Trail Connections
The Quarterly
Newsletter Published by the Linn County Trails Association
By
Jim Wing,
LCTA
President
LCTA is looking for a few good men, and
we’re also looking for a few good women.
There will be some board openings in November and we are always trying
to find more people who want to get involved in the nuts and bolts of our
organization. Maybe you are thinking
about becoming involved in an organization that serves the community. If this is something you are considering,
then maybe LCTA has something to offer you.
Being on the board of a volunteer organization is always an experience, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. LCTA has been in existence for over 10 years, and I feel, that as far as volunteer organizations are concerned, we do a pretty fair job. We do have a great deal of continuity, and for those people who have been on the board a long time, the organization has provided them with something good.
Being on the board of this group requires patience and determination. Sometimes it’s very frustrating. Set-backs and slow progress begin to wear thin. However, when you begin to look at the big picture, it seems worthwhile. The paved Cedar River Trail which may be completed from Boyson Road to Highway 30 this coming year would never have been started without our organization providing the push and local match money. The Grant Wood Trail we are developing will be a tremendous asset to the community. The comprehensive metropolitan trail network we are promoting will be a wonderful amenity.
There are opportunities to work in fund raising, setting up events and activities, membership, trail maintenance, data bases, publicity and so on. The vitality level of any organization is enhanced by new blood that brings fresh ideas and enthusiasm.
If you are interested, please give me a call at 363-1093. I can give you a clearer idea of how it all works, but there will be no pressure on you to commit. We only want persons on the board who decide for themselves that this is what they want. Our board is a good group with nice people. I hope a few of you will be interested in becoming a part of our ongoing project.
By
Dean Barnum
Some time ago Alliant Energy contracted with Trees Forever to front a tree cutting project on areas of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail where their power lines run along side the trail. The areas include Boyson Road to Lafayette and Center Point to Urbana. There have been two well-attended public information meetings.
On July 26, 2001, the Linn County Conservation Board (LCCB) held their promised trail ride to clarify the cutting procedure and priorities. About fifteen people attended, including some LCCB staff, one LCCB board member, one Alliant employee, and one Trees Forever employee. LCTA President, Jim Wing, and project committee members Dean Barnum and Dave Maresh represented LCTA.
The trail ride opened with a review at the LCCB headquarters. The LCCB overviewed the four types of areas that were being considered for change. All of these areas involve trees on the power line side of the trail only. 61% is grass with mixed thickets. 29% is complete canopy area. 9% is brush with random trees. 1% is oak savanna.
Plans and priorities presented at the review include:
Remove all elm and cherry trees and all dead
trees on the power line side of the trail; and selectively replace them with
bare root, decent-sized, high quality trees.
Maintain new tree plantings for several years or until it is known that they will survive on their own.
Remove trees that lean toward the power lines.
Leave the oak savanna. This area is south of County Home Road.
Plant prairie in open areas.
The terrain of the selected areas will dictate how each is replanted.
Two county vans were used for the tour. We entered the trail at Lafayette, went south and left the trail at County Home Road. The areas between Center Point and Urbana and between County Home Road and Boyson Road were not included. There were numerous stops along the way with explanations of what will take place in that area. A video was made of the tour by the LCTA, which is available for viewing.
Most of the tree cutting will take place this next winter. The trees to be cut will be marked in advance. Planting will start next spring. Allianta does seem to want to work with the county and LCTA to create trail conditions we all can live with.
The next, and last, public information meeting will be held at 6:30 PM, Monday, September 10, at the Hiawatha Community Center. All LCTA members are urged to attend.
August 20, 2001
By Keith Fletcher
It has been a
very busy and productive season out on the GWT since our last report, which was
written in April. This update will be
an account of the next four months of trail development. It is also intended to give some recognition
to the many LCTA members and various outside organizations whose efforts and
resources have given a big boost to the development of the trail during this
period, as their behind-the-scenes efforts might otherwise go unrecognized.
Following
up where we left off last fall and referring to the map, we had a trail
clearing session on April 28 to clear off the rest of segment D as well as
clearing segment E and the portion of segment F between Paralta Road and the
missing bridge. The volunteers involved in this session were Gordy Gott, Nancy
Wickersham, Ed Hayek, Gary Darland, Jim Wing, Brice Antonjenson, Chuck Grado
and son Keller, Plenny Bates, Sheila and Marty Ralston, and Jim and Denise
Houlihan.
We had been
wanting for some time to do some grading near the junction of segments C and
D. Several berms across the trail made
access difficult. Fortunately we were
able to get volunteer help from Craig Byers and Waldo Morris, who are
developers of some upscale home sites on the south side of Secrist Road. Craig brought one of his bulldozers across
the road and leveled all of the berms for us.
