Poto: Hewen's Creek

[bhollen666]

Trail mowed again this weekend, a single-pass low cut down the center. Most of the face-slappers have been trimmed back. I was able to ride through today without any thorn damage to the skin of my arms or legs. Lots of wildflowers blooming this time of year, good time for a ride.

[P_Thomas22]

Did the trail for the first time today and I have to say I didn't have much fun... that was until after I had finished. Its very slow and flat as others have mentioned. Thanks for mowing it down as otherwise it would of been even more grueling. Not many technical sections although I did enjoy the few log piles/rocks. I think we should add some trail markers to help with direction as it can get kinda confusing for someone who hasnt studied the out dated maps. Correct me if I am wrong but there is no "terrain park" on the north side (what is the little circle on the map supposed to be) I GPS'd the whole route and go-pro'd it as well. It was in good condition except for a few spots that were squishy in the woods. Did get two nasty thorns stuck in my arm on the NW side and because it has never been rototill-ed on the grassy sections it does make for a very slow ride.

I did find it pretty satisfying after I had finished because it was difficult, not in a technical sense, more in a completion sense. Trying to keep your speed up in the grassy sections is tough and you have to pedal hard and long with no real coasting or breaks to speak of. It is very bumpy as well and my hard tail sure bounced around on some sections. I think i will go back to try and improve my time and it is a very cardio intense trail. Ill post links to the videos when they are uploaded. Ill just put them up as they are without editing. Will be long and boring but at least people can see what the trail is like. Thanks to everyone who maintains the trail.

GPS data http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90635886

[P_Thomas22]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pC65FtInDM this is part 1. like i said it will be long so i at least added some tunes. The rattle in the begining goes away at about 2min. My brake cable was hitting the go-pro.

[deezler]

Whoa, that is some dense vegetation! I only checked that place out back in April when you could see where you were going. Needs some roto-tilling... riding grass trails is a real slog. Maybe even some bulldozing to create real elevation changes, haha.

[michael48197]

To "P_Thomas22"

You are right in that some updated signage would be nice at Hewens. The trail coordinator has repeatedly put up signs, but the local delinquents keep tearing them down. If the signs were up, you would have found that you went the wrong way on the first section you did. The part that empties to the parking lot it the last section. The first single track section starts just over the dam.

As for the grass, well, Hewens is a lowland and, hence, collects a lot of rain. So, the grass and undergrowth grows like mad. The trail coordinator does an awesome job of maintaining the whole thing -- all 5.5 miles - mostly by himself. It's hard to keep up with the growth in the summer. Normally, there is a reasonable dirt tread in the center of the trail, but with all the rain this spring it was too wet to ride and the grass has won out for now. The best time to ride fall and winter. You'll be grateful for the flat terrain in the winter as it's still rideable with some snow cover.

[P_Thomas22]

So you go up the "road" over the dam and then enter on the right that leads to the big boulder? Then on the way back enter the woods after the dam? What about the far west loop where the fork goes straight or right. I went straight which makes you go counter clockwise. Looking back on it i really did enjoy the trail and it is a great place to strengthen your legs. I've only gotten back into biking in the last 2 weeks and think these trails improve your fitness over a more up/down tech trail. (although they are more fun) The trail is greatly maintained and I really thank everyone who makes riding possible. Here is part 2 if anyone is interested... like I said before i didnt edit them or speed them up so it is long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD9btFmhu2Q

Has anyone ever though of possible making a spot on the trail guides to have a link to videos of trails? I have one for rolling hills and island lake as well and will be doing holdridge soon.

[P_Thomas22]

sorry meant to write i went clockwise on the west loop.

[michael48197]

Yes, the trail starts straight down the main road, over the dam and then right into the woods and then the "meadow" (at least it used to be a meadow) followed by the old apple orchard where you found the boardwalks and then the east "field", etc. Since HCP opened in 2006 or so, the "meadows" have grown into new forests. As they mature, the trail should transition to a wooded path, reducing the grass.

