Trails ridden on May 21, 22 , Howe Savage loop, Franklin Heritage Trail.
Howe Savage Loop
The days were rainy, and dust was definitely not an issue, but the trails did not disappoint. There is a main trail sign at the first turn off on Savage but the sign at the next turn is missing as well at the turn off to the Howe/ Savage trail. We ran into debris on the Howe Savage Loop shortly after entering the trail. Winter downed trees were soon taken care of, and we did not run into any snow.
The first KM is flagged for logging with the center section of the proposed logging road headed down the center of our trail. You may recall the time when they logged in the first section, and we had a hard time finding the trial and fixing the wash out at the beginning of the trail. There were no other major issues to Howe Creek connection and the bridge was in great shape. Howe Creek was running full and fast; the sun came out long enough for everyone to warm up and dry off a bit. We headed towards Bluejoint Lookout and there was a washout on Howe close to the Bluejoint Lookout FSR road. We joined up on Bluejoint L/O FSR and when we started down the road a creek had blocked the culvert and the water was washing right down the center of the FSR. The FSR was passable at this time, but extreme caution should be taken if you are travelling this section. We have contacted Interfor and are waiting for their reply. We continued down the trail and went into Eight Mile Rec Site, during the last maintenance run we could not access Eight Mile due to snow. The trail was in good shape and the site was full. The run back to Bluejoint Rec Site was wet and when the hail started, we held up under the trees, dust was not a problem.
Former member Tom B stopped by and mentioned Charity Loop to Renata still had snow and they did not get through. As a side note, we had a visit from some folks that had a large group camped at Knappen and they were headed to Renata through Charity, we will try and reconnect to see if they made it to Renata on this trail.
Franklin Heritage Trail.
The first section to Franklin is in good shape, after Franklin Site, we ran into several downed trees and some washout on the trail, but we did make it through to the end. BCTS has logged the last KM and re-moved the trail signs. BCTS has recognized our trail and Mike D has been working with BCTS to make sure they consider our trails when logging, BCTS comments below.
“The Franklin Heritage Recreation Trail runs through block 7 and is overlapped by the BDA94326Blk7Spur2 road. Before commencing operations in the vicinity, post signs on the trail warning of those operations. Do not skid logs along the road. Repair any damage to the road surface, cut banks, or other structures caused by the cutting or removal of timber. There are 3 ATV club signs at the POC of the BDA94326Blk7Spur2 road. These signs are to be re-established post-harvest if required and the trail is to be left clear of debris during and after harvesting activities.” We did not go down to Glochester and the Burrell, we travelled back trough Franklin Heritage Trail.