As a result, we are now able for the first time to run mowing equipment
all the way from Creekside Road to the bridge site.
All of this
activity was completed just in time for a trail walk on May 19 from Creekside
Road to the bridge. We were fortunate
to have good weather for the trail walk and this gave a lot of people their
first opportunity to explore this part of the trail, which is very scenic.
Referring now to
segment G on the map, our 16-foot easement across the north edge of this
segment was surveyed this spring and then heavy equipment was brought in to
clear and grade this quarter-mile-long easement strip. A fence was then installed to divide our
easement from the rest of the right of way.
Continuing west from segment G, the next quarter mile, which is
full-width right of way, was also graded all the way to the bridge site. This was previously a mass of thorny bushes,
which made it virtually unwalkable in summer months.
This overall
strip, totaling a half mile, requires fairly frequent mowing. Again, we have
received some generous volunteer help:
Alan Carstensen, an LCTA member who lives in that area, has been mowing
that half mile for us.
Sets of twelve
and three foot farm gates were installed by Wes Portz at trail entry points on
both sides of Paralta Road and at Springville Road. The three-foot gates allow access by trail users while the
adjacent twelve-foot gates allow access when needed by mowers and other service
vehicles. The really big question that
we have been confronted with this year, of course, is how to replace the
missing bridge north of Paralta Road.
To get help with this problem, we contacted Verne Haaland who willingly
volunteered his services. Verne is a
semi-retired consulting engineer who has had extensive experience with bridges.
While discussing
various bridge alternatives with Verne, Wes Portz came up with the idea of
using a railroad flat car for a bridge.
This idea seemed worth pursuing.
Some old flat cars were known to be stored in a farm field east of
Clarence. Some had been damaged in a
wreck but Jim Wing and Wes were able to find one that looked OK for our
purposes and that was available for purchase.
Another trip to
Clarence was needed to get structural details of the underside of the flat car
for Verne's information and analysis.
Jim got this information for Verne by wriggling around in the weeds
under the flat car on his back for at least a half hour while calling out
measurements for Verne to write down.
This is probably not a normal part of the job description for LCTA
presidents! Anyway, this allowed Verne
to make a drawing of the flat car to get some assurance about the load
capabilities of the flat car structure.
Separate
discussions were then held with Dan Biechler of the Linn County Conservation
Board, Steve Gannon who is county engineer and Mark Trumbauer of the county
planning and zoning department. This
allowed us to acquaint them with our plans since we still anticipate that Linn
County may some day take over the GWT and we did not want to create a bridge
that would be unacceptable to them if at all possible. Fortunately we got nothing but favorable
responses from the various county officials that we met with. Prior to all of
these meetings, several work sessions had been held at the bridge site to clear
the way for the future bridge. This
included removing a large willow tree next to the center pier and digging
layers of soil off the top of the bridge abutments. Because of the extreme heat, we typically started about 7 AM and
quit two or three hours later. Dean
Barnum, Roger Flint, Gordy Gott, Gary Darland, and Dave Oliver and his
son-in-law, Bill Whittaker, were all actively involved in one or more of these
work sessions.
After having met
with all the various county officials and having received concurrence with our
plans, we still had the problem of moving the flat car from Clarence to our
bridge site. This time it was Duane
Coonrod of Coonrod Crane Company who was our Good Samaritan volunteer and
agreed to move the flat car for us and then later place it in position over the
creek on top of the abutments of the old bridge.
On Thursday,
August 9, we showed Duane the bridge site and also the flat car and he assured
us that he could do the job. Much to
our surprise, he called late the next day and said he had equipment and manning
available to move the flat car to the bridge site by noon on Saturday! We weren't quite ready but told him to go
ahead. There were six large stacks of
tree branches on the right-of-way that would have to be moved to make way for
moving the flat car in and setting it down on the ground at the bridge
site. With some last minute volunteer
help from Dick's Tree Service on Saturday morning, all the brush piles were
cleared out and hauled away about an hour before the flat car arrived! The flat car is 89 feet long, which
will easily span the 70-foot distance between the bridge abutments.
A lot of the
work related to the bridge is really just starting now that we have the flat
car setting on the ground at the bridge site.
Among the items to be resolved are such things as design and
installation of suitable railings, choice of a wood or asphalt deck, putting a
concrete cap on one of the abutments and various other items. We obviously want to do as much work on the
flat car as possible while it is still accessible and not hanging out over the
creek but, on the other hand, we would like to get the flat car lifted into
place yet this fall.
