Chris Wristen

The North Shore Trails at Clinton State Park received a much-needed band-aid Tuesday as three trail runners put in a few hours of work repairing damage.

Trail repair on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

Danny Loental, Wayne Garner and Amy White Schmitz capitalized on a rare sunny day with drier trail conditions and were able to patch foot holes and smooth out the damage on a section of the White Trail east of Lands End.

In total, approximately 20 miles of trail need various amounts of repair after being damaged on April 18 during the Free State Trail Runs. Since then, trail-users have been enthusiastic in their desire to patch the holes and re-bench sections that need it, but a series of thunderstorms have hindered progress. Three official trail repair days have been rained out in the past two weeks alone. That makes Tuesday’s repair effort particularly significant.

Loental has been one of the most active leaders in coordinating repair efforts. In addition to a work day that was rained out last weekend, he coordinated Tuesday’s effort. He also has organized a work day from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 23. He has lined up 14 volunteers as of Tuesday, and there are enough tools available to utilize additional volunteers. Rain currently is in the forecast, but the work day is scheduled to proceed as of now. To RSVP for Saturday’s work day, go to this link.

The tool check-out/check-in area has the supplies volunteers will need to conduct trail maintenance.

Rain has been the enemy of efforts to repair the damaged North Shore Trails at Clinton State Park, but another attempt will be made next weekend.

The aftermath of Lands End on April 25, a week after the race.

Danny Loental has scheduled a trail repair day from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday, May 23, at the state park in southwest Lawrence. An additional session may take place from noon to 4 p.m. if a crew leader is available. Approximately 20 miles of the North Shore Trails were damaged April 18 when a thunderstorm soaked the course during the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Free State Trail Runs. Around 250 runners were on the course running various distances, and most the trail system sustained damage – some of it severe – by the conclusion of the 17-hour event. In the four weeks since then, more than 60 trail-users have received trail repair training from the Kansas Trails Council, and three official work days have been scheduled. All three were rained out. In addition to the trail repair day on May 23, Loental also is seeking volunteers for trail repair days during the week. Those available for trail repair during the week or who plan to attend on May 23 can RSVP in the comments section on the Trail Nerds’ Facebook page. Numerous members of the local trail-using community remain unnecessarily blocked from the page for bogus reasons by Trail Nerds owner Ben Holmes, however, and therefore will be unable to RSVP. If that is the case, feel free to post here and I will pass it along. I will be attending the morning session on May 23.

Update at 9:45 a.m. May 17: An official trail repair day event page for May 23 has been set up. For more details or to RSVP, go here.

It is impossible to deny the good intentions of many trail runners to repair the North Shore Trails at Clinton State Park which were badly damaged during a trail race.

That said, those good intentions have not managed to translate into action as the trails’ biggest enemy – rain – continues to strike the region and has forced the cancellation of each scheduled trail work day.

Clinton State Park’s North Shore Trails; April 25, 2015.

More than 60 members of the broader trail-using community – a majority of them runners – have attended three trail maintenance courses organized by the Kansas Trails Council during the past two weekends. In addition, three official trail repair days have been organized – the first by the Lawrence Trail Hawks and the other two by Kansas City-based runners Danny Loental and Travis Kierre – to begin putting in the manual labor, estimated at more than 1,200 volunteer hours, that it will take to repair the approximately 20 miles of damaged trails. The training courses took place as scheduled, but the repair work has been rained out.

Rain was the culprit behind the trail damage in the first place.

A thunderstorm struck during the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Free State Trail Runs – a 100K, 40-mile, marathon and half marathon event on the North Shore Trails. The event continued on the trails, and they were steadily chewed up by feet during the remainder of the 17-hour event.

That was April 18.

This weekend will mark the fourth weekend since Free State, and the third where it has rained. So far, only a few hundred yards of trail have been repaired. Two work days last weekend were washed out by rain, and another scheduled for Sunday, May 17, also has been canceled after multiple days of rain this week and a 90-percent chance of precipitation in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Currently, there are no scheduled trail repair days on the calendar. This blog will be updated with new work days at Clinton State Park as they are announced.

LAKE PERRY RESCHEDULED WITH ALTERNATE COURSE OPTION

The Trail Nerds’ Rock On Lake Perry 50K, half marathon and 5K that was postponed May 9 is rescheduled for this Saturday, May 16. Rain has fallen throughout the week and is in the forecast again this weekend, however an alternate course was identified this week which will allow the event to take place rain or shine. The alternate course incorporates a small loop that will include some trail, as well as gravel road and broken pavement. Runners in the 50K will make four loops of the alternate course, rather than two loops as would be the case on the original race course.

