Re: For Ride Managers.

Lucie A. Hess (lhess01@mail.coin.missouri.edu)
Thu, 16 Jan 1997 11:05:04 -0600 (CST)

Don't believe their mileages!! I love the forest service folks in my area
but they are known to" pace out" the mileage or they use a gadget that
measures the trail on the map. Both not too accurate. If they use the
new Ground to Satellite data then it is correct. The forest service folks
here have walked our whole trail with this measuring device, it send a
signal up to a satellite every 15 seconds, and it maps the trail
accurately and mileages it. The only problem is they have the raw data
in the Computer and don't have the staff to get it out, They have really
had some Horrific Staff cut backs with the Feds tightening their belts.

So the Question is how do you mileage a trail, ... with a Surveyors
wheel, be sure you know if it is in Feet or Metric, makes a big
difference. I go out and measure sections at a time. I have a big loop
to measure, that is fairly inaccessible, so my plan is to get a friend
who enjoys walking and one horse and we'll trade off, one person wheel and
one ride until the other gets tired and then trade off. I'll let you
know how it goes. I have tried a mountain bike and odometer, and was
sadly off on the Mileage, there are still some people who haven't
forgiven me on that one. I might consider a 3 wheeler if it had an
odometer and it was checked to make sure it was correct. But my trail is
for non-motorized and I don't feel I should break the rules, when I can
walk it. What do others do? Manager for th e CEDAR CREEK COMPETITIVE
TRAIL RIDE... (NATRC)

Lucie Hess
Columbia, Missouri
Chief Black Arrow -retired Appy
Moonhill Dandi -current mount- 7/8 Arab