We offer our sincere thanks to the many volunteers both
inside and outside our organization who have given real meaning to the motto on
the back of some of the LCTA T-shirts:
Thanks to
Volunteers !
Special thanks to
Duane Coonrod and his family company for the movement of the flatcar bridge
from Clarence, Iowa, to the site of the missing bridge. Later, after preparations are completed,
they will drop the car/bridge into place.
Dick Reisner didn’t
have much warning when Keith Fletcher told him that Duane Coonrod was on his
way to the missing bridge site with a flatcar.
There were six large piles of brush blocking the right-of-way. Dick changed his plans and went out and
picked up the brush. Dick also helped
out in 1999 by picking up many truckloads of brush from the first section of
the Grand Wood Trail to be cleared.
Thanks, Dick!
Verne Haaland, Consulting Engineer, has graciously
volunteered his expertise to help LCTA with the missing bridge dilemma. Verne has extensive experience with bridges
and his guidance will assure that our bridge is installed in a professional
manner.
Government
Relations/Trail Development Committee Report
By
Ron McGraw
TRAILS STATUS
- AUGUST 2001
This report on the status of trails in
Linn County contains general information on the Cedar River Trail construction,
the Cemar Trail, the West Loop and the project to improve trail safety and
courtesy. More details are in the trails status chart on pages 6-7 of this
newsletter.
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL
Construction is nearing
completion on that part of the CEDAR RIVER TRAIL north to 42nd
Street from the parking area at McCloud Place. With good weather it should be
opened for use by the end of August, but there will be the usual work needed
for seeding and shoulders. There have been further changes in the route going
north of 42nd Street and the city is trying to get the work let this
fall. The details of this route were on the Internet recently. The good news is
that it will not be necessary for trail users to cross the Interstate on/off
ramps at Center Point Road. There will be a parking lot south of Collins Road.
Hiawatha has submitted a plan to
IDOT, which will run the trail along Center Point Road. After crossing Blairs
Ferry Road at the main crossing light the trail will be on the west side up to
the City Hall and then on the east side until it reaches the Cedar Valley
Nature Trail.
Work has started on the
remainder of the Cedar Lake Loop trail. Paving along the south side of the lake
was completed last fall so that this work will complete the loop. Parking is
available off Shaver Road.
The parking lot at the south end
of the CRT at Tait Cummins Park is completed and open for use.
We are close to having all the
easements for the Cedar River Trail going south from Tait Cummins Park. New
design and IDOT approvals are required for the section down to Hwy. 30. south
of Highway 30 the old design can still be used. Because of delays and route
changes we need to find more money for this section and the County part of the
trail where it connects with the Hoover Trail. An application for funding the
remainder of the trail to the Hoover trailhead was made to IDOT.
CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY
__________________________2001_____________________
CEDAR LAKE LOOP
COMPLETION
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL TO
42nd ST
__________________________2002_____________________
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL TO
BLAIRS FERRY ROAD
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL-
HIAWATHA AND THE COUNTY CONNECTION TO
THE CVNT.
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL TO
SOUTH OF HWY 30
___________________________2003____________________
CEDAR RIVER TRAIL,
SEGMENT G CONNECTING TO THE HOOVER
TRAIL
___________________________2004____________________
___________________________2005____________________
___________________________2006____________________
WEST BYPASS TRAIL??
A FIVE YEAR PLAN
The favorite candidates,
based upon an informal poll, for filling in the gaps in 2003, 2004, and 2005
are the following:
CEMAR TRAIL- CRT to the Boyson trail along the Arthur
school corridor and also to Squaw Creek
SAC FOX EXTENSION TO THE CRT- This would be better if
also connected with the Cemar Trail
DRY CREEK- Boyson Trail to the CVNT. Again, better if
the Cemar Trail was there.
SEMINOLE VALLEY- From the CRT to Mohawk park to
Seminole Valley Park and Xavier school
Though not one of the candidates
listed from Internet responses, the WEST RIVER TRAIL would be one of the
easiest to build and would offer a series of loops down town.
Cedar Rapids will start working
this fall on the next plan. From the above listing we see that there is a need
to get Marion also putting together a five-year plan, or several of the above
can not get built.
by Ed Hayek
The George S. Mickelson Trail is
a 114-mile trail that follows the historic Deadwood to Edgemont Burlington
Northern rail line. This very scenic
trail passes right through the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you are looking
for beautiful pine forests, trestles (110 of them), rushing streams, tunnels
(four of them) or granite formations, this trail has them in abundance. As I write about this trail, Marlene and I
are packing to depart for a second visit two days from now. Our first exposure to this outstanding trail
was in the summer of 2000. We were able
to sample several sections by riding segments out and back. I was able to see well over one half of the
trail riding about 160 miles on that first visit. Now I want to see the rest of it.