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.

Repairs have just begun on Clinton State Park’s North Shore Trails that were damaged April 18 at the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Free State Trail Runs, and today a decision was made to ensure similar repairs would not be necessary at Lake Perry. Trail Nerds owner Ben Holmes was scheduled to play host to the Rock On Lake Perry 50K, half marathon and 5K at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Branded B Ranch in Meriden, Kansas. Two straight days of rain have fallen, however, and with more in the forecast each day through the weekend Holmes was prompted to post the following message today announcing the race’s postponement to May 16. Two and a half weeks ago, Holmes drew harsh criticism for his decision not to postpone the Free State Trail Runs or use an alternate course when a thunderstorm was looming that had been in the forecast for days leading up to the event. It was dry at the start, but rain began pouring about an hour into the event, and approximately 20 miles of trail were damaged – some sections severely. The decision to postpone Rock On Lake Perry was made in conjunction with the Kansas Trails Council. The Kansas Trails Council played a lead role in developing the repair plan for Clinton State Park, which KTC estimates will take more than 1,200 volunteer hours. The forecast during the next few days does not bode well for trail repair efforts that were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Clinton State Park. Neither work day has been canceled yet, but organizers will seek guidance from the KTC’s Neil Taylor and Mike Goodwin regarding whether those should be canceled, too.

The plan to repair the damaged North Shore Trails at Clinton State Park was released on Tuesday. On Saturday, the plan officially transitioned into action.

Neil Taylor, left, of the Kansas Trails Council provides instruction to members of Saturday’s trail maintenance course at Clinton State Park.

The Kansas Trails Council presented two, two-hour trail maintenance courses Saturday at the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center Office near the entrance to the state park. The training courses kicked off the repair effort after approximately 20 of the 23 miles of North Shore Trails were damaged April 18 during the Kansas City Trail Nerds’ Free State Trail Runs.

The training courses, which were led by KTC’s Neil Taylor and Mike Goodwin, were an abbreviated version of trail-building training based on International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) sustainable trail-building standards. The courses provided an overview of how trails are built, the thought processes that go into them, and the processes that must be followed to gain appropriate trail-building approvals.

The main emphasis, however, was on training volunteers to lead work crews that will repair the damage done to the trails since they will only be repairing trails, not building new ones. The primary skills emphasized were tamping, deberming, and how to identify proper placement of “knicks” to help water drain off the trail.

Participants were introduced to the tools that will be utilized for trail repairs, and they were instructed on proper safety when using those tools.

Taylor said the first bit of trail repair was done Friday with a group of 10 volunteers from Westar Energy. Based on that group’s pace of trail repair, Taylor estimated the full repair effort at Clinton State Park would take more than 1,200 volunteer hours.

Taylor noted that the North Shore Trails have sustained considerable damage in the past from other events, and they have been repaired.

The tool check-out/check-in area has the supplies volunteers will need to conduct trail maintenance.

In recent days, Taylor has struck an optimistic tone about the ability to repair the damage again this time. He echoed those sentiments Saturday after 41 members of the trail-running and mountain biking community turned up for the courses.

“The biggest difference between this event and past events is that you guys showed up,” he said during the second training session. “That’s huge.”

Those in attendance were taught the basic fundamentals necessary to lead trail repair teams.

Just hours after attending the training course, volunteers are putting their training into action.

The first repair hours have been recorded in the official log for checking out maintenance equipment. In addition, two veteran trail-runners from the first training course, Danny Loenthal and Travis Kierre, have scheduled trail repair days for May 10 and May 17 and are actively recruiting crews.

In addition, the Lawrence Trail Hawks – whose Shoreline Shuffle trail race May 2 was moved to an alternate course as a result of the trail damage – are actively supporting the repair efforts. They have scheduled a trail-building course with Goodwin at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 9, which will be followed promptly by an organized work day.

Details about upcoming trail-building classes and trail repair days at Clinton State Park are included below. These will be updated as more information becomes available.

Trail Maintenance Class

After attending the trail maintenance course, I spent 2 1/2 hours repairing this 75-foot section of the White Trail outbound from Lands End. It’s a slow process.

