Whats The Big Deal with Baxter Gulch?

Part two of a two-part series: The Future

(We asked freelance writer and 1% for Open Space executive director Molly Murfee to compile a two-part series on the Baxter Gulch issue.)

The final piece of the Baxter Gulch Zipper easement is in place. The Trapper’s Crossing at Wildcat subdivision homeowner’s association has approved the easement, with the understanding Dr. Zipper will be putting ‘No Trespassing’ signs at the southern boundaries of lots 19 and 20. According to attorney Jim Starr, “That was the last open issue, we’ve got the money in from 1% for Open Space and the easement agreement is coming in as we speak from Dr. Zipper.” The closing is scheduled for November 4.

Last week we looked at the history of accessing Whetstone Mountain and the surrounding area through Baxter Gulch. This week we explore where the trail will lie, how it will be built and who will get to use it.

The Crested Butte Town Council of 2010. The Town Council of 2005. The Crested Butte Land Trust, Gunnison County Trails Commission, Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, Elk Mountain Hikers Club. Landowners Doug Kroft, Skip Smith and Jeffrey Zipper. The Hidden Mine Ranch, Whetstone Mine Ranch and Trapper’s Crossing. Attorney Jim Starr. 1% for Open Space.
The “short list” for entities involved in putting the final stamp on a proposed Baxter Gulch Trail is not that short. With a history that spans 30 years, and an intense push in the last decade, Baxter Gulch has become one of the most talked about drainages of the year. Now, with the end hopefully in sight, the public wants to know the specifics of the trail that has created such a stir. Without a doubt, it has taken a myriad of entities to make this trail—and renewed access to Whetstone Mountain—a reality. Talk about a group project.
“It’s been a long time coming,” sighs Town Council member Reed Betz, “A lot of people in the community have been working to regain access to Baxter Gulch for years. Now, hopefully, their persistence has paid off and we can look forward to building a trail that will ultimately lead us into wide open spaces right from town.”

What the proposed trail is and where it will get you
Baxter Gulch is the steep incut between the north flank of Whetstone and the south flank of Gibson Ridge. This half-mile easement is part of the proposed four-mile Baxter Gulch Trail. The trail will leave from near the County Shops on Highway 135, where a campground is itemized in the Town of Crested Butte’s Park and Recreation 2010 Master Plan. From there it will climb up through Avalanche Acres, wrap around the toe of Gibson Ridge, cross the creek in Baxter Gulch, and ascend on the south side of the creek until it joins with Forest Service Trail #565. Connections can then be made with the unmaintained climber’s trail that summits the peak of Whetstone Mountain, the Carbon Creek Trail (and thus the Ohio Creek area), and the Para Mi Para Ti Trail which ultimately leads into the Green Lake trail system.
As the Baxter Gulch Trail, Para Mi Para Ti and the Green Lake trail system lie outside of the proposed Hidden Gems Wilderness Area boundaries, they will not be impacted should the Hidden Gems proposal be approved. However, the Baxter Gulch Trail does stand to be a predominant town access point to the 16,060 acres of proposed official wilderness if it is approved.
The alignment of the trail through lot 19 in the Trapper’s Crossing at Wildcat subdivision, which 1% for Open Space recently decided to fund, allows the trail to pass through lot 18 and continue along the natural contour of the hillside into lot 19. From there it crosses the creek at a more gentle point where it rises to meet the contour. Only seven switchbacks will be needed for this trail; it will cost only $5 per linear foot to build (as opposed to $9.25 for the lot 18 alignment), be less susceptible to erosion, need less future maintenance and be less visible from the road.
Dana Lambert of Arrowhead Trails, a trail consulting and building firm in Salida, rates the alignment on lot 19 as “low risk” for future maintenance and an overall more environmentally sustainable trail. The trail alignment on lot 19 allows for a multi-use trail, meaning it is a more feasible trail for mountain bikers and equestrians and would be more appealing to a greater variety of user groups and abilities.
The entirety of the Baxter Gulch Trail will therefore be constructed as a non-motorized, multi-use single-track trail. Because of severe avalanche danger on the conservation and recreation easement sections of the trail, it will be open May through October. Due to landowner requests throughout all of the easements, it will be a daylight use trail as well.
“As a member of Gunnison County Trail’s Commission, the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association and a participant of the 1% program, with my real job at Donita’s Cantina, I have been immersed in the Baxter Gulch easement purchase,” says Kay Peterson-Cook. “I believe the trail users of Gunnison County will benefit greatly by having access into the Whetstone area. … The Trail’s Commission supports the idea of ‘most trails for the most users.’ The purchase of the Zipper easement allows for an improved alignment, thus a more friendly route for all non-motorized users. CBMBA viewed this purchase as the opportunity that was needed to make this trail a reality for cycling. CBMBA looks forward to helping with the trail building and maintenance. Donita’s Cantina sees the value that recreation is for our local economy. With winter recreation declining we believe that increased summer trail opportunities equates to increased summer tourism. I look forward to keeping Crested Butte a renowned destination for visitors and an exciting place to live with the addition of this renewed corridor.”

