2013-Sidedoor Trail Realignment in Breckenridge

Start Date-End Date: 07/27/2013-07/28/2013 Land Manager Office: Town of Breckenridge Land Manager Contact: Scott Reid Funding Partner: Town of Breckenridge Programmatic Partner: Summit County Open Space and Trails Summary: Help make the most widely-used access trail to Breckenridge's Golden Horseshoe sustainable, ensuring the health of the trail for future generations of recreational users. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE The Sidedoor trail is a major portal to the ever-popular Golden Horseshoe trail system, rehabilitated relic of Summit County's mining era and past VOC project. The trail connects to the top of Prospect Hill, one of two prominent area peaks boasting excellent vistas of the Town of Breckenridge. The trail is also featured in multiple non-motorized race events. VOLUNTEER PROJECT - WHAT & WHY VOC returns to the Golden Horseshoe again this year. The upper portion of the existing trail is steep and unsustainable. By helping create a more sustainable trail, volunteers will not only lessen future maintenance costs to the Town of Breckenridge, but will also help provide better and more enjoyable access to the Golden Horseshoe for residents and visitors alike. Specifically, volunteers will be working to realign a 2,800 foot section of the trail in order to create a sustainable, south-facing trail, one able to accommodate the heavy recreational use it sees. PARTNERS Townof Breckenridge Summit County Open Space SPONSORS National Forest Foundation Town of Breckenridge Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation The Summit Foundation OTHER FUN STUFF Meals: Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch. Camping: available both Friday and Saturday night. Activities: Enjoy close proximity to the Town of Breckenridge as well as the volunteer celebration on Saturday night featuring a live band. Latitude/Longitude: 39.473790, -106.039546 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 125 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 133 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 12 Total Volunteer Days: 145 Total Unique Volunteers: 103 Total Volunteer Hours: 1693 Staff Hours: 40 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: My most memorable moment was probably the two crews who got lost. They wandered the hillside going about two miles off trail. We had a handful of board members and VOC's executive director in those crews. After they were found they ended up being the people who worked hardest and stayed through the rain to finish, they were our determined volunteers. Description of Accidents/Incidents: I learned quickly that this project in Breckenridge has been going on for many years. It is one of the favorites for both our volunteer leaders and volunteers. The Town of Breckenridge was amazing to work with, and made my job very easy. They did all the prep work, and made sure we had everything we needed, including support to help load and unload. We ran into some bad weather but were still able to get the entire proposed trail done, a feat that hadn't been done in Breckenridge for many years. I would recommend this project because the partners were so wonderful to work with and the volunteers enjoyed the work. Many people were from Breckenridge and wanted to help out because they use the trails so much. We did not have the numbers we could have and wanted but it was still a very successful project. Description of Work Completed: Over the weekend there were a total of 145 volunteers who donated their time and energy to construct over a mile a new trail. This included a number of rock walls, drainage structures and a removal of a tree and many stumps. It was also the entirety of the proposed project, and the first in many years that we were able to fully complete for the Town of Breckenridge. The work took place on part of the Sidedoor Trail and Golden Horseshoe trail system. This highly popular trail is now more sustainable and enjoyable because of the effort done by the volunteers.