manawa is changing – big drainage ditch, trailday dec 3,4

This is looking across from armored ramp to where the camelback is – under dirt from drainage ditch.

This is looking north towards levee flood gate. This was that little ditch we went down and up just before the camelback. Future trail will now need to go north to levee to get farther east.

Surveyed with Steve D. a couple weeks ago, and yesterday looked at flagged trails from the kiosk east to No Second Chance. Though a couple sections of old trail are used, most is new. Topography lends itself to a grid system on levees and higher ground around No Second Chance, Fastback, and Tony’s Playground. Inside each grid, a loop can be laid out that follows the terrain and natural TTFs.

Though I was skeptical of rebuilding Manawa, I have come to the conclusion it is worth the risk/effort. The main reason is that most of the work will be cutting trees and brush out of the trail corridor. Very little dirt will need to be moved. Yes it will flood again – its a flood plain. But the grid connectors will always be the first to dryout and ride while the grid interior loops may take days to weeks longer to dry. Bottom line, the trail layout is being designed with flooding in mind. It is a worthy experiment with views of the Missouri River and some amazing devestation left behind from the 2011 flood.

Steve and I plan to get some trail corridor cut in this Fall yet. The weekend of December 3 and 4 are the first traildays. We will watch the weather and announce the work hours later. Tools will be loppers, handsaws, chainsaws, rogue hoes to dig out roots in tread. Please plan to put in a few hours on one or both of these days to begin the re-creation of the Manawa mtb trail.

For fat bikes, the sand dunes along the river bank and some of the old trail west of the parking lot are available to ride now. Time to go bush wacking.