Nail traps at Evansburg State Park!

MST.ESQ

MST.ESQ

New Member
If anyone knows somebody active in the community Northwest of Phila, please pass this along to them.

Evansburg is a park located between Collegeville and Norristown about 30 minutes Northwest of Phila. Over 90% of the park is open to hiking and horsies, but closed to mountain bikers. There is one small loop trail that is designated for mountain bikes on the south end of the park. It is usually in rough shape and contains several washouts, but usually ends up the quick ride of choice when visiting the in-laws in town.

Though I forgot about hunting on Saturday, all four hunters that I ran into smiled and waved approvingly as we passed by. Funny how we did not hear any gunshots go off in this part of the park as we spooked many deer off of the trails. Anyway, here is the disturbing part. There are many log-overs in this park that are very well done. Some have shale rock anchoring both sides of the log piles making them very stable. On Saturday, I felt something weird going over one of them. Then it happened, I had my first experience with trail sabotage. At first I did not believe what I saw. Keep in mind that we were on legal trails that start at one of the ranger stations with clearly marked blazes and tin directional signs. I thought perhaps the screws were there to hold a log in place that had since broken apart. However, we next came apon a single log-over that clearly never had anything affixed to the top of it - but had several 4-5" nails with about 2" still exposed. Seriously, think of the brain matter or vital organs that sit only 2" from your skin.

I pulled every nail and screw that we came across but there were a few that I simply could not get out so I hammered them down with rocks. I know this is not the best solution, but I had to do something knowing others may be on the trail before this could be taken care of.

I guess it goes without saying that this experience ruined the ride.
 

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I left an e-mail and voice-mail at the park office and so far no response!?!? I guess I have to cross this place off my short list of riding locations. I am too nervous about taking chances in this place if the manager/rangers care this little about the issue.
 
That may not have been trail sabotage but rather the remains of an illegal feature. I live right in the area (about ten miles from Evansburg), and we've had some access battles going on here forever. Actually, it isn't so much access as questions of legal/illegal trails. I've seen stuff like this before and, sadly, it's not usually a case of a non-rider trying to sabotage or injure riders. More than likely, what happened here is that some riders decided to build some features in an area where they didn't have permission to do so, and when the rangers/other users found it, the sh*t hit the fan, complaints were made, etc. So the park rangers or maintenance workers went out and tore them out, and the nails were, well, just overlooked. The same thing just happened in Wissahickon Park in Philly, and that was a lot worse from the standpoint of what was lost. There were no nails or dangerous stuff involved in that incident, but it's a great example of how delicate the access issues can be around here. A really great section of trail was built by a qualified and skilled trail builder. It was really well built, well fortified, and a better option than the section it replaced. But the builder never bothered to get permission to build it, and when the complaints came in from hikers and other trail users about the illegal work and features, the rangers came in and ripped it all out. And, at least temporarily, it strained relations between the local Philly MTB group and the Friends of the Wissahickon, a very powerful group in the access discussion.

Anyway, that's just an example of the kind of tensions that can exist around here and why it's risky for riders to try building their own features on trails they currently have access to. And it's probably the kind of thing that led to your experience in Evansburg. As a local rider, I'm sorry you had to experience that. Apparently, we still have some work to do in policing ourselves!
 
that nail is deliberate, look at the chain ring marks almost inline with it, how would someone cross the log if it had been there since before it place, how could the nail be missed during an install of the log with the nail in the perfect center of where most cross and on the direct top of the log. It does look there has been a decent amount of traffic since the nail was installed though


Occams Razor
 
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The picture is only one example. There were four clusters of "log-overs" and they all had nails sticking out of them in the same manner. I wanted to believe that a smaller top log, 2x4 or rubber matting simply fell apart and left the nail behind but I could find no evidence of missing wood, discoloration, indentation or other markings that would indicate that the logs were covered with another piece of wood, log, etc at some point.

It sounds like you have a connection to the advocacy groups in the area. Sorry to hear that there have been issues in Wiss and surrounding areas recently. I am also surprised to hear about access battles at places like Evansburg. As stated in my OP, we encountered a number of hunters that day and none seemed annoyed that we were there. In fact, two of them gave a big smile and hearty wave (the other two waved but still looked shocked that we would be dumb enough to wear dark colors in the woods during hunting season... but that is another issue) They have carved off only a very small portion of the park for MTB yet put a horsie loop around the remainder of the park. I just don't understand this logic.
 
MST.ESQ said:
They have carved off only a very small portion of the park for MTB yet put a horsie loop around the remainder of the park. I just don't understand this logic.
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We will always be hind tit.

Horseback riders generally have alot more money and coincidentally spend more money for their hobby, this supposedly has a greater affect on the local economy which the elected pol*ticians value more than even thousands of hours of trail maintenance. The horseback riders generally have more political connections.

This is why they get more leeway even though there are less of them on the trails than mountainbikers.
 
It sucks to hear about sabotage like this....people suck! :( I hope someone brings a hammer out and takes care of this be4 someone gets hurt.

