Schooner Trail at BCSP

[tldyer57]

Hurt my wrist so I hiked Schooner yesterday and it was pretty over grown and a number of trees across the trail.  Had to carry a stick for cobwebs and spiders.  Didnot see or pass 1 person on it.   Last Wednesday rode my bike from Pine Valley to the campground and back.   Trails are in great shape, 1 tree down on lime kiln that required crossing.  Suggestion make Schooner usable by making bypass trail around the very difficult technical sections.    Schooner is a beautiful part of the park it would be nice if more people could enjoy it.

[Raleighguy29]

No no no that's not how this works. Schooner is supposed to be hard.


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[Dave Tozer]

I ace it every time I ride Schooner.

However, my nickname is "walks with bike".

[Unfit Nitwit]

Schooner is a trail rated as black diamond/most difficult. On these trails there should be no expectation of bypasses to make it ridable by everyone.
This should also be the expectation of Walnut, Hesitation Point, and Bobcat. Unfortunately the amount of users who remove rocks and routinely go around things they can't ride has reduced their difficulty.

[mtbikernate]

Noooooooooo don't touch Schooner. Keep it gnarly and rough.

[Paul_Arlinghaus]

There are several things to talk about here

1) Because Schooner is very difficult those who ride it are typically able to deal with downed trees and overgrowth.  So we tend to focus efforts on the other trails at Brown County first.  Also, Rob Serbent, heads up work on Schooner and he is still recovering from a tick bite early in the summer.  Don't worry, we will get it dialed in for fall riding or hiking.

2) As we build trails, we try to take advantage of the natural features.  To take advantage of the features in the area of Schooner, we needed to have a trail that is steeper and goes through difficult areas.  There are many sections of Schooner, where it simply isn't possible to go around the difficult sections. 

3) Many of those who lead the way building trails at brown county are very good technical riders.  We have built many miles of beginner and intermediate trails.  For many of us, we would be ok if all the trails were expert or above.  But that doesn't make for a well rounded trail system. 

While trails can be built with ride arounds or optional technical features, that is not the strategy we have taken at Brown County.  We have enough land to build a wide range of trails.  Buy varying trail difficulty and flow we try to give each trail its own unique vibe. 

4) Expand your outdoor skills.  Those of us who started mountain biking back in the day, tended to be well round outdoors people.  We were ok with hiking, hiking with our bikes, trail running, etc....  It is ok to put down the bike and go for a hike. I spend about as much time hiking (trail building and maintenance) as I do riding. It's nice to see the trails as both a hiker and rider. 

So we will not be making Schooner easier or building ride-a-rounds.  Those who can't ride it should take the time to go hike it.   

[matt_laker]

Hurt my wrist so I hiked Schooner yesterday and it was pretty over grown and a number of trees across the trail.  Had to carry a stick for cobwebs and spiders.  Didnot see or pass 1 person on it.   Last Wednesday rode my bike from Pine Valley to the campground and back.   Trails are in great shape, 1 tree down on lime kiln that required crossing.  Suggestion make Schooner usable by making bypass trail around the very difficult technical sections.    Schooner is a beautiful part of the park it would be nice if more people could enjoy it.

There are plenty parts of the park to enjoy, not all of the trails need to be beginner like Pine & Limekiln.  "Something for all" is what BCSP has and what it should always remain.

[allmountin]

Schooner, and trails of that ilk, are necessary to provide incentive for unmotivated persons to self improve, to become more fulfilled riders, more productive citizens, and to better satisfy their wives.

Aside from that, if you were to create bypasses around a few rock gardens, you'd invite novice riders into a section with narrow, exposed benches that simply cannot be bypassed without destroying the character of the trail.

Just like intermediate trails may discriminate against true beginners, and advanced trails may weed out intermediates, expert level trails cater to the smallest, but most invested subset. It's a necessary part of any trail inventory. IMO, an expert trail with bypasses is an oxymoron.

[jasonhilt]

Not sure who I first heard say this, many people have:  "Let the trail change you, not you change the trail."

[SurlyWill]

I can't ride Schooner ... the bypass is called Walnut. There is more than enough non eexpert level ttrai out there to consume a day of riding.