If you scroll back to pages 13-15 of this forum you will see a GPS trace (minus the new NW out-back loop) and some maps for plans for the west section of the park. I think Bob Hollen - the trail coordinator - has a schematic map at "http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iWW2XnBTmQMfdmXYPOP1yQ?feat=directlink/lh/photo/iWW2XnBTmQMfdmXYPOP1yQ?feat=directlink"...not sure if this link is the correct one as some web pages don't load on my work computer. I know that you can find some photo galleries at Picasa by searching for "Hewens Creek".

As for linking videos, you should probably contact the trail coordinator and work with the Webmaster to link to YouTube. I'm TC at Rolling Hills and you'll see in the Trail Guide that I've linked GPS file on the RHP page so it should be no problem to add a video link.

[bhollen666]

Three wooded sections were weed-whacked today to open them up and cut down on the overhanging branches and poison ivy: the section with the wooden walkways, the middle two sections with the log piles. A few trees were taken out today too, in order to speed things up a bit on some faster stretches. The trail is in pretty good shape in comparison with past seasons. As P_Thomas wrote, there's so much growth that our primary path that we had worn in is now covered with new growth.

Unfortunately the mosquitos and deer flies are out in full force now! Dope up if you wanna avoid those nasty deer fly bites on the under sides of your arms or the backs of your legs as you ride.

[dnale]

Parked at Hewens Creek and rode up to Rolling Hills. When I got back and was loading a guy in a truck pulled in with a bed full of yard debris, branches, etc. I hung around waiting to see if he was going to dump it in front of me. He got out of the truck and walked down the trail so I snapped a couple of pics with my phone of the bed of the truck and the license plate. Don't know who I should report the suspicious activity to. He came back to the truck and started it up. I figured I could at least make him stay in the woods with the skeeters for a while. But when he came back he sat there. It probably took me close to 15 minutes until I figured he was *beep* bent on waiting me out. So if someone know who this might be of interest or who should get the pics, please let me know.

[bhollen666]

Unfortunately if you didn't watch him do it then there's probably nothing that can be reported. I don't like that people are dumping yard waste there, but at least that would break down. It's way better than the other crap that I've seen dumped there; microwaves, construction leftovers, etc. The park and parking lot are maintained by Ypsilanti Township Recreation Department, which you could contact numerous ways from this URL: http://ytown.org/government/township-de ... recreation

[dnale]

I'll be sure to contact someone there tomorrow. The gate was wide open so he or anyone could drive way in. If those were his intentions hopefully he at least had some bug bites out of it.

[ChrisInYpsi]

Road this trail for the first time tonight. Well.... part of it. I got screwed up somehow and got dumped out on Hitchingham Rd. Not sure where I went wrong. But the sections I did ride were really fun. Kudos to the folks who maintain it. Next time I'm gonna print out the map and bring it with me so I don't make another wrong turn.

I then rode across Bemis to Rolling Hills and looped that real quick. Had an absolute blast - those two trails make for a nice night out.

Also picked up a thorn in my rear tire somewhere, but it help enough air to make it home about 3.5 miles away. I'll fix that up tomorrow night.

Anyway - kudos on the trail. I'll be back often.

[P_Thomas22]

First time I rode Hewens I did the same. Before the part that jumps out on Hitchingham road maybe 100 ft or so, you have to bust a hard left back the other way which heads to the north part of the trail then over to the west and back down. By chance were you there this evening? I was just leaving the parking lot and someone else was pulling in with a bike on the back??

[ChrisInYpsi]

Yep, I was there this evening around 8:00 but I ride there from my house. I'm only about 3.5 miles away. I'm embarrassed to say that I got messed up again on the trail, but this time in a different spot. There are a few forks in the trail where I'm not sure which way to go. I had the map folded up in my seat bag but didn't feel like stopping to dig it out.

I'll get it next time.

I rode over to RHP again and looped that afterwards. Great fun!