 ⚠️ Dewey Mountain goes from red to yellow. Was just searching around a little to see if Dewey was named after a person and learned that it used to be called Ring Hill. Not sure what inspired the name change but of the two options Dewey seems like the best fit. 🟢 Craig Wood goes from yellow to green. 🍂 Volunteers are still working away at clearing blowdown as needed and leaf blowing the last few trails. As always, major thanks to all the folks across our region who take the time to make the trails as enjoyable and safe as possible. Not all heroes wear capes, but some of them wear chainsaw PPE. Rain is in the forecast so please remember: 1️⃣ Avoid riding while it's actively raining. 2️⃣ Turn back if you're leaving tracks (footprints or ruts). 3️⃣ Avoid trail tread widening by riding or hiking straight through puddles instead of around them. We also have some fun events on the horizon: ⛏️ Trail Work Party at Hardy Road 9am-3pm on Saturday, 6/06 sponsored by Little Supermarket. ⛏️ Trail Work Party at Dewey Mtn 2pm-5pm on Saturday, 6/06 sponsored by Silver Birch Cycles. 🚴 Slow Your Roll Ride at East Branch Community Trails 5:30-8pm on Wednesday, 6/10 led by a solid crew of BETA board members. 🚴 Kids' Summer MTB Ride at East Branch Community Trails, 4pm-5:30pm on Sunday, 6/14 led by Bill Frazer and Kaley Basile. 📆 Check out the full list of events on our website. Have an awesome weekend everyone!
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Pictures by Kaley Basile taken at Blueberry Hill, Elizabethtown
Changes from last week: ⭐ Dewey went from red to yellow (ride with caution) ⭐ Craig Wood went from red to green (except for Green Jacket and Gold Jacket which are still CLOSED) That's a wrap on closed networks! If trail work or wet weather sends any conditions back to red, we'll let you know. We're forecast to get a decent amount of rain this week, but nothing toooo crazy. Somewhere between a qtr inch and a half an inch of rain is expected across BETA land on both Wednesday and Thursday, showers on Friday and Saturday. Help protect the trails by avoiding riding while it's actively raining, turning back if you're leaving tracks, and, if all else fails, ride straight through puddles to avoid widening the trail.
Volunteers are still out on the trail doing awesome work. Thank you to everyone who has helped get the trails ready this season! Don't forget to log your hours: bit.ly/LogHours4BETA
FORECAST: Last week’s rain hasn’t put a damper on the conditions report. Across BETA land the lows in the next couple days will drop to abt freezing, but we probably won’t dip into a freeze-thaw cycle. Even so, please keep an eye out for esp. fragile soils this weekend. Some rain on & off all week, the worst of it falling in western BETA land Tues-Thurs, ~0.14in per day. Friendly reminder: please avoid riding while it's actively raining and pay close attention to whether you're leaving tracks after we've gotten a bit of recent rain. THE TRAILS Changes from last week:
All the Trail Networks: 🟢 Cobble Hill & Blueberry Hill, Etown 🟢 Three Sisters & Hardy Road, Wilmington 🟢 East Branch Community Trails, Keene (including Trail 7) 🟢 Mt. Pisgah & Dewey Mtn, Saranac Lake (except The Cure, Mt. Pisgah) 🟢 Henry's Woods, Lake Placid (these are not BETA trails, but they're riding well) ⚠️ Otis Mtn, Etown ⚠️ Flume, Wilmington ⚠️ Lussi/Loggers, Lake Placid ❌️ Dewey Mtn, Saranac Lake ❌️ Craig Wood, Lake Placid
Even more trails are ready for riding -- WOOHOOOO! But get it quick; lots of rain in the forecast starting on Wednesday and not letting up for a few days at least. Trails may need another break from riding come next weekend after they get all that rain; we shall see. UPDATES on the info contained in the pictures below: Trail 7 at East Branch, Keene is ready for riding. Lussi/Loggers, Lake Placid is hovering more around yellow than green as there's still a bit of blowdown and a few wet spots. TL;DR -- East Branch, Blueberry Hill, Cobble Hill, Three Sisters Trail, and lower Hardy Road trails are confirmed rideable for now (with caution and with good judgement); might be fragile again all of next week due to freeze-thaw cycle. We've been hammering on "please protect the trails during mud season by staying off of them" -- that still holds true now and will continue to hold true likely for the next 6 weeks (Dewey is notorious for holding onto a lot of moisture even into June). We finally have good news: after a stint of drying out, some of BETA's trail networks are ready for hiker and biker traffic. EAST BRANCH COMMUNITY TRAILS -- Rideable, but proceed with caution. There is a decent amount of blowdown that needs to be cleared with a chainsaw (pssst -- we're fundraising for a chainsaw (and other tools) right now!). Volunteers have been visiting East Branch and will return soon to rake trails that have a deep layer of leaf litter from fall/winter. Thank you volunteers!