The Mickelson Trail is somewhat
more rugged than the Cedar Valley Trail.
In some sections the rock on the surface is larger and quite loose. Although the grade does not exceed four
percent, there are sections that run uphill for fifteen miles before cresting
and starting back down. We use
all-terrain bicycles. We know cyclists
that have done the trail on road bicycles but in general they were not that
comfortable with the trail surface.
User fees are $2/day or you can purchase a $10 annual pass. There are
thirteen Trailhead locations that range from parking only, in the middle of
nowhere, to towns with a full range of services. Bring plenty of water; it is dry out there.
Our first segment was from
Custer to Pringle, which is 12.5 miles one way. This section slopes downward gently on the way to Pringle. About one half of the ride is completely away
from the highways and cuts through forests, rock outcroppings and along
streams. It is a very pretty ride and
quite gentle, which makes for a good introduction. Full services are available at Custer but there isn’t much in
Pringle.
Our second segment was from
Custer to Hill City. This section is
about 15 miles one way and rises more steeply out of Custer. Elevation gain is about 600 feet in five
miles before dropping almost 800 feet to arrive in Hill City. This section passes right by the Crazy Horse
Monument—a nice stop.
I did a third segment of about
20 miles each way on a section between Pringle and Edgemont. This southern section encompasses more open
range. One unique feature of this trail
is that it does pass through open range on private land, which means opening
and closing many gates and at times moving through herds of cattle. This can be quite unnerving if you are out
alone as I was. Two unusual features on
this section were the passing along the rim of a box canyon and riding along a
high narrow trail with steep embankments on both sides. A bike shop owner in Rapid City told me the
steep part was originally a tall trestle and had been filled with dirt because
it was so unstable. The story goes that
trains would stop on one side of the trestle and the engineer would walk across
the trestle to the other side. When he
was across, the brakeman would start the engine slowly and jump off. When the train cleared the other side the
engineer would hop on and stop it to wait for the other crewmembers to walk
across the trestle.
Our fourth segment was between Hill City and Mystic. This 15.5-mile segment has two tunnels and
some very high trestles—very scenic and the only time you see a road is from a
trestle far above or near a trailhead.
We particularly enjoyed this section because we were staying at a B
& B just outside of Hill City with direct access to the trail. I also repeated this on my own one evening
just before dark. On my way back a
large herd of cattle was gathered at a gate that I had to pass through. As it was getting dark I got progressively
more aggressive about getting them away from the gate. I succeeded in moving all but one very large
cow. Only then did I realize this one
wasn’t a cow. Luckily, “He” finally
moved and I was able to proceed home.
The last part we sampled was clearly the prettiest part
yet. This segment runs from Mystic to
Dumont—a distance of 17 miles each way.
There is 1200 feet of elevation gain, which makes for quite a workout. I dropped Marlene off at the high point so
she could ride one way downhill. Then I
drove to the end point and rode up to meet her and proceed on to the high
point. This gave me a chance to zoom
back downhill where she was waiting.
This section had two tunnels, many trestles, and beautiful streams. I met a trail ranger on this segment. He didn’t even ask for my pass despite a
long conversation. One of the chief
maintenance problems they encounter is the gates and making sure trail users
close them after passing through.
The following trail
supporters have donated
to trail development!
$1-$15
Randall and Eleonora
Rieck
Roxann and Timothy
Martinek
Gail Stewart
Nancy and Brice
Antonjensen
Dean & Janice Barnum
Herb and Irene Eckert
Pat and Paula Grady
Connie and James Miller
$16-$25
Randall and Eleonora
Rieck
Fred and Ruth Balster
$26-$50
Eileen Arnold
Walter Fritchen
Eric and Chris Madsen
Betty Good
Tom and Julie Sadler
Daniel and Monica
Baldwin
Frank Magid Associates, Inc.