May 9 – 9 a.m. – Corps of Engineers Visitor Center (30 seats total), organized by the Lawrence Trail Hawks (email Gary Henry at storyhawk100@gmail.com to RSVP)

Trail Repair Days and Leaders

May 9 – 11 a.m. – Lawrence Trail Hawks (contact Gary Henry to RSVP)

May 10 – 8 a.m. – Danny Loenthal (RSVP on the Trail Nerds’ Facebook page)

May 17 – 10 a.m. – Travis Kierre (RSVP on the Trail Nerds’ Facebook page)

The seventh annual Shoreline Shuffle took on a first-of-a-kind look this year when it transformed into the Skyline Shuffle.

The alternate course, which was a dual-traverse of Bunker Hill, was made necessary due to trail damage. Instead of rugged single-track, this year’s event was a throwback cross country race.

Me (233) charging up Bunker Hill the first time. It wasn’t easy to keep up with Keith. He’s a strong climber.

I’d forgotten how tough it can be to run on grass, with the soft surface sapping some of the spring out of the legs and longer grass catching the toes if knees aren’t lifted enough. At the same time, it’s easier to run the downhill sections with reckless abandon knowing that if you lose control and take a tumble then there’s soft grass to pad your landing.

Skyline was my first trail 5K since Mud & Muck in 2010 (26:10.5), and first race at all of that distance since the Kansas City Heart and Stroke 5K on the Plaza last May (23:18.6). I’m stronger now than I was at those races, and my tolerance for suffering is better, too. I needed that this time.

I started a bit too fast and was around seventh or eighth before quickly slipping back to 10th, but managed to sustain the pace after getting up and over Bunker Hill the first time. I constantly reminded myself to pick up my knees and control my breathing, which were critical for staying in a rhythm and working my way back up to eighth. The final six tenths of a mile were kindly downhill, which was a welcome relief for my legs – and also had a friendly impact on my finishing time.

Kudos to first-time race directors Josh McVey and Matt O’Reilly for putting on a fun, well organized event. Also, Kudos to Grant Holmes for a hard-earned victory. Cross country is still as tough as I remember it from high school, but I’ll happily run this course again.

#HShive

BY THE NUMBERS

My Place: 8^th

My Finishing Time: 22:50

Total Finishers: 77

Winning Time: 18:35 (Grant Holmes)

We’re off!

Closing in on the finish line.

Lots of good people made it a fun morning to run!

A week of sunny skies and warm temperatures has done plenty to help dry out the trails at Clinton State Park in Lawrence. In fact, enough drying took place that the park re-opened the trails for public use by midweek.

The warm trend is slated to continue Saturday with partly cloudy skies and 80-degree temperatures in the forecast. That’s good news for those interested in the trail repair efforts set to get under way after the trails were badly damaged on April 18 during the Free State Trail Runs, an event presented by the Kansas City Trail Nerds on Clinton Lake’s North Shore Trail System.

Lands End at Clinton State Park on April 25, 2015.

A thunderstorm during the event turned the dry trails into a muddy mess, and in the nearly two weeks since the event some parts of the trail system have struggled to drain and water has pooled in the holes left by runners’ footprints.

The repair effort is scheduled to begin in earnest on Saturday. Two trail-building courses will be taught, one at 9 a.m. and another at 11 a.m., at the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center Office, 872 N. 1042 Rd. Neil Taylor and Mike Goodwin of the Kansas Trails Council will teach the two-hour sessions, which will include about 90 minutes in the classroom and 30 minutes on the trail.

A more detailed look at the plan can be found here:

https://chriswristen.com/2015/04/28/clinton-lake-trail-recovery-ktc-plan-includes-training-access-to-tools-and-examining-event-protocol/

Interest in the training courses was extensive, and sign-ups came quickly once they were announced. Trail-runners interested in the course have encountered a dead end today, however, as the Trail Nerds’ official Facebook page has been inaccessible for most of the day.

The page’s inaccessibility is a bit of an ironic twist. In the aftermath of the Free State Trail Races, numerous page members were kicked out of the group. Some were booted for combative dialogue regarding the damage done to the trails at Clinton State Park, while others were blackballed for posting information about how to get involved with trail building, and even more were removed for “liking” posts that discussed trail repair. A handful were allowed back in eventually, but most have remained stricken. Now, on the eve of the first trail-building courses, the entire group is offline.

Although the Facebook page is down, the link to sign up for the trail-building courses is still active. Registration is free, and can be done at the following link:

http://www.enter2run.com/search/event.aspx?id=32930

The Kansas Trails Council on Monday released details of the plan to repair the damaged trail system at Clinton State Park in Lawrence.

The plan was announced nine days after the Kansas City Trail Nerds played host to the Free State Trail Runs on April 18 at the park. The event, which took place on the North Shore Trails, included a half marathon, marathon, 40-mile run and 100K run. Approximately 250 runners participated, some who ran two or three laps of the course.

