In general, the jeep roads are rougher, steeper, and more exposed (to
the sun) than the trails. Many of the trails at Philmont were
intentionally built parallel to jeep roads, to get Crews off those
roads. Trails are also *currently* being built (where possible) to (I
believe) NFS specs, meaning maximum grades of 8 percent. This is the
maximum grade that "most" people can hike on for extended periods
without blowing themselves out. They are also often built to
accommodate scenic views and overlooks that are not visible from the
corresponding road. In general, I would always prefer a trail versus a
road, and that's what I'd recommend to everyone else.
I haven't been to Trail Peak since the early 70's, so I'll defer to the
List on detailed advice for those trails.
Matt Cole wrote:
> Our crew is taking Trek 12 in about 3 weeks. I have a
> question about trail preferences. The Philmont
> sectional maps show hiking trails and what I would
> interpret as unimproved dirt/gravel or possibly 4WD
> roads. When the route to a given place could be done
> on a hiking trail, or might be shorter if partially
> done on one of the improved roads, does Philmont
> require that we take the hiking trail, or is there a
> general convention as to which one to take? I imagine
> the hiking trail would be more pristine, but I'm just
> curious.
>
> I see this situation on the side hike to Trail Peak
> from Beaubien. According to the map, there's a trail
> on the west side of Bonito Creek going southeast out
> of Beaubien, but there's also an unimproved road that
> runs along Bonito Creek. I'm not sure if one can
> really even get to the unimproved road without
> "trailcutting," which we would not do, but if we can
> get to the road it appears to be more of a direct
> route to the cutoff up to Trail Peak to the east.
>
> Your thoughts would be appreciated. Congratulations to
> all the returned crews!
>
> Matt Cole
> Advisor, Crew 727-N
> The Screaming Cicada's
> Troop 32
> Bedington, WV
>
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Received on Fri Jul 2 11:07:21 2004
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