$150
Hall Bicycle
$300
Ruth Macke and Charles
Grado
$1000
Greater CR Foundation
Iowa Glass Fund
Welcome and Thanks to These
New and Renewing Members,
Anderson-Bogert Trailblazer
Nancy
and Brice Antonjensen Family
Eileen
Arnold
Individual
Robin
Ballantyne
Family
Fred
and Ruth Balster Family
Dean & Janice
Barnum Family
Don Bender Individual
Hall
Bicycle
Trailblazer
John
and Ruth Birnbaum Family
John
and Patricia Black
Individual
Dave
and Martha Booth Family
Diane
Johnson Boulder Duplex Individual
Peter
Bryant
Individual
Northtowne
Cycling & Fitness
c/o W J Stepanek Trailblazer
Bill
and Carol Calloway
Trailblazer
Linda
Carr
Individual
Sally
Stephenson & Kevin CollinsTrailblazer
Lavona
Colton
Family
Gordon
& Marilyn Cook
Individual
Bruce
Creel
Family
Dr
Darrell and Lynn Dennis Family
Maurice
Derrick Individual
Zina
Dotzler
Individual
Ben
Dukes
Individual
Duane
and Jean Earll
Trailblazer
Herb
and Irene Eckert
Family
Jack
Edmunds Family
Dr
Stan and Carol Eilers
Trailblazer
Mike
and Peggy Emery
Trailblazer
Mary
Alice Ericson
Individual
Dick
& Rosemary Felter
Family
Dennis
and Grace Ferreter Individual
Keith
Fletcher
Trailblazer
R.L.
and B.K. Flint
Family
Dr
James R & Sharlene Flynn
Trailblazer
Walter
Fritchen
Individual
Stephen
and Jo Ellen Funk Family
Kelly
Gassman
Family
Rose
Goettsch
Family
Gary
Goldstein
Trailblazer
Ron
and Pat Gonder
Family
Gordon
and Marilyn Gott Family
Pat
and Paula Grady
Family
Lois
and Marcene Grief
Trailblazer
Elaine
and Doug Gustafson Family
Bob
& Sheila Hahn
Individual
Heidi
Haney
Family
Linda
Hansen
Individual
Sheila
and Tork Harman
Trailblazer
Hawkeye
Bicycle Assn. Inc. Trailblazer
James
J & Pat R Healy
Trailblazer
Joann
and Steve Herndon Family
Virginia
Howes
Individual
Voss
Jack and Susan Family
Gene
Jahncke
Individual
David
and Kim Jennings Family
Duwayne
and Shelley Jilek Family
Mary
Jane Johnson Family
Herbert
Kane
Individual
George
& Mary Kanz
Family
Daniel
and Julie Kaspari
Individual
Greg
and Lana Kelsey
Family
Art
& Joyce Kelsey
Family
James
and Barbara Klein Family
David
Kreiter
Individual
Ed
and Linda Krug
Family
Robert
and Judith Lehman Family
Neil
and Cynthia Madsen Family
Eric
and Chris Madsen
Family
Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas Manor Family
Daniel
& Karla Mc Grail
Trailblazer
Mary
Kay and Pat McGrath
Trailblazer
Gary
and Laura McGraw Family
John
Merck
Family
Lee
Miemi
Individual
Connie
and James Miller Family
Chuck
and Sue Mincks Family
Glen
Miska
Family
Robert
and Mildred Mitchell
Individual
John
and Nancy Morris
Trailblazer
Barbara
and Edwin Mumford Trailblazer
Fred
& Edith Nekola
Family
Cynthia
and Jeffrey Nielsen Family
Gary
and Kelley Palmer
Individual
David
Perkins
Individual
Ted
and Barb Peterson
Family
Andrew
Peterson
Trailblazer
Bev
and Ian Philpott
Family
Carol
and Milo Popp
Family
Matt
Preston
Family
Dr
Richard and Frances Quetsch Family
Brian
& Mary Kemen Randall
Trailblazer
Greg
Reynolds
Trailblazer
Randall
and Eleonora Rieck Individual
Muriel
and Fred Rogers Family
Marcia
and Dan Rogers Family
Joe
Romine
Individual
Dr.
John and Beth Roof
Family
George
and Jean Ross Family
John
& Diane Rosteck
Family
Peter
Ryder
Family
Tom
and Julie Sadler
Family
Howard
and Sheri Schiffer Family
Michelle
Seavy
Individual
Allen
and Jacqui Sorensen Family
Ruby
Spencer
Individual
Mr
and Mrs Raymond Stefani
Individual
David
and Evelyn Suchomel
Individual
Keith
& Nancy Sutherland
Trailblazer
Melvin
and Joanne Svec Family
Karen
Tyler
Family
Joyce
and William Vosdingh Family
Scott
Wallace
Individual
Douglas
and Carol Watson Trailblazer
Bob
Rush & Judith Whetstine
Trailblazer
Dr
Martin and Diane Wiesenfeld Family
Myron
F. & Esther S. Wilson
Trailblazer
Jim
& Barbara Wing
Trailblazer
Dr
David and Carol Wolf
Family
Mike
Woods F
THANK YOU!
Project