Poto: Hewen's Creek

[oogs]

Sadly I don't have much in the way of gardening equipment, but I'll see if I can make it out there. I have a grudge against a particular low hanging tree too that I wouldn't mind getting out of the way

[bhollen666]

All of the trail has been cut back over the last few weeks, thanks to the help of the Trail Work Monday crew. Last Monday we also put in some boardwalks in the muddy second wooded section where a lot of the ash trees were lost. The eastern loop has been double mowed and the rest has been started. Soon it should be finished and ready for the great fall riding, especially the nice new wooded section that forks right from the beginning of the last wooded section.

Finished mowing the rest of the trail Sunday, and then cleaned up the second wooded section that was closed most of the season from the wet conditions. The last Trail Work Monday we put in some wooden "bridges" to get us over the really bad parts. Now this section is open again and lots of fun to ride through. Here are a couple of pics:

http://twitpic.com/2scyun
http://twitpic.com/2scy2e

Enjoy, and watch out for the deer!

[bhollen666]

The trail is either very muddy or in some cases under water. It would be best to avoid it until it dries out. Even if you're walking it you better be prepared for a muddy mess. Lots of wildlife returning to the park. Yesterday I flushed a male turkey from the new trail in the northwest corner of the park, forcing him back into the swamp to get away from me.

[bhollen666]

Trail started to dry out over the last two weeks but the last days 1+ inches of rain put a lot of it back under water or really muddy. I'm afraid the status would be still "avoid" this trail.

[dnale]

I should have known it would be bad. I'm itching to get on a trail and off the trainer.

[tucsanrob]

Just got back from Rolling Hills and a quick look at Hewens Creek. Unfortunately the later is still fairly mushy, ventured slowly down the grassy area a bit just to turn back as to not mess up the trail. Just a few more weeks!

[parttime]

Hewens Creek is still messy and wet. I did not get to the western wood areas, the East loop was in good shape, but everything else had alot of water, including the central loop. Gotta wait a little longer......

Also, watch out for doggie droppings, as someone is not picking up after their dog on the eastern loop. I moved a pile off the trail, but there may be more that I missed.

[dnale]

Just got back from Rolling Hills and a quick look at Hewens Creek. Unfortunately the later is still fairly mushy, ventured slowly down the grassy area a bit just to turn back as to not mess up the trail. Just a few more weeks!

I parked at Hewens and road to Rolling Hills last night. I saw one other bike out in front of me.

[bhollen666]

Trail completely mowed this weekend. Wooded sections need a little weed whacking to clear them up.

[john_galt]

Anyone know the trail conditions? How about the status of the newer western loop? Thanks

[bhollen666]

The new western loop has been really soft and wet in the northern most spots. I think it might have been drying out before this week's rain. There are still some face slappers in the eastern loop, but after the mowing it was nice and open for a good, fast ride. I rode late last night and even the grass sections were soft again after the rain. I can only imagine now after the rain today (2-4 inches in Ann Arbor) that it's a mud bog again. We might be stuck waiting until Sunday or Monday now for it to dry out after all the rain this week.

[jpjones]

Is Hewens Creek or Rolling Hills a better trail? They both appear to be works in progress. I'm planning on driving down to Cabela's this weekend and wanted to stop at one of those trails.

[michael48197]

HCP and RHP each have their good and less good qualities. Hewens Creek would be described as a beginner trail...very flat, winding through new growth forest and meadows for about 5.5 miles now. Unfortunately, it doesn't drain well so it's probably a bog in some places. Rolling Hills is more of a novice/intermediate trail...ungulating, twisty, several log piles putting a premium on bike handling in 3.2 miles (4.2 miles if you include the flat 1 mile of the SE meadow which still grassy and needs to be ridden in). RHP drains well and there are likely only a few areas with mud (some of the steep, but short hills) which should be walked. It's easy to combine both trails in a 10-11 mile ride with ~9 miles on single track as they are only ~1/2 mile apart along Bemis Road.

BTW, RHP is part of Washtenaw County Parks. As such, you might need to have a WCP sticker (includes Independence Lake as well) depending on whether there is someone at the gate. You might want to park at the Hewens trail head on Bemis and ride into RHP from the Bemis Connector in the SE meadow of RHP. Hewens is a Ypsi Township park without any sticker requirement.

[jpjones]

great, thanks for the info Michael! I'll park at Hewens ride over to RHP for a couple laps

[dnale]

That's what I usually do. Park at HC and ride to RHP. HC can be a nice quick ride when it's dry and trimmed. It can be a real meat grinder when the thorn bushes grow in.