Oh, yeah,a couple of other things...

Just when it seems that my topic well has run dry, other things come to mind that bear mentioning.

As I finished my ride Wednesday night, I decided to cruise on down to the Clinton Park Bridge to see if it was as desolate as the rest of the trail system. As I approached the gate through the flood wall near the NLR RV Park, imagine my surprise when I saw that the pavement was........gone.

It was closer to dark than this photo makes it appear, but still light enough for me to see that my ride stopped here!

It looks like they are improving this approach, but for the next few days, I suggest looking before you go barrelling out the gate. It pays to approach this point with caution, anyway, as I've had a couple of close encounters here as I entered from the street, only to meet people heading out on the left side (MY right) of the opening and hidden from my view by the wall. A "KEEP RIGHT" sign might be in order.

New Options For Camp Robinson Sportsman Passes

This passed along by Bryan Shipman on 11/29:

"Starting tomorrow sportsman's passes will be sold at the visitors center Tuesday - Friday from 10am - 6pm. Mrs. Tiffany Alexander is now on-board with us and were glad to have her. Please post this information to your websites and pass along to all? :)"

visitor center 501.212.4090

As many of you know, I'm just a seasonal mountain biker (this is that season!), but a proponent of use of the CARP trails at Camp. The last year or so has been trying for Camp riders, in that there has been clear cutting, wildfires, controlled burns and bulldozer work, all of which impacted some of the trails. In addition, the procedure for entry has been a moving target. The new hours for obtaining a Sportsman Pass have been extended and now make it possible for clock-punchers to get by after work (I still suggest calling before trekking out there to buy a pass), and most of the trails are in good shape, in spite of another recent foray by a bulldozer to tie a couple of clear-cuts/landing zones together. Once you have the pass, entry is easier than ever. All you have to do is sign in at the visitor's center and show your ID as you enter the gate. No more hauling in documents or dealing with the security guard.

Airport, Outer Loop, Port-o-potty, Buddha, Ball of Nails, Merlin, ZigZag and other top quality trails are intact and in good shape, needing only some leaf blowing and some riders. I've spoken to a couple of mountain bikers this week who have rediscovered Camp Robinson. It's easy to get your groove on at the newly improved Burns Park trails and forget how very good and diverse the Camp trail system really is. I've never come close to riding it all in a day. In fact, there are still a few stretches that I've never ridden.

This is a not entirely a selfless admonition to riders to use the trails. The trails are better with use and I would despair a loss of access if the powers-that-be were to ever decide that the area would be better used by the Guard for some other purpose.