Came across a "drop park" built off in the forest earlier this month. The location isn't important. Let me first say: The stunts in this spot are built well and I'm truly impressed at the sheer volume of effort that went into building them. I love seeing that kind of energy applied to riding. But…
Outside of the stunts, the place looked like crap. The majority of the dirt that was dug up for the spot was taken from one area. It resulted in a huge hole that undercut two live trees. Roots were even hacked off to gain better access to the dirt. The trees are toast and that sucks. Also, there was garbage (food and drink containers…) all over. At first I assumed someone would come back to clean up their crap but its been there for weeks. I packed out a full size garbage bag yesterday. The pile of garbage doesn't look like much in the photo, but it would have just put more fuel on the fire if the wrong person came along.
I fully understand the attraction of building a wiked stunt and riding it or watching someone ride it. It just can't happen like this. The above spot is really close to a trail network that sees some HEAVY use. These are so many runners and hikers that pass through the area, I'm sure it has been found many times. I probably should suggest that there is already a huge network of trails in across the Shore and there shouldn't be so much rogue building. Why not help out the builders who have been at it a while and learn from them? I am however, realistic and will say instead… If you are going to go out an build, do it responsibly - and pack out your shit! There are too many people working too hard to maintain access to the trails. These boards are full of them. Please don't make it look like people like Monica and Ernie have a point!
Happy trails.
"Everybody loves something, even if its just tortillas"
