HUGE Shout out to Washington Trails Association

Last year we asked people to consider giving to the Washington Trails Association(WTA) in their quest to obtain a matching grant up to $10,000 earmarked for Methow Valley Trails. (see the Oct. 17, 2009 post) WTA made that goal and just sent an update on the Methow Valley trail work they have completed this summer with those donations. Check out these incredible accomplishments:
4,252 hours of volunteer service on Methow Valley Trails!
60 hours of work per volunteer!
Replaced a single stringer foot-log bridge on the Lone Fir Trail
Worked on a dozen Methow Valley trails including the popular Maple Pass loop
Cleared fallen logs on the west end of the Pasayten Wilderness
Cleared blowdowns from the Twisp Pass, Scatter Creek and Copper Pass trails
Installed a new foot-log bridge across Wolf Creek
WTA crews are currently working on a new bridge across Robinson Creek
From one non-profit trail association to another we salute you WTA! Thanks for helping to keep outdoor recreation accessible and incredible!

Another week another bridge!

Our 5th bridge project of the summer was just completed last week thanks to the hard work of trail crew members Dick Evans, William Worrell, Pete DeLong, and Alison DeLong. This bridge is located along the community trail in Mazama just west of Wesola Polana and Browns Farm. You get a good view here of the old and new bridge beams or "stringers." The new beams were actually recycled stringers from the old lower Goat Creek bridge that still had some life in them. Roger Rowatt milled up the old rounds into beams that will work for shorter bridges like this and in the future for some short bridges up at Sun Mtn. Enjoy the new platform and the trails. If your lucky this bridge may actually make you levitate as you cross it as Alison is demonstrating above.

Thanks for the Memories! Bye, bye France.

Boy are we going to miss the Tour. Monday morning will be a lot quieter in the office...what will we talk about? Here is how MVSTA might celebrate if the peloton rode by our office!

Suspension Bridge Open!

Although Dava and Dave have another few days putting on some toe rails the surface of the new bridge is complete and the bridge is now open to all traffic. The bridge was completed 2 weeks ahead of schedule and shouldn't need any further maintenance for years to come. Pictured above are Dava Harris and Dave Ness after placing the final piece of decking.

Thanks for your patience the last month and enjoy the smooth surface.

Suspension Bridge Update

The bridge work is coming along nicely. We have flashed all the towers and reinforced where needed. The decking has been replaced on roughly 1/4 of the surface and will make the trip across smoother feeling than when it was first built. Dava, Dave, and Liam are doing great work!

As a reminder the bridge has been and will continue to be open every weekend through the maintenance period scheduled to end July 30th. Also the bridge will be open for three total days this weekend. We are keeping the bridge open on Monday July 5th for the holiday weekend.

Summer Mowing Season

With all the moisture we've had this spring/summer the grass has come in higher and quicker on our summer trails. We have been out mowing to knock down the majority of it so enjoy the clear trails. Trails mowed just recently include the Community Trail from Mazama to Browns Farm, Big Valley, Jacks and River Run, and various trails up at Sun Mtn.

Enjoy!

Like a bridge over our favorite waters

ATTENTION:the very popular Tawlks-Foster Suspension Bridge in Mazama will be CLOSED starting June 16th. MVSTA will be re-decking the bridge surface, placing flashing on the tower posts and reinforcing the bridge tower post. This $35,000 project is being performed by MVSTA, your community non-profit trail association and is funded from your purchase of ski trail passes. The bridge will be OPEN on the weekends but closed Monday-Friday June 16th-July 30th.
Stay tuned to this blog for more information regarding the bridge work progress.