Kochevar open space trail plan moving into high gear

Calling all trail fairies…

Like the downhill on many Crested Butte-area mountain bike trails, the process to get a good, useable trail system on the Kochevar open space parcel is moving fast and smooth, but contains a few bumps.

If all goes as planned, several miles of new trail will be laid out and being ridden and hiked sometime this summer. The property is located just north of Crested Butte on Slate River Road. Representatives of nine local user groups came to the Crested Butte Town Council meeting on Monday and gave an update on the project.
Led by councilmember Jim Schmidt, who explained the potential of the property, representatives of mountain biking, hiking, open space, and Nordic skiing all were optimistic about the plan, which will have trail builders working on the ground as early as next month.
“This has been an ambitious project,” explained Schmidt. “We all want it to be a useable trail as quickly as possible.”
The plan calls for the trail to actually connect with the Mt. Crested Butte Recreation Path off of Gothic Road. Users would then be allowed to access the Kochevar parcel through the Saddle Ridge development that sits midway between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte. From the top of that development, the trail would head up into the aspen groves of the Kochevar property. The trail would then follow an easement through the Smith Hill Ranches and connect to the Smith Hill Road. Eventually a spur would allow the trail to end up at the Kikel property at the Slate River Valley winter trailhead.
One key component of the equation is that any trail building that is started on the Smith Hill Ranch easement must be completed in one building season. Given that contingency, that part of the trail is the priority of the trail builders this summer.
Kay Peterson-Cook of the Gunnison County Trails Commission said the group hopes to begin the trail building on Saturday, May 21 with the section through Saddle Ridge. “We need that first section to open up the access to the Kochevar property,” she said. “We hope we can get that done in a morning from, say, [9 a.m. to 1 p.m.] We are looking forward to being part of this and building the trail. One thing to emphasize is that there will be no parking at Saddle Ridge for people who want to use the trail.”
This brought up one of the bumps. “It becomes a de-facto non-hiking trail with no parking in Saddle Ridge,” pointed out resident Skip Berkshire. “Is someone looking at the parking issue to allow some access to the trail in the future?”
“We have talked about it and tried to think of other places,” responded Peterson.
“That’s all I’m asking,” said Berkshire. “I understand no parking in Saddle Ridge, but it is a concern. Eventually people will do what people do. I just want the issue on the radar.”
“There’s been talk about allowing parking at the Kikel property in the future,” said Schmidt.
“And people have tossed around the idea of allowing a bike rack at the access so people could ride their townies out there and hike the trail,” added 1% for Open Space executive director Molly Murfee.
“The Land Trust would need public input before any decision could be made about parking near the Kikel parcel,” added Crested Butte Land Trust director Ann Johnston.
“We think this is a great amenity to town,” said Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association board member Dave Ochs. “CBMBA is very excited.”
To that end, Ochs said the organization has set aside June 4, which is National Trails Day, to work on the trail. “We actually have [June 4-5] set aside to bust out as much as we can,” he said. “And if we need it, we’ve already scheduled June 15 for an afternoon work day. We understand that Smith Hill section that has to be done in one season, so we are committed to this being a priority.”
Ochs said the area on Smith Hill Ranches will involve a lot of switchbacks. Last year, the group organized the building of the Budd Trail and that drew 160 people. “I think we can get that many again and we can accomplish a lot with that many people. We’ll get it done.”
Ochs brought up another bump in the process. And that was making sure people didn’t use the trail until it was done. “There are private property issues up there and we want everyone to respect that,” he said, “but people may go use a partially completed trail and try to find a way down and trespass without even knowing it. Education is huge. It’s not useable until it’s done. We’ll need signage even when it is done.”
“From a risk management perspective, we don’t want the public on a partially developed trail,” added Crested Butte town manager Susan Parker.
“And frankly, signage could be improved on a lot of our trails around here,” said Ochs. “It is important to have good signage on Kochevar and Smith Hill.”
“When it is done, this will be an intermediate biking trail with terrific views,” said Schmidt. “One of the best parts is that, given the orientation, it should melt out fast in the spring.”
Councilperson Reed Betz wanted to make sure every effort was being made to have the trail be handicapped accessible. Adaptive Sports director Chris Hensley said he would be asking if at least some of the trail could be used by hand-bikes.
Murfee said the nine stakeholder groups that have been involved with planning want to keep the public energized with the project. A party will be held May 18 at the Mountain Heritage Museum to explain the project and get people excited about helping. “This is a good opportunity for all the groups to get their word out and educate the general public,” Murfee said.
Schmidt said he would ask the Crested Butte Youth Council to also help with the project. “This is what we hope to do this summer,” he said. “It is indeed pretty ambitious. If someone thinks this is a dumb idea, let us know now. And then we need everyone in the community to become a trail fairy and help build this thing. It doesn’t happen on its own.”