Last year some buddies & i bought trail passes so we could ride the trails around the edmonton area. We had done enough ditch banging & field riding that we thought riding some nice trails was going to be the way to go. But after riding on some of them, Ft sask in particular, i must say that we are a little dissapointed in the lack of signs. Last year we tried to make the loop from the staging area to bruderhem & back to the staging area, we never made it because we lost the trail shortly after we crossed the railway tracks up by the plants. We followed the trail across a couple of fields but lost it as we went up the road by the power lines because the turn to the left to go back in the bush is not marked at all! We ended going up the road some more & picked up some sled tracks on the power lines so followed those untill we realized it wasn`t the trail. We never did find the turn so ended up going back the same way we came, boring!
This year we tried again, although this time we turned north at the clubhouse junction to go to bruderhem first but guess what, we lost the trail again, this time shortly after leaving the town! We ended up making our way along hiway 830 to pick up the trail up by the creek that crosses the hiway. We had stopped to have a break when my brother decided to do some exploring while the rest of us had something to eat. He found it as it crossed the road that we were on. I don`t know how people are supposed to ride a trail system that is not clearly marked! It now seems to me that the trail is not very well marked as you leave bruderhem going north & up by the railway tracks as you make your way toward the warmup shelter. I carry two rolls of marking tape, one green & one red , with me so i can mark turns & stuff when we are in areas new to us. Last sunday when we came out of the bush part of the trail to go along side the road that leads to the railway tracks i marked a 3ft tall tree with two long strands of the tape. For anyone doing that loop from country boys around to bruderhem & its your first time look for that tape or you might miss the turn. Shame on the club for not having enough signs up!
This year we tried again, although this time we turned north at the clubhouse junction to go to bruderhem first but guess what, we lost the trail again, this time shortly after leaving the town! We ended up making our way along hiway 830 to pick up the trail up by the creek that crosses the hiway. We had stopped to have a break when my brother decided to do some exploring while the rest of us had something to eat. He found it as it crossed the road that we were on. I don`t know how people are supposed to ride a trail system that is not clearly marked! It now seems to me that the trail is not very well marked as you leave bruderhem going north & up by the railway tracks as you make your way toward the warmup shelter. I carry two rolls of marking tape, one green & one red , with me so i can mark turns & stuff when we are in areas new to us. Last sunday when we came out of the bush part of the trail to go along side the road that leads to the railway tracks i marked a 3ft tall tree with two long strands of the tape. For anyone doing that loop from country boys around to bruderhem & its your first time look for that tape or you might miss the turn. Shame on the club for not having enough signs up!
