[pct-l] Mountain Bikes and Trail Damage

[Barry Teschlog]

To those that claim MTB's don't significantly damage trails, I call ignorance on that statement (and I use dictionary definition of ignorance - lack of knowledge).

I base that statement as a trail maintainer (as a volunteer WTA assistant crew leader and volunteer PCTA crew leader), hiker and avid mountain biker.  I've worked on both the PCT (hiker and stock), trails at Tiger Mountain (just east of Seattle) where trails are open to horse, hiker and MTBs and on the Grand Ridge Trail (just on the other side of I-90 from Tiger) to name a few.  I also LOVE to ride my MTB on some fun, twisty, fast single track (a Trek hard tail) at Duthie Mountain Bike Park (at the north end of the Grand Ridge Trail).  I also thru hiked in 2006.


My first hand observations:  The trails at Duthie are maintained constantly by the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.  They're also in poor condition due to the heavy MTB traffic.  There are ruts and mud holes all over the place.  Drainage structures are constantly destroyed as the bikers ride in a narrow (preferred) line, causing deep cuts in the ground that throw up a berm, blocking the drainage's.  Skidding in turns and high pressure tires (relative to the ground pressure of hiker feet) cause linear ruts to form in all but the most hardened tread (read that as armored with gravel), causing water to channel ALONG the tread, instead of the proper drainage ACROSS the tread, promoting erosion.  Feet and hooves, when they make impressions in soft tread make point impressions, not channel features like wheels.


The same observed damage applies on the Grand Ridge trail - this trail would be a model of what would happen to the PCT here in Washington were bikes to be allowed.  This trail is a multi use trail - I love to ride it from Tiger to Duthie, do some laps there and return - it's a great work out.  The trouble is that the tread on the Grand Ridge trail shows the wear and tear of the bikers - again, mud holes caused by narrow lines that the MTBers take, or tread that widens out where they can go around their mud holes they cause.  Drainage is blocked by the deep cuts from MTB tracks throwing up berms.  Linear cuts in the trail that channel water along the trail, promoting erosion.  Also, the MTB focused members on the WTA and Evergreen crews have built up the turns to be MTB friendly, NOT hiker and horse friendly - super elevation on a switch back is nice when you're bombing down a hill on the bike - it sucks when you're on foot (not to mention that it
 causes drainage problems).  Care to guess how long it would take the PCT to look like a MTB race track instead of a hiker trail were they to get their claws into it?


Most of the trails at Tiger mountain have to be closed to bikes from 
October to April else the erosion problems would be far worse than they 
already are.  Also, very few people hike on the open to MTB trails - they suck to hike on with the bikes coming by - the bikes drive away the other users.  


Here in Washington, the non wet season that the PCT isn't 
under snow is......well, if you're lucky, August to early September.  Open the PCT here to bikes and it'll be rutted mess in no time flat.


As to Wilderness:  If the PCT is open, bikes WILL intrude into the Wilderness,  period.  Statements to the contrary are either pure naivety or lies (deliberate falsehoods with the intent to deceive).  I saw the tracks of a flipping MTBer in Oregon on my thru hike - up the PCT for several miles then blow right on by the sign and on into the Wilderness where I followed them for miles more.  MTB organizations advocate for the opening of Wilderness to bikes - I'll leave it to the readers to find their position statements attesting to this fact themselves.

As to comparative statements of horse damage and bike damage:  So what?  Bikes bring zero TO the trail, unlike horses.  Do hooves do more damage than feet?  Yup.  Do hooves ENABLE the trail to stay open and maintained in the back country?  Absolutely.  Bikes can't pack in the gear to support a trail crew dozens of miles deep into the Wilderness.  Horses can and do.  Just based on utility alone - lets see....bikes do damage and don't bring any particular help (as a machine) in maintaining the trail....hooves do damage, yet are critical assets to maintaining the trail, hence are a net positive....hmmmm....yup, hooves win, bikes loose that argument.


MTB's on the PCT?  Over my dead body.  It's an incompatible use with hikers and equestrians plus I've worked too many hours on the trail these last several years to see it destroyed.