Evolution of a project
Local trail expert Don Cook preliminarily marked a trail for the town in 2006 across the Kroft and Smith properties. Upon surveying where the trail would need to drop dramatically to Baxter Gulch from lot 18, he became concerned about whether such a trail was practical in that particular location. At that point, pursuing a trail across lot 19 became a priority.
The Crested Butte Land Trust tried for years to get in touch with the owner of lot 19 to add to the existing easements, with no success. Jim Starr, then as a member of the Land Trust board, was finally able to make contact with the owner’s representative, and while conversations spanned six years, this owner was not interested in donating the property or receiving tax credits for a donation. Starr, as the attorney for the proposed Foothills Annexation, worked to have the trail easement become a part of the fulfillment of the developer’s open space obligations from the town. Successful negotiations with the landowner only began to take place approximately a year and a half ago when purchasing the easement became an option.
When the Foothills Annexation fell through, Starr then contacted the 1% for Open Space program for funding. He submitted an informal proposal in April, and a formal proposal for the project in June of this year.
The landowner, Dr. Jeffrey Zipper, originally asked the Foothills Annexation for $100,000 for the trail. When the proposal came to the 1% for Open Space program, the price had been dropped to $65,000. Starr further negotiated the price to $50,000. 1% for Open Space contracted an appraisal of the recreation easement, which came to $52,000. 1% for Open Space is being asked to supply $45,000 of this price, plus $1,000 in closing costs. The law firm of Starr and Associates will donate $5,000 toward the project.
Over the course of the summer as negotiations about the project have taken place, several user groups weighed in on the value of purchasing an easement on lot 19. 1% for Open Space received letters of support from the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, Elk Mountain Hikers Club and Arrowhead Trails. Purchasing the trail easement across lot 19 also received a unanimous vote of support from the Gunnison County Trails Commission as well as a unanimous decision by the Town of Crested Butte Town Council to hold the easement once in place.

Forest Service Trail #565
The Baxter Gulch Trail will ultimately meet Forest Service property and connect with Forest Service Trail #565, which they have identified as a priority to reestablish in their recently solidified USFS Travel Management Plan. The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association has been working closely with the Forest Service on changing the current designation of Trail #565 as a non-mechanized trail to one that allows for mountain bike use.
In a letter to CBMBA, Sherry Hazelhurst, Deputy Forest Supervisor, states, “From our discussions we now understand that the public has access to National Forest System lands and (Trail # 565) across several private parcels via easements recently established and held by the town of Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Land Trust. Public use allowed on these easements is for hikers, horseback riders and bicyclists, but does not include motorized access. Based on this new information we believe reconsideration of the decision for (Trail #565) is warranted. … We agree that doing so would make the Forest Service travel designations for that specific segment of trail on NFS lands consistent with the public’s access opportunities granted by easement on the private land portions of the Baxter Gulch Trail.”

What now?
Deciding on the easement is the first step to finalizing the Baxter Gulch Trail. The town of Crested Butte holds the fiscal and organizational responsibility to build the trail. They will also hold the easement on the lot 19 parcel to stay congruent with their holding of the other contributing easements.
Lambert estimates the full four-mile trail from the trailhead to the Forest Service boundary will cost approximately $140,000 to build, without volunteer effort. Timing will depend on when the money is available to be raised for the project. The Baxter Gulch Trail will need to be balanced with other town projects in budgetary considerations. Trail easements do exist in perpetuity, so when the town is ready and able to construct the trail, the easements will be there.
“This has been an on-going project since the early 1990s,” says Crested Butte town planner John Hess. “In 2005 it picked up steam when Doug and Gina Kroft donated the first trail easement … The next big step will be to find the money, or the volunteer time, to build the trail.”
 Looking at town priorities, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, completed in March 2010, identifies new trails and greenways as one of the top four development needs of the community, based on an analysis of community values begun in July of 2009. Ninety-five percent of the Crested Butte residents report using trails and the Crested Butte Parks and Recreation Department is using this as a guiding factor in its development of non-traditional sports.
“Currently funding for the Baxter Gulch Trail is proposed in the town’s five-year capital budget,” explains parks and recreation director Jake Jones. “The capital budget is based solely on the real estate transfer tax, which has not performed well in the past few years. Like everyone else in the nation, the town is hoping for a rebound in real estate sales, which will allow us to continue with capital projects like the Baxter Gulch Trail. I anticipate the trail being ultimately funded through a collaboration of grants, public funds and private donations. The use of volunteers will be invaluable to the project’s success. The easement across lot 19 will provide a much improved trail opportunity for the public.”
“In our opinion, funds collected from 1% for Open Space are well distributed to permanently protect the aesthetics of our valley,” says Robin Yost, 1% for Open Space participant with The Sunflower Deli. “The Sunflower has been particularly eager to be participating during this Baxter Gulch process. Securing open space and creating access is pretty much the ultimate allocation of open space funds. We couldn’t be happier with the proposed amenities that will be available to us as locals and as well to our visitors. Having biking, hiking and maybe even camping access right from town is a tremendous offering. This project is certainly an asset to the town and to our business. We feel that we are really getting significant return on 1% funds designated for the Baxter Gulch project!”
“Leading the effort to complete the trail has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” says Jim Starr, “Many have helped make it happen—Gunnison County, the Crested Butte Town Council, Crested Butte Land Trust, 1% for Open Space, and of course, the participating landowners. This is another clear example of how working together with others, we can accomplish even the most difficult challenges for the public good.”
The purchase of the easement is set to close November 4, at which time a new future will begin with that area of land just south of Crested Butte.