A rather large bull elk in the back meadow staring at me.
I've taken down hundreds of yards of old rusted barbed wire fence from the new property. That, along with all the other old wire fencing, I feel like I've partially given this movement corridor/drainage back to the wildlife. They used it before, but were more funneled by the mass of historic barbed trip-lines and fences that blocked their movement. I hope I've helped them get around easier with the work I've been doing. But I still have a LONG way to go. It's amazing to think about how much freakin barbed wire there is out there in the West for the purpose of keeping cattle (for the most part). It's really insane the lengths humans go to eat beef, absurd really.
Friday and today I rode the re-built Hunter. I've been riding the 69er mostly these days and the Hunter stayed unbuilt in the garage. It's a single now with a new front end. The new fork has a custom mini-pannier for my future overnight trips, and bent blades with more offset than my previous fork. The ride is better as the "trail" is in the more normal range than before. I asked Rick to make my bike with different geometry to test out my ideas. Most of them worked, but the fork needed some tweaking and Rick was happy to oblige. I also was drooling over his CDR (Continental Divide Race) rig last year, as you may know, which had the same front mini-pannier rack. Above is a pic of the new fork out on my Friday AM commute. The pannier's at home, but you can see the bolts on the side of the blade. I like the 69er, but I have to say that a rigid steel 29er is my bike of choice for most rides. It just ROLLS!

Today's ride took me over to see some terrain I've neglected for a few years. Orange square to Blue-square trail then to Buddha rock for some spiritual enlightenment. I caught a wanna-be Buddha hiding from me behind a tree thinking i didn't see him or her...so i just played along and left. You see, this is the trail system of a local "awareness center"... and although I wasn't trespassing, I kinda felt like I was.

Next stop...Singletrack MountainThis is my favorite local stash of singletrack. Desolate of people with amazing views of the divide and running water. "Stickman" still lives here, as Bob would exclaim as he raised his arms in comedic frustration. Most other stashes have been over-run with riders and the sticks that once hid the ingress/egress of the trails now line the trail. That's the way of the trail here in Ned though...so i guess it's only a matter of time before this stash gets found (and overused) like the others.