A commitment that the City of Durango’s mayor made to La Plata County Commissioners to open a sheltering area by the Durango Dog Park in exchange for the County closing its camp on county land was cancelled this summer. The mayor changed her mind after the County Commissioners followed through with the agreement by closing the County encampment. For many, the question is whether or not this pressure from Madam Mayor Sweetie Marbury was a tactic that was used in order to convince the county…

Dear La Plata County Environmental Specialist Leslie Jacoby, I am writing you to convey my concerns with the barren, hard-packed condition of Horse Gulch Road following the attempts that were made to rehabilitate it last winter. In January, a La Plata County dozer operator filled in ruts, regraded the tread, installed water bars, and widened Horse Gulch Road around the intersection below the Meadow Loop, according to the County Engineer. Seed was raked into the ground following the bulldozer operation, you said. For several months,…

Two gates with “trail closed” signage that Ed Zink installed across Falls Creek Road in June were removed following reporting on Horse Gulch Blog that the barricades defied a court order to keep the road open to the general public. The day before a different, but related story by Jonathan Romeo ran in The Durango Herald, the gate at the top was taken down, and the gate at the bottom was opened. Both gates had the “trail closed” signs removed. It’s unclear who removed these…

The owner of Mountain Bike Specialists has tried blockading all of the general public from crossing a popular public trail known as Falls Creek Road. Falls Creek Road is an unmaintained road that’s used as a trail connecting County Road 203 to National Forest lands and County Road 205. Ed Zink said that he installed two new gates with signage that reads, “Trail Closed Extreme Fire Risk,” across each end of his lands where Falls Creek Road crosses over them. The 416 Fire never burned…

A new beginner trail in the subdivision of Three Springs has some fast, hard-packed dirt through a mosaic of gamble oak brush, and berms to help you hold the corners. Spur Line Trail, on Southern Ute Growth Fund Land, was built by Trails 2000 crew leaders and volunteers. Hogan Koesis, Purgatory Resort’s Director of Mountain Biking, assisted with machine work on the trail. To get there from Durango, drive east to Wilson Gulch Road, where you will eventually see the trailhead near the northeast corner…

While riding my mountain bike up Ella Vita Court towards the Overend Mountain Park, a stumbling drunk man who I’d never seen or met before started talking trash to me. I later learned from the people where he lives at the County homeless camp that his name is Jeff Hamerly. He had a hiking stick, was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves cut off and a black visor for a hat. At about 4:30 when I was riding past him on Ella Vita Court…

Today Trails 2000 did some trail maintenance at the top of Mike’s Trail–mainly drainage work and deberming. It’s really hard to work with dry, dusty soil and rock that doesn’t want to pack down. What Mike’s Trail needs is some rain so that we can put some berms on a few corners. You know? This Saturday, May 19, Trails 2000 is organizing people at 9:00 a.m. below the meadow in Horse Gulch to do some trash cleanup beside Cap’s Trail in honor of Colorado Public…

At an orientation meeting on Thursday, City of Durango officials asked the appointed members of its 21 boards to restrict their speech outside of board meetings. Several examples of speech that City officials asked the board members in attendance to restrict could be interpreted as free speech that’s protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The First Amendment of the U.S.  Constitution lays out the right: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…

When you ride jumps or features on your bike in such a way that allows you to express style, that’s freeride mountain bike culture. Durango Devo Flyers teaches youth how to play this sport of using their mountain bike as a toy, and I support that lifestyle. Bikes are not just for transportation. Take pride in the sport. Love it. This post is a rare glimpse into the sport that’s here to stay in Durango. href=”https://horsegulchblog.com/?attachment_id=9763″>

A $5,000-dollar meadow restoration project that would also close trails at the top of Ned’s Hill in Overend Mountain Park was approved by the Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Board this month. I was the only Board member to vote against it; I don’t vote for trail closures without more confidence-inspiring alternatives that are less impactful. Impacts from this project would come in the form of trees, brush, and grass that would have to be removed to reroute the trail around the meadow. A map of…

A forum on teenage marijuana use in Durango following legalization in Colorado offered a panel with teen’s perspectives, a marijuana business owner’s explanation of how underage sales are prevented, and a message from a marijuana opponent encouraging abstinence. Coalition Coordinator Breeah Kinsella, of Celebrating Healthy Communities, gave the last speech of the panel. She claimed that marijuana is addictive and talked about the importance of providing teens with accurate information about marijuana. She told the audience to avoid repeating the same failed efforts of the…

The was released today, and the San Juan National Forest decided that it will allow mechanized use of Hermosa Creek Trail, Big Lick Trail, and Elbert Creek Trail year round. It will also allow the West Cross Creek Trail and the Cutthroat Trail to be sanctioned into the system trails once they have been worked on to a point of satisfaction as determined by the District Ranger. Work that needs to be done on these two trails includes input and clearance work from specialists, realignment…

Right before starting my descent by Red Mountain Pass, I skinned past two skiers getting ready to descend from a spot where I had difficulty navigating from in the past. But I didn’t think that their run would end with one of them dead. So I just told them to have fun, and went to my drop point for Sam’s Trees, on skier’s right of the main draw. I would soon discover that those guys got caught in an avalanche in the other draw on…

A La Plata County dozer operator filled in ruts, regraded the tread, installed water bars, and widened Horse Gulch Road around the intersection below the Meadow Loop intersection, according to the County Engineer. La Plata County Engineer Jim Davis said that the work was done at the request of the City of Durango and Trails 2000. Reseeding was done following the regrading, said Leslie Jacoby, La Plata County’s Environmental Specialist. Reseeding disturbed soils with native grass seed is a common rehabilitation tactic among land managers…

Someone operating a mini excavator for Trails 2000 built two new connector trails that link Horse Gulch Road with Cuchillo Trail and the other to Meadow Loop. The photos below are in no rational order–for now. ”