Pictures taken by Kaley Basile on her latest scouting mission, featuring BETA's reminder to turn back in you're leaving tracks or ruts in the trail; two of the five large trees she saw down over the trail; and some new rock additions to encourage descending riders to slow down before getting to a tight corner where they could run into other riders. Trail building is way more than simply moving dirt! Behavior management (psychology?) plays a role, too. BLUEBERRY HILL -- Likewise, rideable with caution. Some blowdown and some wet spots.
COBBLE HILL -- Our first green light for the season, Cobble Hill is ready for sending. HARDY ROAD -- The lower trails are rideable, but the upper trails need more time to dry out. If venturing higher in elevation, please pay attention to the trail and your impact so you notice at what point it's best to turn back. THREE SISTERS -- Flobus is CLOSED. Three Sisters Trail (aka Quaker Mtn Trail) and the Town Connector are rideable. EVERYWHERE ELSE -- Probably or definitely not ready. Lake Placid and then Saranac Lake trails are typically the last to firm up each spring, so do not hold your breath for them. Stay tuned -- we'll keep sharing trail condition reports to help everyone plan their trips and protect the trails. Next week, beware: Starting on Sunday, nighttime temperatures are forecast to drop well below freezing until at least Wednesday. Silver lining: it will only snow in some places, -- maybe your town will be spared a dusting. With freezing nighttime temps and above freezing daytime temps, soils may go through a freeze-thaw cycle. This makes them super fragile and vulnerable to damage. Please pay attention to whether the trail is extra soft next week and give it the rest it needs to firm up. Thank you for recreating responsibly! It makes a huge difference and it is deeply appreciated. Cheers, y'all! UPDATE 04/10: Mud season continues. Tis the season! Our favorite time of the year 🥰 Jokes aside -- spring/mud season is such a tricky time. We're all itching to get out there, but visiting our local trails before they're ready can really do a number on them. Going out too early and leaving footprints or ruts in the trail causes serious damage that requires hours of hard work to fix. From what we've seen, there are currently no BETA trails that are ready for biking or hiking traffic. Thanks for being patient with the weather and the earth -- it is NOT easy to wait! Hold strong -- you got this.  TL;DR – Most of our trail networks are still mountain or fat bikeable early or late in the day, but use your judgement. If you’re leaving ruts in the soil, turn back. Bob Maswick, one of our Board Members, had this to say about current trail conditions, “It’s that time of year again where there’s not much snow, the ground isn’t frozen yet, temperatures vary from 10 to 40 degrees and you just want to ride one more time. At East Branch [yesterday], I encountered almost every condition imaginable except for deep snow and even though I remembered the “Leaving tracks, turn back” advice? I’m signing up for a volunteer work party next year to repair some of the damage I caused.” This is a great reminder that stewardship is a fundamental part of being a mountain biker (we think so, anyway) and that stewardship comes in a couple different forms, including: - Doing our best to treat the trails and the people we meet on them with kindness and respect, and - Pitching in on trail projects whenever we’re able. Have you been out riding lately? How were the trails? Let us know in the comments here. As always, thank you for recreating responsibly. Happy trails!
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06/13 Great Adirondack Trail Day, Keene Valley 06/14 Kids' Summer MTB Ride at East Branch Community Trails 4:00-5:30pm 06/15 Volunteer Trail Work Day in Lake Placid 06/16 Volunteer Trail Work Day at Blueberry Hill, Elizabethtown 06/20 Adirondack Rail Trail Community Day, Saranac Lake 06/22 Slow Your Roll Ride 5:30-8:00pm at Cobble Hill, Elizabethtown 06/28 Kids' MTB Ride 4:00-5:30pm at Cobble Hill, Elizabethtown 
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BARKEATER TRAILS ALLIANCE (BETA)
volunteer driven - member supported - human powered
AddressP.O. Box 843 - Lake Placid, NY 12946
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Telephone518.523.1365
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