UAF Skarland Trail System Management Plan
UAF Trails 1999 User Survey Results
March 2, 2000
Comments on New Facilities and Amenities - 41 Respondents had comments
Please invest in snowmobile trail grooming equipment.
Signs for winter only saying "No dogs allowed"
There is a litter container at Ballaine Lake trail head and a can in the ski hut. I think they should remain. Vehicle barriers as a must do.
Re: Restrooms. Can it be done so they are not smelly?? I don't notice any problem at West Ridge.
How about more lighted ski trails, such as the segment of the six-mile loop that connects to lower campus? I would guess that boardwalks would make grooming and use of ski trails difficult. Is this true? I would not be opposed to their use if they did not interfere with ski use
fix up the warming hut you do have. It's depressing and needs at the minimum better lighting.
warming hut on West side of Smith Lake for ice skaters
The ski hut needs improved heating and lighting!!! ESSENTIAL!!
Sanitary facilities are needed-people defecate anyway, but port-a-potties ought be all that are provided. No need for large, permanent structure. Do not build expanded trailhead by Muskox farm. Yankovitch is already too heavily trafficked and dangerous because of the lack of a shoulder and high pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Also we like having some trails classical skiing only for a more intimate, in the woods experience. A trailhead would invite the mass clearing that seems to go along with skating access. We need bike path up Miller Hill Road and along Yankovitch (on Musk Ox Farm side because that side of the road is melted off a good month before the UAF trails side).
storage shop should not be in the forest. I have not seen lack of bathrooms to be a problem, i.e. toilet paper etc. on the trails. Our tours makes available the farm bathrooms before we go on walk, and this is sufficient for our small numbers.
Provide public parking near West Ridge trailhead and warming hut. The Sheep Creek pullout is not a safe and secure parking area.
Improve and lengthen the lighted loop system.
improve ski hut, heat weatherproofing and benches lighting for more trails, whizzies and T-field.
I dislike signs. Please don't clutter the place up with a bunch of trail signs, telling us what to do or not do. I don't like the idea of the trash barrels or the trailhead signs.
Snowmachine parking / picnic areas
MORE LIGHTED LOOPS FOR SKIING!
I am not sure from reading your draft plan how exactly you would treat the commuter and run paths in winter, so I thought I would mention this: if you groom/pass with a snowmachine over the ski trails, you should do likewise for the other trails, as it is not very much fun to run or commute through fresh snow if there is a groomed trail available. Regarding bridge or tunnel across existing roads, yes, it is a good idea, but I believe at this moment in time the skiers have enough facilities while no one else can go anywhere except the side of the road. Let's face it, if every UAF student/Faculty/staff went skiing at lest twice a week, the trails would be very crowded. Thus I think it's time to make a trail for the rest, all the other people that for one reason or another are currently left out. Seriously, there is no place to go run in winter, or if there is, please correct me. I believe a perhaps 5km loop from west ridge through the woods towards Sheep Creek/Smith lake and back would allow runners/joggers and commuters to get their exercise too. Of course this would not be necessary if you would allow people to use some of the currently ski only trails for other uses.
The idea of "donation boxes" at the trail heads is vandalism waiting to happen. At the kiosk, post how to donate to the trail fund i.e. United Way, Nordic Ski Club, ... No suggestion boxes either. Someone has to monitor them. If someone has a suggestion (or complaint) they know who to call. If not, again, post that these trails are built and are maintained by "X", Suggestions and comments can be sent in written form to "X" at "Address" Why start the SRC to West ridge trail at the Chapman Building. I don't get it.
close trails to motorized vehicles
Need fall trail maintenance equipment available for cutting willow sprouts and other small bushes from the trails prior to the winter snow. Suggest a propelled bush whacker.
In general, I think well designed and maintained trails are much more important than facilities around them and would rather see available money spent on the trails. However, I do like fencing that was put up at Ballaine lake to keep snowmachines off the trails. I hope that it is successful, because it is very irritating when the tracks are destroyed by an errant snowmachine.
Provisions need to be made to allow snowmachine transit from the vicinity of Dalton Trail (Yankovich Rd.) to the vicinity of Noatak Dr./Sheep Creek Rd.
Don't see a need for facilities, other than maybe port-a-johns at trailheads. But, if put these in then how will be maintained, by whom, and at what expense. Like the rustic nature of the current trail system.
More time needs to be spent maintaining exiting trails. Why does everyone including the UAF ski team go to birch hill, because the trails are well maintained. The UAF trails are not as challenging as birch hill but they could be very good if they were maintained over the summer!
Signs indicating alternate routes for users prohibited from ski trails.
I don't mind no litter service, but I think the proposed sign about memories and foot prints is really OFFENSIVE.
Place physical barriers at certain trailheads to prevent snow machines from entering the trails. Barriers made of natural materials would be best! Storing the Alpine II in the Irving garage seems to work well. I don't know how much this costs, but probably less than new construction.
a few trash cans wouldn't hurt, ESPECIALLY if there were doggie bags for cleaning up dog poop as well
The more improved things get, the more tourists with RV's will be in there and that is bad
there needs to be more signs about winter use: no dogs, no walking.
Trash cans at trail heads is a good idea.
Never having skied myself and with not-so-hot-knees, not even being much of a hiker any more, I have become much more aware of the 'elitist' image that skiers and what I now think of as the Eddie Bauer/REI outdoor types tend to project. It seems to be one of moral superiority based on knowledge from 'higher sources' and physical capabilities beyond those of ordinary folks. If you want a tour of the variations, start at the Rocket Surplus then go to Big Rays, then to Prospector Outfitters, and finally to Beaver Sports. If your are familiar with the NE, it's a trip from Filene's Basement to upstairs to Macy's to Saks. Here in AK, particularly around UAF, it's a PR problem that, in my mind, needs to be addressed both in a policy sense and in a sharing sense. Giant sports stadia are reserved, but they also generate income. Specially reserved ski trails and hiking trails neither generate income nor provide entertainment and are not much accessible to ordinary people for 'a day in the park' or a picnic or a Brownie Scout overnight camping trip . . . at least not as far as I know. Until the top of the line folks find a way to make common cause with ordinary people, seems to me the problem will only get worse.
More resources should be put into maintaining the trails in existence with an emphasis on good consistent grooming in the winter time. And any facilities that would enhance the likeliness that the trails are groomed regularly. I think the surface quality of the trails should be improved such that low snow years still allows for good skiing.
A dog lot where skijorers could keep their dog or 2 during work, classes, etc. would be great. It could be managed by a campus mushing organization. I am told that this existed back in the good old days. There would be rules, fences, and clean up responsibilities.
Despite ASUAF's claims that it is too expensive to run the campground, I believe it could be done efficiently and economically using volunteer hosts, as is done in many other campgrounds in the state (and nation).
On litter: Of course you should put garbage cans around! A sign will not deter people from throwing trash on the ground if they are going to discard it anyway.
Warming hut out on the outer reaches of the trails.
Allow dogs on leash to be walked on the trails
a specific table to wax the skis in the hut
Mark portion of trail system where skiing with dogs is allowed
It might be a good idea to have a map of the trail system at the three major entrances - west ridge, Sheep Creek, Ballaine, may be behind natural sciences and also close to lower campus.
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