Conditions were dry when the event began, but an early thunderstorm soaked the trails. The races continued, and a majority of the trail system was mangled by the time the 17-hour event concluded.

Members of the wide-ranging trail-using community have been vocal in their demands for accountability after around 20 miles of trail were damaged. The Trail Nerds organization faces no fines for the damage caused by its event, however it is expected to play a large role in the repair effort.

Clinton State Park trail near West Park Road on Saturday, April 25, a week after it was first damaged.

Neil Taylor, Clinton Lake System Coordinator for the Kansas Trails Council, sounded an optimistic tone when I spoke to him about the plan Monday morning.

“We have had damage like this in the past from other promoters,” Taylor said. “We have been able to repair and move on.”

Ben Holmes, Kansas City Trail Nerds owner and race director of the Free State Trail Runs, met with Taylor from the KTC and Clinton State Park interim Director Bruce Husman on Friday to discuss the damage and develop the foundation of a two-phased plan. Details were fine-tuned throughout the weekend.

Phase one of the plan focuses on repairing the trails. It places a heavy emphasis on training new trail-builders to be able to lead work crews. Volunteers can take two-hour training courses where they will be instructed in International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) sustainable trail-building standards.

There will be both scheduled and unscheduled workdays, meaning that in addition to scheduled events volunteers also will have access to trail-building tools if they choose to perform repair work in their free time.

“Basically, the plan is to have people that want to do trail work to team up with an IMBA-trained volunteer/leader, and work on planned and unplanned trail work days,” Holmes wrote on the Trail Nerds’ Facebook page. “The park will keep some Kansas Trails Council tools (to loan out), with a large map of where work needs to be done. When the work is done, the tools will be returned and the work quantified and accounted for on the map.”

According to the KTC press release:

Kansas Trails Council press release regarding the trail repair plan at Clinton State Park.

“Unfortunately, because the trail damage is so widespread and significant, the repair cannot be accomplished on a few organized Saturday workdays. Instead, the repair will require an ongoing effort of hundreds of hours over the next several months. Recognizing that most trail users do not have access to trail building tools, we are in the process of setting up a cache of hand tools and developing a system to check out and return tools and to monitor the repair work as it progresses.

Prior to beginning the repair work, volunteers will be asked to attend a short training workshop to insure that the trail repair meets sustainable trail building standards and that the tools are safely used. After the workshop, volunteers can then work on their own schedules. The KTC will monitor the quality of repair and report on the progress in the coming months.”

The training workshops will take place at the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center Office, 872 N. 1042 Rd., in the park. The first two sessions are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2. Those interested can sign up here: http://www.enter2run.com/search/event.aspx?id=32930 (I will be at the 11 a.m. session).

Taylor and Mike Goodwin, also of the KTC, will teach the courses.

Taylor has been building and maintaining trails in Lawrence for 20 years, first as a founding member of the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club and then with the KTC. He said he hopes the training courses and trail repair work educate a new wave of trail volunteers that can have a long-term positive impact on the community.

He also is confident that the damaged trail can be successfully repaired.

“With the amount of people that contacted me, including several local organizations, I think we are going to have a ton of manpower,” he said. “So if everything goes right with the weather, equipment, and things like that, I think we can be done by the end of next month.”

While phase one of the plan is focused on repair, phase two is about prevention.

Taylor said the KTC will work with Clinton State Park and the Army Corps of Engineers examine current protocol for holding events and make changes where needed, including addressing when to require alternate courses be used and the possible cancellation of events.

COMMENTARY: “TRAILABAN” REFERENCE HINDERS HEALING

While a plan is now in place to help heal the damaged trails at Clinton State Park, the greater Kansas City trail-using community is focusing on healing, too.

A social media firestorm in the aftermath of the Free State Trail Runs pitted members of various trail-using groups against each other, and even saw runner-on-runner outrage. As tensions calmed, many called for reconciliation and unity. The healing has been visible in a number of ways, from direct outreach between groups, to trail-runners and mountain bikers teaming up to build trails, to improved civil discourse. Still, there is a long way to go.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Holmes made a plea for the trail community to try to “move on in a positive direction, TOGETHER.”

Earlier in that same post, however, Holmes lashed out at those who had made critical posts in reaction to the race not being canceled and the trails being damaged. He referred to them as “The Trailaban” for being “uncompromising with their bikes-only or running-only or equine-only ideology.” The “Trailaban” reference was an apparent play on the Taliban, whom the United States military fought for more than a decade in Afghanistan. Those people were blocked from the site because their comments got out of hand, he claimed.

