HAPPY TRAILS

BIG LAKE — With just one short section of newly cleared easement, snowmachine riders now have legal and permanent access to hundreds of miles of winter wonderland.

A coalition of groups lead by Big Lake Trails just finished work on a one-mile stretch of Trail No. 6, the same trail the Iron Dog uses. The trail is now 30 feet wide in this section and will allow large grooming equipment access to extensive trail network to the west.

This comes after years of contention over the stretch that acts as an intersection for other trails just south of Red Shirt Lake, said project manager Dan Kruse. The Department of Natural Resources issued the public easement in 2003, but the trail was impassable with overgrowth. Riders had to enter the dangerous woods or go around on to private property.

“There is a private property conflict at that intersection,” said Kruse, who is also the vice president of Big Lake Trails. “A new trail bypass needed to be put in place so we could keep winter recreation people on a legal easement.”

Big Lake Trails started two years ago, and the non-profit group has taken over responsibility for the local trails. The group identified the problem spot and began working towards a remedy.

The remoteness of the area — nine miles west of the nearest road — and the thickness of the trees complicated the project, Kruse said. Volunteers from Big Lake Trails, Mat-Su Trails Council and Willow Trails spent hours packing the approach route. Grants from Alaska State Parks, the Mat-Su Borough and ConocoPhillips paid for the brush cutting contractors who had the section cleared in less than 10 days, Kruse said.

The trail officially opened on Feb. 27.

“It’s a 30-foot wide trail that rises through the uplands 300 feet above the surrounding area,” Kruse said. “It makes for a much more enjoyable ride. It’s really a beautiful segment.”

The project also got support from the Iron Dog organization, Kruse said. Before the project, the racers were forced to take alternative routes. Now, the route through the area is legal and locked into for the future races.

Big Lake Trails contracts the grooming of the trails out through the SnowTRAC program paid for with snowmachine registration fees, Kruse said. The section of trail will allow the large groomers that make 20-foot wide trails access to all of the 130 miles of trail in the area. This includes the Big Lake portion of the Susitna Valley Winter Trail that runs to Denali State Park.

While Kruse said he is thrilled about the new section, the work of Big Lake Trails is far from over. The ultimate goal is to secure public easements for all of the trails in the area. Kruse said the Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted to designate the trails as historic recreational trails, and the borough is working with local land owners to get the easements, he said.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.