TA Report: River Highlands State Park

   

   

Date: February 26, 2011.
Location: River Highlands State Park
Condition of Trails: Between 8" and 12" of snow

Observations: I'm happy to report that the snow is melting, less happy to report that there's a fair amount of melting yet to do before the place is rideable on anything less than a snow bike with studded tires. There's still 10-12 inches in the shady blow hole, and 8-10 inches up on the ridges. The stream is running fast and clear with snowmelt.

The trails are littered with twigs, sticks, limbs, and even small trees in some places, and will require some dedicated cleanup work this spring. The snow is hard with a slippery crust of ice on the well packed trails, and also badly post-holed in many places.

I was amazed at all the evidence of animal activity. Tracks were everywhere. One entire hillside had been scraped clean of snow, probably by deer in search of food. I also found "critter holes", their mouths littered with acorn shells. You wonder how animals can find food under all the snow, but then you see their droppings everywhere and realize that they must be eating something.

River Highlands will be one of the first places to dry out this spring. With luck we'll be able to ride there before the board meeting in three weeks. I'll be hosting mud season rides there, so keep an eye on the blog.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Rocky Neck SP

Nice dry western facing ridge trails

Date of Activity: 2/26/2011

Location: Rocky Neck

Condition of Trail(s): Snow, ice, dry, actually not any real mud though!

Observations: ran out hoping that if I got there before it warmed up to much I could get a ride in. Found many areas covered in pure "Foot Print Ice", 

hiker prints turned to ice      

others with snow BUT!,.... any western facing areas are completely DRY. Lower and eastern facing areas, (swamp side) are pretty much unrideable as the foot traffic has not only roughed it up but the snow has completely turned to ice anywhere they have walked.. 

got studs?

If you are totally jones'in to ride, you can get some relief here, just ride with care as the ice patches seem to pop right out of no where!! If you got studs, have a ball!!

When I got there, I could ride the fields and float on top of the snow crust, within an hour or so when I went back I was sinking. So if you are going try to ride, head in early in the morning before things warm up!

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

Action Alert

As you probably know, last May a Superior Court jury awarded $2.9 million to a mountain biker who was injured at the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) Reservoir property in West Hartford.  In response to this surprising verdict, the MDC is considering a closure of all its lands to all recreational activities. In addition municipalities all around the State will be forced to reexamine their public access policies as a result of this decision.  NEMBA is working with other recreation groups to prevent the closure of municipal property and support the MDC. While Connecticut’s Recreational Liability Statute offers private individuals and utilities a high decree of liability protection, protections offered municipalities and non-profit municipal corporations, such as the MDC, have eroded over the past 15 years.  This needs to be changed by the legislature.

As a Connecticut mountain biker please TAKE ACTION NOW -- Deadline February 14th:

Submit written comment to the Planning and Development Committee urging the CT Legislature to pass the needed Liability Law reforms found in the following Bills:  SB 43, SB 90, and HB5254.  Please make sure the subject line of your email references these three bills by number, and please urge the Committee to support these bills and list "bicycling" and "mountain biking" was one of the recreational activities to be covered.  You can read NEMBA’s comments here:
http://www.nemba.org/nembaevents/documents/CTBills43-90-5243NEMBAComment2011-02-11.pdf

We urge you to submit your own comments by the end of Monday, February 14th.  Please make sure the the subject line references the bill, and please include your address. Submit your comment to Allison.Blancato@cga.ct.gov by February 14th.

2) Sign the Online Petition urging Legislature to strengthen the Recreational Liability Law:
Thank you, and have a nice weekend!

