The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Next steps depend on funding
By Alissa Johnson
Last week, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced that 16 uncompleted trail projects across the state would be highlighted in his new initiative, “16 in 2016.” The initiative is part of a broader goal to make sure that all Coloradans live within 10 miles of a park, trail, or green space, and a local trail in the works between Crested Butte and Carbondale made the list.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, “The projects represent the state’s most important trail gaps, missing trail segments and unbuilt trails.”
The initiative does not set aside new state dollars for the projects, but Hickenlooper will create an interagency council to promote coordination across state government to promote the trail projects.
Pieces of the trail from Crested Butte to Carbondale exist in both Gunnison and Pitkin counties, but a lot of work remains to determine exactly where the trail will go and how to build it. Locally, members of the Gunnison County Trails Commission hope the recognition will bring visibility to their efforts to complete the Gunnison County portion of the trail, perhaps making it easier to secure future funding.
“What I think we’re going to do is start exploring what’s out there. What does it mean to be on this list?” said Kay Peterson Cook, who chairs the project for the trails commission. “It’s going to give us some kind of clout, but what does that kind of clout mean? Can we get another grant?”
Three years ago, Great Outdoors Colorado granted around $100,000 to complete a bridge over Anthracite Creek—an important piece of the puzzle. “The Forest Service said that if we didn’t put a bridge over the creek, we could not proceed with the trail farther to the east,” Peterson Cook said.
Given the snow load at that particular location, the bridge had to be a pretty significant structure, and it is. The work was completed last year, and with the help of kids from the Gunnison Nordic program, the Trails Commission was also able to lay out a section of new trail.
Currently, the Crested Butte to Carbondale trail starts three and a half miles outside of town on Kebler Pass Road. It extends from there to the other side of Kebler Pass and the new bridge over Anthracite Creek. Completing the trail will require—as it already has—piecing things together.
The trail would ultimately move through Forest Service lands and pass private land, not to mention navigate challenging terrain. The commission has to determine what’s possible and then seek approvals. And while it’s one thing to look at aerial photos, it’s another to see what’s on the ground.
Member Joellen Fonken says the Trails Commission has put in its fair share of time on the ground, exploring where a trail might go. One obvious next step is to take the trail to Horse Ranch Park, and that means navigating the dike.
“We’ve walked around the dike, above the dike, under the dike … and found some alignments, but we have not gone over them with the Forest Service,” Fonken said.
Another obstacle comes just past the new bridge, where Peterson Cook says there’s a ravine that looks manageable in aerial photos. In reality, it’s large enough to require another, more expensive bridge or rerouting the trail onto Kebler Pass Road to get around it.
There are ways to make the trail work, but it can admittedly be slow going. Visibility and funding for the project would make it easier on the Trails Commission and the Forest Service, which Peterson Cook points out is also stretched thin.
“We’re volunteers trying to piece it all together. If we could do this in January when it’s slow, it would be great, but we have to get on the ground and see what there is,” she said.
Peterson Cook believes that the section of trail connecting to the town of Crested Butte could be another good one to tackle next. She sees some real possibilities, pending permissions from land managers.
Priorities for the year will be set at the Trail Commission’s next meeting, and while the Carbondale to Crested Butte trail has already been a priority, Fonken expects it to rise to the top of the list, given the governor’s spotlight.
Whatever the impact of that recognition, the goal and the value of the trail is clear to Peterson Cook: an intact route between Crested Butte and Carbondale, with some parts that are single track and offer a backcountry experience and some sections that are wide, offering trail in a non-motorized corridor. With the exception of one spot called the Muncie Creek Trail, Cook says it’s a non-motorized corridor. As she said, “A lot of people are seeking out non-motorized trails.”