MST.ESQ said:
They have carved off only a very small portion of the park for MTB yet put a horsie loop around the remainder of the park. I just don't understand this logic.
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Politics :mad:
 
MST.ESQ said:
The picture is only one example. There were four clusters of "log-overs" and they all had nails sticking out of them in the same manner. I wanted to believe that a smaller top log, 2x4 or rubber matting simply fell apart and left the nail behind but I could find no evidence of missing wood, discoloration, indentation or other markings that would indicate that the logs were covered with another piece of wood, log, etc at some point.

It sounds like you have a connection to the advocacy groups in the area. Sorry to hear that there have been issues in Wiss and surrounding areas recently. I am also surprised to hear about access battles at places like Evansburg. As stated in my OP, we encountered a number of hunters that day and none seemed annoyed that we were there. In fact, two of them gave a big smile and hearty wave (the other two waved but still looked shocked that we would be dumb enough to wear dark colors in the woods during hunting season... but that is another issue) They have carved off only a very small portion of the park for MTB yet put a horsie loop around the remainder of the park. I just don't understand this logic.
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Yeah, it's not specific to Evansburg -- in fact, no one I know really rides there much at all (a better and bigger set of trails is just down the road at Greenlane Park.) But in general, there are access issues here. Personally, I have the same experience you had for the most part -- most people I encounter are very friendly. But there will always be those who passionately believe riders don't belong onthe trails, and it's the passionate ones who would think to organize and make a stink about it. Many people don't even know there's any conflict, but pretty much every rider kind of has to be aware of it. I used to have a chip on my shoulder about it all stemming from an incident I had during a night ride back when there was a real battle going on for the right to ride in Wissahickon (I want to say it was around 2001 or so.) I was sliced up pretty bad by fishing line strung across a downhill section. There was no mistaking this was done on purpose, and for a while afterward, if anyone said anything to me about riding the trails, I was ready to throw down. But you know that's never good. I kind of mellowed a bit and decided I'd try winning people over instead, and for the most part it works. Thsoe who are intent on disliking the riders aren't going to be convinced, but I've had some really great interactions with a lot of people (especially equestrians -- they're understandably nervous when a rider comes up behind them, but they're also very appreciative when the rider is friendly and waits for them.)

I don't know -- it's all a work in progress here. It could be worse -- incidents like what you found, if it does turn out to be sabotage, are pretty rare, and I can't recall us being locked out of an entire trail system now for a really long time.
 
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I did not see Greenlane Park on any trail maps. Do you have a link to some info?

I understand that we all need to stay calm. However, it was only by chance that my 7 year old was not riding with us that day. Hate to admit it but I am probably the worse person to represent mtn bikers as I do not foresee being able to temper my anger in this regard. As far as I see it, trail sabotage by fishing wire and nails is a violent criminal act that should be treated as such. If someone came at my son with a 3" screwdriver I would do what needs to be done. Nail traps are no different except that it is the ultimate in cowardly acts. People can think poorly of me for these comments - but these issues should be treated as a matter of self-defense. No less should be expected.

The park should be ashamed for ignoring me. Remember, the park rangers and police in general have no duty to protect citizens. We must all be mindful of this and be more proactive. On second thought, I should have left all the nails and gone directly to the police station. I only have one picture of what I encountered and I doubt that would be enough to even trigger a cursory inquiry. I see other incidents being handled in the same non-caring manner. Leave a small boobie-trap on a road and all hell breaks loose. Put one where my son may personally become impailed on it and nobody gives a shit.
 
It's actually a little further than I thought (I live between the two, so it seems like an easy drive to me.) The trails themselves are kind of all over the park, most on the northern part, whcih admittedly, is a little harder to access by car. If you are trying to stay very local in the Skippack area near Evansburg, then it may not be worth the effort to get to the better trails at Greenlane. But if you have some time to explore, it's worth a drive some time. And if you are really in the mood for a challenge and have your road bike with you, then right on the outside of Greenlane Park is Eichele Road, made semi-famous by the Univest Grand Prix. It gets up to a 22% grade at the curve. Before that, it increases grade steadily from a base of about 1KM out. I included a link to a video below, and I didn't realize until I got to the end that I know the guy riding the hill. (I'm going to have to make fun of him now, because he's criss-crossing the climb as he gets to the steepest part. That shouldn't count! You attack it head on and beat the grade! :D:D)




Here is the map from Evansburg to Greenlane:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=851+Mayhall+Road,+Collegeville,+PA&daddr=Pennsburg,+PA+18073+(Green+Lane+Reservoir)&hl=en&geocode=FTxdZQIdEmCB-ynn5XLw25nGiTG12YA-aSa5Qw%3BFR4laAIdSM5_-yFRBGmrMhcVTA&mra=ls&sll=40.430224,-75.509033&sspn=2.49615,5.471191&ie=UTF8&ll=40.281621,-75.455475&spn=0.325819,0.683899&z=11

Eichele Road:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGCl4vR-mK8
 
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