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Ouray High School Workday

Ouray High School Workday
 

Ouray High School held its annual Community Service Day last Friday.  Students were given a choice of four non-profits to work with that day. Approximately 30 students joined 15 OTG volunteers in building the new section of the Ouray Perimeter Trail.  OTG provided lunch for students, teachers, and volunteers on a beautiful chilly fall day.  Thank you to the OTG volunteers who helped make the day a success:  Hale Houts, Steve Boyle, Norb Green, Kent Struble, Tony Hoag, Bob Risch, Debbie Mudge, Debra Houts, Lisa Hickman, Jill Parisi, Charlie Winger, Tom Augustitus, Mike Pelkey, Dennis White, and.    Click "Read More" to see additional photos from the work day.  
 

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Volunteers Are Building Trail!

The land exchange is complete, the Forest Service has approved the route, and OTG volunteers have begun building the new section of Perimeter Trail between Old Twin Peaks Trail and Oak St. Flagging the route, rock removal and the installation of steps have been some of the first steps in the process. The tread is only "roughed in" at this time. Click on the Volunteer tab for information on how you can help.

 

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OTG Report to the US Forest Service: Mid-Season 2020

From late March through July 2020, the Ouray Trail Group (OTG) fielded 31 separate work trips on National Forest trails in the Ouray Ranger District. The trips included 3 multi-day trips and 28 single-day trips. Sixty volunteers contributed at minimum 1,168 volunteer hours organizing trips and performing trail maintenance on the National Forest. Through July OTG has cleared 445 down trees from 58 miles of trail, removed encroaching brush and saplings, and repaired tread by removing rocks and debris, removing slough and restoring tread width and outslope, cleaning drains, building new drains including rolling grade dips, and blocking or filling short sections of multiple treads and switchback shortcuts. 

Read more …OTG Report to the US Forest Service: Mid-Season 2020

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Middle Fork Trail Work Weekend a Huge Success!

Eleven OTG crew members spent three days on the Middle Fork Trail, teaming with USFS personnel and pack horse support. The group repaired tread and fixed eroded trail sections, in addition to clearing 40 downed trees on the Middle Fork Trail and 10 trees on the Porphyry Trail!  The Backcountry Crew is looking forward to their next work weekend on August 15th and 16th (see Volunteer tab).  Click Read More below to see additional photos!

Kricket Sherer, USFS, works with Tim Foulkes to repair a cairn on the trail.

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A Word from the Ouray Trail Group: Social Distancing for Trail Users

As spring advances and trail use ramps up, we need to remember government directives to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.  Hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers need to cooperate more than ever to share the trails and make user encounters as safe as possible.  Trail users should forego signing in to registers at trailheads for now.  To maintain social distancing, trail users need to step off the trail to let others pass.

Hikers should distance at least 6 feet when passing each other.  But what about trail athletes, who are working (and breathing) harder?  Dr. John Unger is a sports chiropractor in Montrose who is a member of the Wilderness Medicine Society and a competitive trail runner.  Based on published medical literature, Dr. Unger notes that trail users breathing hard, such as runners and mountain bikers, exhale a larger “plume” of tiny vapor droplets around and especially behind them.  He and other health experts recommend that hard exercisers keep a greater distance from others, 20 to 30 feet, to minimize the potential spread of the virus.  Wind can further spread the droplets that trail users exhale.

Read more …A Word from the Ouray Trail Group: Social Distancing for Trail Users

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