Lander BLM Trail Projects

Wyoming Pathways is currently partnering with Lander Cycling, the Bureau of Land Management and the Lander community to expand trail development and improvement in the Lander area.  We are currently working on the next phase of the new Flowin’ Johnny beginner trail at Johnny Behind the Rocks.  The project this year extends the trail and will require bringing in a substantial amount of material to stabilize the trail tread.  It’s quite an undertaking and we are thankful to our partners for providing support and for Singletrack Trails for getting the work done.

We appreciate all of you who have supported this work so far and hope that you will consider donating toward the 2021 project.  A good portion of the funding for the projects comes from grants and land agencies, but we really count on and need community support.  If you like seeing new and better trails in the Lander area, please consider making a donation to support our continued work via the form below.

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2021

September 30th 2021 Update:  Wrapping-Up

The new Flowin’ Johnny Trail was completed on September 30th and the trail is now open for use.  The project partners are planning a ribbon cutting ceremony for the trail on Saturday, October 9th and Wyoming Pathways will be attending, along with our partners the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Lander Cycling, to officially open this new beginner trail.  Because this trail is a departure from our traditional singletrack style of trail, we wanted to give you an idea of what the new trail looks like and some background on what went into building it.

The BLM’s goal for this trail was to have a multi-use trail that would make experiencing the rugged beauty of Johnny Behind the Rocks more accessible to a broader range of users. The project was more challenging than a traditional trail build because the soil in the trail corridor was unstable. This necessitated using methods and materials that would make a more durable and sustainable trail tread.

To achieve this, we had to bring in various types of materials so our trail builders could build a solid bed and trail surface. As you can see from these and previous photos, there was a lot of loading, trucking-in, spreading and compacting that had to happen to get the desired result. And the result is exactly what the project partners were shooting for, a welcoming, fun, flowy beginner trail that will be perfect for all users to get a taste of JBR.

We are excited about this project and look forward to working with the BLM, Lander Cycling and other partners in the Lander area to continue to expand the outdoor recreation opportunities for all users (not to mention our Active Transportation work there). There are great things happening in Lander and we are thankful that we have the opportunity to work with such a great, forward-looking, community.

September 15th 2021 Update:  Serious Machine Building

We have the latest report and photos from Evan Ely of Singletrack Trails, showing some serious maching building in difficult terrain. The Singletrack Trails crew has cut roughly 2355 lineal feet of trail over the course of the week and have finished roughing in the upper section of the trail, so it is connected to the rest of the Flowin’ Johnny Trail.   The new trail section navigates along a large rock face and is looking like it will be a great section of trail.  The base layer has been applied to a little under half of the trail, due to the difficulty of clearing the corridor.  The next steps will be to finish adding the base layer, adding crusher fines and then compacting everything, to stabilize the trail.  The crew will be at it again next week and with the predicted moisture and cooler temperatures, anticipating making great progress.  We can’t wait to see the next round of photos.

September 12th 2021 Update:  Work is Rolling Along

Wyoming Pathways’ Lander Active Transportation Director, Mike Kusiek ventured out to check on how the Flown’ Johnny trail construction at Johnny Behind the Rocks near Lander, WY was going.  As these photos below show, the alignment for the trail has been roughed out by machine.  The next step is to bring in the additional material and add it to the soil to help stabilize the trail tread.   We will keep you posted on the project’s progress.

September 9th 2021 Update:  Preparing to Start

Executive Director, Tim Young met with Jared Oakleaf of the BLM, Scott Van Orman of Lander Cycling and Evan Ely of Singletrack Trails to finalize the alignment of the next section of the new Flowin’ Johnny Trail at Johnny Behind the Rocks in preparation for work starting soon.  This year’s project will be even more challenging because it will require adding material to the trail tread to stabilize it.

2020

October 20th, 2020 Update:

Executive Director, Tim Young made the trek over to Lander on Monday to meet with Jared Oakleaf of the BLM, Scott Van Orman or Lander Cycling and Aaron Cholewa of Singletrack Trails to inspect the recently completed phase 1 section of the new Flowin’ Johnny beginner trail at Johnny Behind the Rocks (JBR).  The new trail is about .8 of a mile and is now open and being enjoyed by public.  Phase 2 will include building the remaining section of Flowin’ Johnny the trail will be a loop beginner trail that provides great access right from the parking lot.  We think that this is a great addition to JBR and are excited that there is now a trail that will invite new users out to outdoor recreate.

102520 UPDATE:

Things are moving along at Johnny Behind the Rocks (JBR) on the new Flowin’ Johnny beginner trail and we have a few more pictures for you. Aaron Cholewa and the Singletrack Trails crew have already built nearly 3,000 lineal feet of trail and are currently working on the turns on the lower portion of the trail.
 
As you can see in the third photo, the weather was beginning to move in and snow was starting to dust the area, so it looks like the crew will be taking a “weather break” for today. They hope to be back at it again on Tuesday. Again, our thanks to Lander Cycling, the BLM and the Lander community for helping to make this happen.
 

102120 UPDATE:

Our Executive Director, Tim Young, just returned from Lander, WY, where he participated in a project walk-through for the Flowin’ Johnny Trail at Johnny Behind the Rocks (JBR). The project, a collaboration between Lander Cycling, Wyoming Pathways and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), who manages JBR, is going to be a great addition to the area. There is a lack of easy beginner trails in Lander and this trail will be purpose built for that need. Professional trail builder firm Singletrack Trails, has been contracted to build the trail.

Tim worked with local trail advocates Ron Murray and Scott Van Orman to go over the final layout and then they got together with BLM Recreation Planner, Jared Oakleaf and Aaron Cholewa of Singletrack Trails to fine-tune it. All parties were pleased with the final product and work was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 21st.

The Singletrack Trails crew of 5 will be making use of two machines to assist in the build, which should take 2-3 weeks, depending on weather (see photos below). With some snow predicted in the near future, we’ll have to see how lucky we get with weather.

Funding for the project comes in the form of a $26,000 grant from the Lander Recreation District obtained by Lander Cycling and a three year grant from the BLM.

This nice addition to JBR is coming to fruition in large part due to the efforts of Lander Cycling and the willingness of Jared Oakleaf and the BLM to support such improvements. Wyoming Pathways is excited to be a part of this project and looks forward to helping with the expansion of trails at JBR for many years to come.

 

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