Growlers Trail News

Upper Bitch  - This is the lengthy section with all the switchbacks that comes out of the Secret Garden. It is already in cherry condition. The climb is demanding but doable, although the section near the bottom will be a bear when it’s wet. If you need to improve your switchback skills, this is the trail for you.

PMS - Also put in on the big work day and also in phenomenal condition. It is located directly across the road when you get to the bottom of the Secret Garden. PMS has some cool features. It also has some challenging interval climbs.

Humpity - Just north of PMS and also on the east side of the road. Humpity is still a little raw. The climb out is tough. By the time you finish PMS and Humpity and then climb back out Bitter Bitch, your legs and lungs will be talking to you.

Ace of Spades - This is the section between Double Down and Canoe that Dave’s crew was working on. We still need to connect the dots in a couple of places, but it is going to be a great addition. We are pretty optimistic about adding a section that will link Canoe to JLS. 

Trees Down - Dave and I went up with the saw today. Most of the blowdown was on the lower trails. Our goal was to utilize the downed trees to discourage horses and four-wheelers. We left the trees full-length when possible. We ask that you not cut anything out. We completed the following:

• Built a big over as you head up Predator. I think it’s doable but you will have to hit it hard to have a shot
• Cut back the tree that was part way across Walk in the Park
• Cut out two trees that were down on the back side of Beauty
• Cut a narrow passage in a tree that is across Mr. T
• Removed a small tree near the top of the Big Wow
• Built an over to cross the large tree that is down at the start of the second Road Trail. This is easily visible from the road and is not the place to be cutting a piece out of the middle of a tree. It will be a difficult hump, but I think it is marginally doable.
• Did big work on Carnage, about halfway down where it gets close to the road. There were several trees down in that section a couple of years ago. The new blowdown will add to the adventure. I wanted to cut them out, but Dave insisted that we build marginally rideable over. They are doable but I recommend that you stay off your front brake when you go down the backside.
• Thanks to the person who cut out the small tree at the top of the Big Easy. There is a tree down on the right hand line as you start picking up speed. Leave it there. We can ride the left line, which is more difficult for four-wheelers to manage

JLS – If you haven’t been on JLS lately, give it a shot. We did a complete renovation last month. It flows great and some of the features have been returned to their formerly burly selves.

Trail Dogs – The Board of Director has contacted approximately 20 Growlers primaries. The plan is to assign a couple of trails to each of them for year-round maintenance. The system is expanding at a rapid rate, so we are hoping that this will keep things in sterling condition.