Iron Bridge Update

BIG RAVINE TRAILS MAP

Will Krift at the top of the Iron Bridge Link

Will Krift of Trails Anonymous worked with a crew of Bayfield Area Trails Stewards (BATS) on Saturday afternoon, August 8, on a connecting the trail from the east end of the Iron Bridge down to the Gil Larsen Trail in the Big Ravine.

“The trail is looking good,” Krift said. “The hardest piece is building the turning platform, connecting the upper and lower sections of the switchback—but we lucked out and the dirt’s really good here.” The crew had pretty much finished the work on the connecting trail—but Krift thought he’d wait until the next work session to put in the steps at the top.

On the previous day the crew completed the Sweeney Ave. Link, the connector from the end of East Sweeney Avenue down to the Gil Larsen Trail. During this work session, volunteers included Adrian Bethel, Bill Bland, John Ipsen, Genevieve Johnson, Michael Kinnee, Kate Kitchell, John Olson, Mark Peterson, Keith Ray, Kris Wegerson, and Bob Wood.

Will Krift and Bob Wood on the Sweeny Ave. Link

“It’s pretty cool to see the community involvement—the blood, sweat and tears, all of it,” Krift said. “And the community-building around these trails. I didn’t have too many expectations but there are so many returnees getting into the swing of things; they come back and they already have the skills. The progress we’ve made is really cool.”
 
Volunteer Genevieve Johnson was working with a rogue hoe, a tool for digging up dirt and scraping the trail. She said the day was “a steamy one.” And then she summed up what’s made it all worthwhile: “We’re already getting feedback from locals and tourists hiking in from the trailhead; they’re excited to see what’s going on. They say, ‘Thank-you for your work.’”
​
Well said.