As I rode this past week I started to get more appreciation for having a near healthy knee and also had to pinch myself a few times while riding in order to take it all in.
When we lived in Denver, we would just expect to run into lots of people while on the trails. The Front Range trails are amazing but have gotten so much use that they have gotten somewhat obliterated over the years. Unfortunately lots of volume on trails is never a good formula for long term trail sustainability. There were a few areas that were starting to manage their trail use better. It would get to the point where you would often get to a trailhead and there would be no parking...you would have to wait like vulture for someone to leave in order to claim their spot.
Clear Creek Canyon in Jefferson County had an open space called Centennial that was recently created that they have alternated user groups on. Some weekends it is open to hikers and closed to bikers, then the following week the switch gets flipped and bikers get the use and hikers get to sit it out for that particular trail. This is a great concept and really limits the user conflicts while also managing the resources effectively by closing them for part of the year.
While riding around Butte this week I realized that it is the norm that I don't run into people/riders/horses, etc. Not only do we have amazing trails (and lots of them) but we rarely run into others while riding. As a result the trails remain in pretty good shape and the riding experience is a more spiritual one as you feel more connected to what is going on around (no need to worry about pulling over to the side of the trail every couple of minutes to let someone by, etc).
speaking of...time to go get connected/grounded...
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