Three consecutive days of rainfall, including a heavy downpour Thursday evening, have washed out trail maintenance days that were scheduled for this weekend.
The damaged trail at Clinton State Park on Saturday April 25, a week after the race.
The Lawrence Trail Hawks scheduled a work day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 9, following a trail maintenance class; and Danny Loental scheduled a Trail Nerds work day for 8 a.m. Sunday, May 10. Both have been canceled to avoid causing additional damage now that the trails are fully saturated.
While work days have been canceled, the 9 a.m. Saturday, May 9, trail maintenance course organized by the Lawrence Trail Hawks and taught by Mike Goodwin and Neil Taylor of the Kansas Trails Council will still take place at the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center Office, 872 N. 1042 Rd. That session, which will hold up to 30 participants, is almost full. Seats can be reserved by contacting Gary Henry (storyhawk100@gmail.com).
The trail maintenance effort is happening to repair approximately 20 miles of Clinton State Park’s North Shore Trails which were badly damaged April 18 during the Free State Trail Runs after a thunderstorm rolled in once the event was under way. More thunderstorms struck the weekend after the event, prohibiting potential repair work. The first two trail maintenance courses were taught last Saturday, and minimal trail repair work was done afterward. Now, storms have washed away another weekend opportunity to repair the damage.
TRAIL REPAIR SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEKEND
Although this weekend’s trail repair opportunities at Clinton State Park have been rained out, another chance is on the calendar next weekend. Travis Kierre will lead a trail repair effort at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 17. Those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP on the message thread on the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Facebook page. The RSVP option is not available for some in our community who have been blocked from the Trail Nerds’ Facebook page by Trail Nerds owner Ben Holmes, a small handful for angry/combative posts after the trails were damaged at the Free State Trail Runs, but many others for posting information related to trail maintenance, and more for simply liking a post about trail repair.
Holmes’ decision to block members from the community – many of them experienced trail-builders and work crew leaders – has continued even after the Kansas Trails Council determined more than 1,200 volunteer hours would be necessary to repair the severely damaged trail system. He has unblocked Urban Trail Co. President Ben Reed after that specific example was called out on this blog and directly on the Facebook page, however many more able-bodied and trained trail-builders remain blocked while another weekend of rain perpetuates the erosion of Clinton State Park’s damaged trails.
Chris Wristen 