NMMBA: Midland City Forest

[ne14muddin]

The trails were in really nice shape. Some mud in some spots on the south loop but nothing major. Gnu loop was pretty dry. Still a lot of leaves down on both trails making it hard to see in some spots. Over all it was a great day to ride! Even after I blew out my front tube.

[dirtpo]

The big wind on the night of Dec 27 blew down an incredible number of branches and trees. I've walked about 3 miles of the trail and picked up hundreds of branches, but there are at least 10 down trees, some huge, that need a saw just in that part of the trail . Meet Sat, Jan 3, 1:00 PM to clean up the 2-track for winter xc skiing (free hot chocolate in the Chalet ) and we'll work on the singletrack a little at a time until spring. Snowshoeing on the singletrack is encouraged, but please pick up sticks at you go! Log all your hours for MMBA awards. Jim

[timarr]

Any feedback out there on current trail conditions? Thinking about a saturday afternoon ride.

[Snowybunting]

Rode this trail for the first time on 7-4-09. My family vacations in Farwell, so it was a short ride to the trailhead. It was marked pretty well, but I still got turned around on Frogs Holler and ended up on a 2-track. Somehow found my way back to the South, and rode it back to the North. There was some mud in low lying areas, but nothing too bad, although I did almost slide into the river at one point while trying to navigate a turn in the mud. Overall a really fun and cool set of trails.

[robvas]

Has anyone ventured out there yet this spring?

[Sixty-Six]

I rode the outer parts (including frog holler) yesterday (4/11)... trail was clear and in good shape. couple of muddy pockets, but overall in great shape. Can't say on the interior parts.

[TEAMBAMF]

im going out there for the first time within the next few days, is there anything i should be aware of? advice about the trail?

[Sixty-Six]

some of the rooty (rutty?) parts in the gnu loop can make it more technical in that area. just be aware and know that on occasion after a turn there be two trees your bars barely squeeze through. and on the ramp in the northern loop over the tree... don't lose momentum at the top.... it's not a comfortable drop if you stop. have fun.. i really enjoy this trail.

[TEAMBAMF]

I went out today, herd it was going to rain later. I did all the trails, i think in total about 12 miles. It was super technical, reminds me a bit of my trail in Canton, Maybury. I think next time ill wear pants though, because i saw 2 snakes! thats more than ive ever seen on any other trail! lol, I also came around a corner and a huge turkey took flight right in front of me.
Trail seems pretty good right now though, its really soft due to all the pine kneedles, and there was one part of the trail that was really wet still, but i cant remember what part of the trail it was on, i know there was alot of plank runs in that area though.

[TEAMBAMF]

Since it was sooo nice today, i decided to ride to the MCF and do just the North trail. Trail was in perfect condition! I saw 2 snakes again today!!!

[PieterHemmo]

Rode MCF yesterday for the first time. Home trails are Ft Custer and Marshall. It was pretty fun, went slow because I didn't know the trail. Nice set up. I will ride it again if I am in the area. Its a nice easy trail set up, I can see getting some good speed going if you know the trail.

[2WheeledWarrior]

Guys, I just rode the Forest and it rocked! The entire trail, I thought, was very well laid out and had great flow. Y'all maximized the terrain for all it's worth and that's hard to do! i could follow the maps, too.
However, there are a lot of "bandit" spurs/trails and I got off course a couple of times due to them. Also, there is a signpost/mappost on the southern end of the North Loop I think that the post had "20" posted on it, but no such marker on the map. It confused me.
Thanks to the British guy who helped me before smoking me on the trails, he was moving fast!

[brokenbones]

Trail was 96% dry, 100% fun today.

[c0nsumer]

Interesting trail. Stopped here on the way home from Big M / NCT / Arcadia and had fun. It's an interesting trail, and you all really used the space available. It'll be more fun once it's dried out more, but I still enjoyed it. Just had to be careful / walk a few of the wet spots. Thankfully I ran into someone named Mark M. who showed me around a bit and helped me fet a feel for the trail.

I thought a couple places were really sketchy, though; particularly the approach to the East Bridge and some of the armored climbs in the North Loop. The armored climbs in particular don't seem to be taking care of the erosion problem and are themselves seeming to become more of an obstacle. Also, I think it'd be nice to have a little warning / advisory before the bigger stunts, particularly the short armored downhill / concrete ledge drop-off in what I think was either the Gnu loop or Frog Hollow. Maybe just some logs choking the trail off before this to slow riders.

Also, what's up with the (pet?) graveyard out in the middle of the trail on (I believe) Frog Hollow?

[muttonmark]

Glad to be of service, Steve. Hope you enjoyed the trails here. Like I said while we were on the trail, there is not much by way of steep steady climbs, but a pretty good system for someone new, like me, to develop some riding skills.