When Oilcan got taken on as a project it was a trail that was pretty much given up for dead and was a mess. Plenty of blow down in a couple spots rendered the trail impassable. At the time the community had expressed a need for more intermediate type trails yet there was a ban on new trails, so Oilcan seemed like the perfect candidate for a rehab project to give riders with fewer skills an option. When the idea was put forward there was no objection AFAIR as nobody was riding it.
I agree with you a bit on some of the other points, but realize that the choice between preserving gnar yet fixing significant erosion can be a difficult one, and it is often predicated on how long that will take - read volunteer hours. The other factor to consider is that the building climate is different with greater involvement from the land managers and that means building to a different standard than 20 yrs ago.
Aug. 7, 2018, 4:37 p.m. - Mark
When Oilcan got taken on as a project it was a trail that was pretty much given up for dead and was a mess. Plenty of blow down in a couple spots rendered the trail impassable. At the time the community had expressed a need for more intermediate type trails yet there was a ban on new trails, so Oilcan seemed like the perfect candidate for a rehab project to give riders with fewer skills an option. When the idea was put forward there was no objection AFAIR as nobody was riding it. I agree with you a bit on some of the other points, but realize that the choice between preserving gnar yet fixing significant erosion can be a difficult one, and it is often predicated on how long that will take - read volunteer hours. The other factor to consider is that the building climate is different with greater involvement from the land managers and that means building to a different standard than 20 yrs ago.