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| Progress continues on the Palisade Plunge Trail. Pictured here is the east side of the trail, which is less exposed. |
The two Palisade Plunge Trail crews constructed over a half-mile of new trail this week. The lower crew is hindered by rock work and limited building materials, not to mention their long daily commutes up the ridge. However, despite all of this, they were still able to contribute 672 feet of new trail, leaving them at approximately milepost 27.3.
Next week, the lower crew will move up to the upper crew's campsite to combine forces. This will give the lower crew a break from the strenuous rock work and the daily commutes.
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| Pictured here is the top of the ridge that the lower crew has been climbing since starting out off of Highway 6 in Palisade. |
The upper crew moved their camp further down the trail to the clearing previously identified by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). After being delayed by scattered morning showers, they were able to complete 2,585 feet of new trail, leaving them at approximately milepost 25.5.
Excluding the previously identified raptor buffer areas near "The Blowout," the upper crew still has about a mile of clear-cutting to finish in preparation for trail construction. Biologists are scheduled to perform a nest check through this mile-long area on Friday, May 29, which will allow the construction crew to finish clear-cutting.
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| Surveying the end of the constructed trail. |
A total of 14.13 miles of finished trail is completed, which leaves about 3 miles to go before completion of Phase 1 of the trail. Phase 2 will begin this year as soon as conditions permit.
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| A view of the west end of the valley from the Palisade Plunge Trail. |