This informative, non-controversial post got Ben Reed blocked. As of Monday night he has not been reinstated.

The claim was partly false, however, as a thorough review of the comments made and people blocked showed that many who Holmes lumped into his “Trailaban” made non-confrontational comments, supported trail repair efforts, or – in the case of Urban Trail Co. president Ben Reed – only posted information detailing how to contact the group to get involved. Others did not post a single comment and only “liked” a status. That was the case for a military mom whose son served in the United States Army in Afghanistan and came under frequent mortar fire from the Taliban.

Holmes has yet to remove the “Trailaban” reference despite being called out by a long-time trail steward, event promoter, and KTC member. (*editor’s note: this sentence was amended to clarify that the “Trailaban” reference remains on the site as of 10:56 a.m. Tuesday. The original version said it had been removed.)

The divisive tone may hinder the repairs to Clinton State Park, and it certainly hinders our trail-using community’s ability to heal and move forward.

That word does not imply “positive” or “TOGETHER.” It is divisive, destructive to the community, and pushes away good people who have a considerable amount of experience building trails, leading work crews, and teaching trail-building skills to new volunteers. Those are resources that would be valuable to have in the weeks and months ahead. Our community needs to expect better.

Most of these guys looked familiar, but at first I couldn’t place it.

Bike stickers on their cars – and an actual mountain bike – soon gave it away, though. I’ve crossed paths with these guys on the trails – them on bike and me on foot.

Today, though, we were there for a different sort of workout. There was dirt to move; rock to carry and put into place; trail to build.

Sarah Rackleff benches a section of new trail leading into the rock garden at Wyandotte County Lake Park.

The Trail Masons, a trail-building group at Wyandotte County Lake Park that was founded by trail-runner Jim Megerson and mountain bikers Cliff Jones and Shane Jones around six years ago, have built all of the single-track trails on the east side of the park. Basically, if it’s not a bridle trail then the Trail Masons probably built it.

The Trail Masons are not a mountain bike group, although a majority of their trail-builders happen to prefer taking the trails on two wheels rather than two feet. Today, they welcomed some trail-building newbies from the trail-running community, taught us a few easy tactics, and then we worked together to bench a new section of trail behind Shelter 9 and turn it into a single-track rock garden.

The entire section covered maybe .05 of a mile, and a crew of 15 people built it in three hours. It’s not finalized yet – the rocks in the rock garden will need a chance to settle, and then some touch-up work will take place – but the small new section is going to be a nice new treat for trail-users.

While sipping post-work beers, Cliff pointed out that a runner would cover the new section in maybe 30 seconds and a biker would go through it in 15 seconds. It provided me with a dose of perspective about how much volunteer effort has gone into building these trails that I enjoy running so much. Today’s group was considerably larger than work days tend to attract, and our team effort built just a tiny piece of the trail system.

Wayne Garner hauls a rock to the rock garden in a new section of trail at Wyandotte County Lake Park.

I found it fascinating to watch the more experienced trail-builders identify the ride and run lines into the new section of trail. The thought that goes into what I’ve always taken for granted is impressive. There is considerable creativity that goes into the planning, with the hopes that what is built will bring deep enjoyment to all of us who use it.

What I enjoyed most was the sense of personal fulfillment that I felt during and after putting in the work to “earn my dirt.” I absolutely can’t wait to go run through this new segment of trail. I hope it sneaks up on me so I can feel surprised when I see it.

I also enjoyed taking time to actually get to know some of the guys who I’ve crossed paths with on the trails. There were a lot of good dudes with a great sense of humor and a vision for what is being built at WyCo. They’re happy to teach newcomers how to build, and they’re happy to share beers once the work is done.

Today wasn’t a lazy Sunday. Instead, it was an incredibly satisfying Sunday filled with good people, good dirt and good times.

INTERESTED IN HELPING BUILD TRAILS?

Join the Facebook pages for the Trail Masons, Urban Trail Co., and Earthriders Mountain Bike Club to find work day postings. I’m sure there are others, but these are the pages I am following at the moment.

It took teamwork to place some of the largest rocks.

Rock garden work.

New trail behind Shelter 9.

Jim Megerson builds new trail.

Plotting out where to place the next rocks.

Jim Megerson, Rick Troeh, myself, Sarah Rackleff, and Wayne Garner take a breather from building trail.

More progress on the rock garden.

Scott Lillis puts finishing touches on the rock garden.

This new section is going to be sweet to run across!