question about castlewood

[fastdogs]

I'm trying to figure out which trail is love and where rollercoaster is.
I guess they took a chainsaw and cleared all the downed trees on grotpeter.
I've been reading the outrage and disappointment on other lists about the recent removal of the logs on rollercoaster. I thought, "woo hoo! I need to ride rollercoaster before someone puts even bigger ones back on!"
So today I went after work and started at the office - the trail almost immediately branches- one goes left (mountain ridge connector) and one goes right (office connector). I take the left one, because I don't like the look of the loose rock hill on the right. The mountain ridge one goes out to the paved road and doubles back into the woods labeled "grotpeter". I took one side trail off this one, that just led to a horse stable. So I kept going, and found a trail that branched off so took it. There were clear marks where some logs had been across the trail for a long time. But it seemed too short, then it came out in a big intersection of trails, one was "fern connector". I stayed on grotpeter and it was the one that goes to the really rocky "stairs" that I always walk my bike down, and the giant ruts and tree roots at a sharp turn, that I also walk. Then it comes out at the bridge at the bottom.
Can anyone give me an idea what trails I was on, and how to find rollercoaster?
vickie

[singletrackmind]

We rode the Love trail up to Grotpeter, down Grotpeter a tiny bit and then turned onto Roller Coaster which ends back onto Grotpeter.

In other words, directly across from the Ranger station you'll find a trail. Go up that a little bit till you get to a fork. The left is Love, the right is Ranger Station. So go left. Follow the Love trail til it ends (you'll come to a fork that you can turn either left or right on, we went right but both ways work). Love ends at the Grotpeter trail, turn away from Ries Rd. Ride along Grotpeter for a little bit and you'll see another trail (very obvious and wide...not the small ones) intersection. That's the Ranger Station. Turn left onto the Roller Coaster trail which is across from it. Follow Roller Coaster and it'll dump you back onto Grotpeter.

If you want the map again let me know and I'll stick it back up.

I'd heard the logs....all of them.....were taken out. While I won't miss the triple with the tandem and all I'll still miss all the others. Bet it's safe to say JB will not.
Bump....bump bump.....bumpity bump.....big bump.....

[singletrackmind]

http://www.gorctrails.com/images/maps/castlewood.pdf

The Love trail is called "Mountain Ridge Connector" on this map. It only shows the left option near the top where there's a fork.

The Ranger Station is called "Midway Connector".

Everything else is as I know it. You can see on this map that the Grotpeter and end of the Roller Coaster intersects along with the 3 Bridges trail. When you come off the Roller Coaster you want to stay left for the Grotpeter.

[fastdogs]

thanks- it looks like I took love to grotpeter, then somehow got on just a small loop of rollercoaster, then back on grotpeter. Maybe I'll try to get back there after work today to do it again and see if I can get on rollercoaster for the whole way.
I was kinda sad to see the imbedded logs gone- I was afraid when they put new ones down they will be bigger and not set into the trail, so will not be as easy to roll over. I wasn't feeling too confident yesterday for some reason, maybe just needed to get some confidence back after st joe park. I even walked the one place on grotpeter that has two big trees very close together with a giant root across between them. My excuse was I had a spider web on my face.
vickie

[singletrackmind]

Don't worry, the only way new ones go down is if a tree falls.

Two big trees very close together with a giant root across them sounds more like the top of Love (of course, I could be wrong). Once you went past that a ways you should have come to Ries Rd., assuming you're going up. If that's the case when you get to Ries Grotpeter is the other trail to the right, or north, of Love. Wouldn't blame you for walking there, it's very narrow. I can tell you the tandem bars, which are w-i-d-e, fit.

[fastdogs]

the close together trees with big root is on love. I rode it today, and didn't have to walk it today. I did all of rollercoaster (man, the sharp right bend before steep downhill was scary), then back on grotpeter where I walked the big railroad tie rocky stairs and the bend with the tree in the middle and all the roots. I had a great time, and have no idea how I survived some of those rocky descents. My rear tire did not, however, and had a gouge out of the sidewall with the tube bulging out. I didn't see it till I put the bike on the car rack. So on the way home I stopped by fox creek outfitters and got a new rear tire.
Tomorrow- if I can sneak away at lunch- I'm going to try creve coeur park mountain bike trail.
vickie

[singletrackmind]

Ooh, let me know what you think of that one....we talked about riding it on Tuesday after doing Creve Coeur to St. Charles and back but did not for the quickly fading daylight.


Nothing better than finding something that should have flatted after the ride!
Well, 'cept nothing being there at all....

[fastdogs]

I was unable to find the trail at creve coeur lake park. I went in on marine, and parked at the first parking lot you come to, on the left. I rode up the trail to the boat launch place, then back to the highway over the trail. Then back, and on the grass around the perimeter of the disc golf field. Then, all the way around the lake. I'd read it was near some tennis courts, but I never found any tennis courts. I did get in 6.5 miles, but not on trails like I'd wanted. I was out of time and had to leave. On the way out, I went into the park entrance off of dorsett (just before marine), and drove around in there. No tennis courts. no trail that I could see. I was really disappointed. It sounded like a good ride to ride that trail, then across to katy trail and to bangert island trail (when it dries out).
I guess there are no signs, and it's definitely not on the park map (none of the ones I looked at). Any clues to where the entrance is (besides tennis courts- never found any of those, although they are on the park map)