By Charles Pekow — The Alden Gulch Trail in Ketchum, Idaho will be rebuilt this summer if all goes according to plan. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is looking for a contractor to reconstruct the 4.65-mile single-track mountain bike trail in Sawtooth National Forest.
The trail has been closed since a fire and subsequent weather events destroyed it in 2013. USFS staff were preoccupied with other flood damage in the forest and haven’t been able to focus on this until now, according to the National Forest Foundation.
The contractor will have to build several banked corner switchbacks and “two rock armored ford stream crossings,” according to a solicitation for bids USFS released.
USFS hopes to start work in July and have the trail ready in mid-September. It budgeted between $25,000 and $100,000 for the project.
The north-south trail is steep and requires advanced mountain biking skills.
To get involved, see: nationalforests.org/get-involved/nff-rei-partnership/alden-gulch-trail
