We should walk around wet and muddy spots… but you know you will ride through at least some…
I suggest if you can, ride the high side of the mudhole. Your rut will block a drain, dam water and hold it on the trail. If you at least ride the high side, it will dam water off the trail, and the trail can dry out quicker.
Haha 9 mile was rough eh
I was under the impression that conventional trail wisdom was to go through the puddles so as not to widen the trail and that displacing the water in the puddle helps dry them out?
Yep
Yep. Not saying go around, but suggesting when going through the puddle, stick to the high side. I’ve dug a few drains that aren’t draining because people rode through the middle or low side of the puddle when soft and wet, and the rut keeps it being a puddle, rather than allowing the water to drain out. Since these sections are staying wet, they need a longer term solution than a drain - rock armoring, ditching, piping, etc., but volunteer trail elves can only do so much.
Nine Mile has made a lot of progress as far as drainage goes - it used to be that you wouldn’t really want to ride it until there’s been a week of dry weather. Most of the trail is actually pretty good after a day or two now.
The worst spots are out by the lake - there are some persistent mud holes that really need a bunch of rocks, gravel, and crusher dust, but since they’re out toward the end of the trail system, it’s hard to get material out there - hopefully this winter when the ground’s frozen. In the meantime, I’ve dug dip drains, but they keep getting rutted and hold water.