Rhozone Ruminations
Wow, many hands make light work they say. Which is true, but they always forget to mention the December windstorms in that proverb.
Our goal for the weekend was ambitious: clear Rho Ridge Trail (11 miles) and Rho Creek Trail (4 miles). By weekend’s close we had collectively thrown 15 chainsaws and 576 volunteer hours at the mess. But the middle 3.5 miles still eluded us. A high exposed ridgeline, covered in drought stricken forest, recently burnt, and hit hard by wind and ice storms all winter long is a gnarly combo. It was ugly during last summer’s scouting and now it’s twice as ugly… we’ll be back!
The good news is Rho Creek (aka Fadeaway) and Rho Ridge Trail north of Fawn Meadow are all clear for your tires and toes. We suggest dropping or pedaling up to the Mt Lowe viewpoint and then continuing south 2.5 miles before connecting to Rho Creek Trail (hidden in a campsite) and descending all the way to the bottom. Careful, it’s narrow and has lots of pedal goblins. Add your photos and trip report to Trailforks, we use that data nearly every day to plan our stewardship efforts and our rides.
An extra big thank you to Oregon Territory Outfitters for running shuttles all weekend, hit them up if you want to book Rhozone shuttles, Oregon Timber Trail shuttles, or anything custom around the state.
Got that FOMO? Wish you had been there? You’re in luck, we have six more Orogenesis events in the PNW this summer. (We're especially in need of volunteers for the Lakes Loop build.)
The Orogenesis Collective is on track to hit our Trails That Last goal of $50,000 by June 30th. Are you able to donate? Does your employer offer donation matching? Know anyone else with deeper pockets who would be stoked on the work we're doing? Pitch in to help raise another $12,000 in the next 26 days.