail, a partnership project with the BLM with over 11 miles of planned trail. It may have been hard work, but we had a blast swinging pick axes, moving dirt, and making friends. Volunteers also worked on adding new mileage to the Chicken Creek Trail! That's right, this local favorite is being expanded! Be sure and join the fun next time! And keep your eye on this page as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages for more updates.  COME BUILD NEW TRAILS FOR MANCOS WITH MTG The Chicken Creek trail expansion is underway! Are you ready to build some new trail and enjoy some time with other trail enthusiasts? Saturday July 10th we’ll break ground on the first mile of the Blue Jay Trail connecting the parking area with Upper and Lower Little Bauer Loops. Details:
  Here are the details for tomorrow's workday, which will be at the Aqueduct.
Beginning at 8:30 am we will have a safety briefing including a discussion around CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 and the mitigation measures the BLM is implementing to manage known risks associated with the planned project work. For the trail work, we'll review tool safety and do 3-4 hours of brush clearing and tread work. If we have more than 10 people we will break into smaller groups and work on different sections of the trail. We plan on being finished before 2pm so we can all gather at the Mancos Brewery after to celebrate a good day of trail work!   Come build new trails for Mancos with MTG!
Mancos Trails Group is excited to announce that our group trail work days have returned for 2021! This Saturday, June 12, we will be working on building new trail near Mancos. We will meet at 8:30 am at either the Aqueduct or Chicken Creek areas (exact location will be announced on Thursday). Work will involve everything from clearing brush to constructing new trail using pick-mattocks, hoes and other implements. We'll provide the tools. We plan on being finished by 2pm so we can all gather at the Mancos Brewery after to celebrate a good day of trail work! What to wear: Wear long pants, closed-toe shoes or boots, sunglasses or safety glasses and work gloves. What to bring:
Where will we be working? Work will be on either the new trail system at the Aqueduct, two miles northwest of town off of Road 39 or in the Chicken Creek area north of town off of Road 40. Below is a quick summary of these two new trail expansions. For more info on the two new trails areas, see our Projects page.
Use the new Blue Jay Trail corridor to avoid logging operations
We just received word that timber sale operations began yesterday near the Chicken Creek trailhead. Luckily we have some new trails going in this summer at the Chicken Creek area and two of them, the Blue Jay Trail and the Chicken Little Trail, are a great way to avoid the logging. See below for info on the new trails and a map. But first, here is the info from the Forest Service: Timber sale activities are scheduled to resume in the Chicken Creek area of the Dolores Ranger District on Monday, May 24th. Harvest operations will be in the Lost Turkey sale northeast of the Chicken Creek parking lot in the vicinity of the Little Bauer Loop. The Lost Turkey timber sale project aims to increase forest resilience, reduce the risk of high-severity wildfires, and provide wood products for commercial uses. No closures of roads are trails are anticipated unless there is a risk to public safety. Full news release here. 
Suggested Alternative Route: Introducing the new Blue Jay Trail and Chicken Little Trail at Chicken Creek!
In addition to the new trails at the Aqueduct, another new trail system was approved for the Mancos area this winter: the new Chicken Creek Trails Expansion.
The Blue Jay Trail (named after our own Mancos Blue Jays!) will be one of the trails in the new system expansion. At the moment, it is only roughly flagged in, following a cow path. Eventually the Blue Jay Trail will be a sustainably-designed trail that will provide a great singletrack opportunity for hikers, bikers and horseback riders, but even in its "unconstructed" state it's a great alternative to the dusty Little Bauer Road where the logging activity will be taking place. Just follow the orange and pink flags across the dam to the west of the Chicken Creek parking lot. The flagging will follow the (mostly obvious) cow path for about a mile till it joins with the Bauer Loop above the logging area. Note that the new Chicken Little Trail will be another alternative. To access this trail to avoid the logging area, you can park on the Forest Road 385D immediately west of County Road 41 (the Chicken Creek Road). The Chicken Little Trail is already constructed but will be adjusted slightly in the new trail system. 
New! Chicken Creek Trail System Expansion
We introduced you to the new Aqueduct Trail System in our last email update. Today, we'd like to share the rest of the exciting news from this winter - the approval by the Forest Service of a new Chicken Creek Trails Expansion!
This summer we'll be putting in about 10 miles of new multi-use, non-motorized trails that begin at the Chicken Creek Trailhead parking lot on County Road 40. Along with the existing trails, this will make for a system with about 18 miles of trail. As a part of this new project, we will also see new trailhead kiosks with maps and new signage at trail intersections. Anyone who's used the Chicken Creek trails knows that the current signage there isn't great, so this will help a lot! Maybe you'll learn the name of a favorite trail, or discover one that's been there all along that you've never taken. Mancos Trails Group will be holding group trail building days in the Chicken Creek area this summer. Check out our webpage for updated information about group work days. The Chicken Creek Trails Expansion project is a partnership between Mancos Trails Group, the San Juan Mountains Association, and the San Juan National Forest Dolores Ranger District. 
Mancos Trails Group volunteers, there are still a few open spots for Saturday's free trail maintenance training that will be held on the West Mancos Trail. Gain valuable skills in trail maintenance on us! If you are interested in helping MTG this summer with trailwork, this workshop is for you. The value of this training is $200 but we are asking only for a $20 deposit that will be returned upon completion of the training. Click here for details and to sign up.
ADOPTERS STILL NEEDED! Are you thinking of adopting a segment of the Spur this summer? We still have a few segments open for adoption and this training would be perfect for getting you all set for your summer trailwork. Help maintain one of the most popular trails in the Mancos area on your own schedule. Check out our adoption page for more details. We have some exciting news from this winter - while our trails were resting under a (not quite deep enough) blanket of snow, two new trail systems were approved for local public lands! More about the new Chicken Creek Trails in our next update, but for now, we'd like to introduce the... Aqueduct Trail System Located just 2 miles NW of town, this will be an 11.7 mile system of new multi-use singletrack trail open to non-motorized users plus ebikes. Eventually when the Paths to Mesa Verde project connecting Mancos with Mesa Verde National Park is completed, you'll be able to access the Aqueduct area using just trails and County Road 39. With its easy access, this will be a wonderful addition to our community. On Saturday May 15 at 9:00 am, Mancos Trails Group will hold an orientation and (we hope!) work day at the Aqueduct. If you're interested in helping make this new trail system come to life, and want to join us for activities on the 15th, please RSVP to mancostrailsgroup@gmail.com. Space is limited so RSVP will be required. Details:
What: Grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new Town Trail System
When: April 28 at 6pm Where: in front of the new trail kiosk on the corner of Mesa and Grand Join us on April 28 at 6pm for a ribbon cutting for the new Town Trail system! All are invited to attend. This project was a joint effort on the part of the Town, Mancos Schools, Mancos Trails Group and the San Juan Mountains association. Representatives from all of these groups will be in attendance including Mancos School students and teachers, school administration, and board members of MTG and SJMA. There be a few words from each of the groups that contributed to the project as well as a short walk on the trail. |
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