TA Report: Machimoodus State Park

  

  

  

Date: February 11, 2011
Location: Machimoodus State Park
Condition of Trails: Rock hard snow

Observations: I decided to check this place out with the snowshoes. It's a good sized park at 150 acres, and has about 5 miles of trails. The property is a mixture of old farmland and woods, with steep slopes running down to the Salmon River. The park borders Sunrise Resort State Park, an old summer resort right out of Dirty Dancing. The snow was rock hard and plenty deep, with about 1/4 inch of ice on top. It's going to be a while before it all melts. Trails are classified as non-motorized multi use. It was difficult to tell what the trails were like with all the snow, but the ones I hiked were double track. I plan to go back when the snow melts, if it ever does, and explore the place by bike.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Trumbull-Pequonnock

Date of Activity: Feb. 6, 2011 Location: Pequonnock River Valley, Trumbull Condition of Trails(s): Deep snow Observations: There is a base of two feet along the trails and three feet next to it, so snowshoes are essential. People wearing just boots will find movement exhausting as they will punch a foot deep hole, even on a well packed trail. The Red and Yellow Trail had snowshoe tracks along it, but they were covered with a crusty new snow, so our group definitely had to do some trail breaking. The Blue Trail was fairly well packed down, so it did not require any extra effort, since we were wearing snowshoes. A few other people were out walking dogs. As we left the woods, one mountain biker was headed in, but she quickly turned around as the trail was impassable to a bike. Thanks to the work of NEMBA members, the blazes on Red and Yellow are an improvement over past conditions, but still are spotty in places, which can make it challenging to follow the trail. White and Blue have faded blazes, but are more traveled, so they are a bit easier to follow.  I would be happy to help out with blazing in warmer weather. An overview of today's adventure may be found at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66999252. Thanks to the hard work of NEMBA President Mark Lurie and trails guru, Rich Coffey, there is actually a useable map available, which may be found at http://www.vizettes.com/ttc/trails/trailmaps/PequonnockValley-TrailMap.pdf.

Local Conn. towns seek lawsuit protection

SUSAN HAIGH, Associated Press

Published: 10:27 p.m., Monday, January 31, 2011

HARTFORD (AP) -- Local officials and outdoor enthusiasts urged Connecticut lawmakers on Monday to help protect municipalities from lawsuits over injuries that occur on some municipally owned lands.

They say large jury awards could lead to restrictions on access to public properties. The pleas follow a $2.9 million award last year for a bicyclist who was injured after hitting a gate on West Hartford land owned by a regional water and sewer authority.

New Haven attorney Michael Stratton, who represents the bicyclist who sued the Metropolitan District Commission in 2002, argued that cities and towns have a responsibility to keep public properties reasonably safe.

"It's not about sue-happy plaintiffs. It's about whether we're going to have a right to hold people accountable when they cause people injury," Stratton said. "It's changing the nature of people's rights. People don't understand they're giving up a significant right here."

Stratton's client, Maribeth Blonski of Rocky Hill, broke four vertebrae in her neck when she hit a steel gate on a trail near a reservoir in the Talcott Mountain Recreation Area. Stratton said the MDC was found liable for two-thirds of the $2.9 million award, or about $2 million. The authority has appealed the jury's decision.

Stratton said much of the award will be covered by the MDC's insurer.

The case has prompted an outcry from outdoor enthusiasts who fear the size of the award will cause the MDC and municipalities to restrict public access to such property.

"Two of Hartford's great assets are its parks and its proximity to miles of uninterrupted mountain forests. It would be reprehensible if the city or the MDC were forced to limit their public access because of the specter of lawsuits," Brendan Mahoney, a Hartford resident, wrote to the General Assembly's Environment Committee.

The panel heard testimony Monday on a bill that would provide the same protection from liability to municipalities that is afforded to private landowners who allow people to use their property for recreational activities, such as hiking.

The bill has the support of municipal leaders, the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and outdoor groups such as the New England Mountain Bike Association and the Connecticut Horse Council.

"Access to trails and open space is becoming more difficult to obtain now, so it is important to preserve what we have and not force property owners to close their lands due to fear of being sued," wrote Amy Stegall, president of the horse council.

The Connecticut Forest and Park Association listed recent examples of recreational liability lawsuits that it says led to cities and towns limiting recreational activities on municipal land, or at least consider it. Besides the MDC case, the group cites Waterbury losing an $8 million verdict to a woman who was seriously injured after crashing into a metal bench while snow tubing in a public park. Middlebury is now considering closing a popular sledding area.

Thomas Gormley, the town's first selectman, told lawmakers on Monday that his municipality can't afford to fend off more lawsuits. "Our legal budget is through the roof," he said.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Local-Conn-towns-seek-lawsuit-protection-988380.php#ixzz1CjOg9TDH