Trail Cleanup May 2021
Beginning of May is such an exciting time in Minnesota when it comes to riding! Our weather is so up and down we never really know when our favorite trails are going to open. Every year is different, some years we have snow up until around fishing opener or even Memorial Day. There are other years where we have the most amazing warm springs where people all over the country that I talk to are having worse weather than us up in Minnesota. This was one of those years where I could actually brag about our amazing spring weather.
As members of the Over the Hills Gang ATV club in the Outing MN area we get to do a variety of things to help the club. This year we volunteered to clear some trails before out opener next weekend – May 15th. It was an amazing opportunity to ride the trails on a weekend when they are still quiet and also we got to help the members of the club by clearing some down trees that are more difficult to navigate around while riding – especially if the trails are busy and you pass other riders. It was a beautiful day – blue skies and low 60’s for a temp – so ideal conditions to go riding around our favorite area and help out members of the club by hitting some trails and clearing some small trees. It just reminds me every time that the trails need to be maintained year round and I’m glad we can be a part of that process.
We are a part of the Over the Hills Gang ATV club up in the Emily/Outing Minnesota area and we have been lucky enough to become more involved in the club which means we volunteer more and try to help the club where we can. This year we got to participate in the annual Adopt-A-Highway cleanup that the club does. They have about four miles of highway that they sponsor and we got to help clean up good stretch of it. We were told that last year it snowed on everyone and thankfully this year it was sunny and in the low 60’s. Like I said our weather is so hit or miss you never know what you’re going to get from one year to another. We pulled three large garbage bags of trash from the ditches on the highway our just ourselves. It was a really rewarding volunteer opportunity that I know we will participate in again.
It was an amazing day because not only did we get to ride the trails that we love so much but we also got to volunteer in the morning to help keep the community that we love so much clean – the members of the club also let us help take some of the burden off of them to maintain the trails. We come across a lot of the same types of trees down when we ride and thankfully – most times – our machines can get over the obstacles that we encountered and removed with our chainsaw that day. It is a great reminder that if you love riding you’re always on a trail that’s been maintained by someone – and if you can throw some time their way to help if you can.
Spring in Minnesota is always a little iffy but this year we were blessed with amazing weather and we had a great time helping where we can. It was probably one of the most rewarding trips we’ve taken in the area and I’m looking forward to this same time next year so we can plan to help even more!