Workin' the Jackfork

The temperature was still in the teens at 9 am Monday morning when Paul, Melanie and I (Joe) showed up at the Jackfork Trailhead. The Jackfork is the main mountain biking trail at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The trail is known for its rocks and short climbs, a good workout trail.

The goal of the day would be to improve some of the trail by removing rock that was blocking some of the better lines on what is known as the "Bail Trail," an access trail to the main loop that starts at the park visitor center parking lot and takes the higher route in. We only expected to get a few hundred yards. but we made quick work of much of it.

We didn't want to "dumb down" the trail too much just make some clear lines, the work went fast. Melanie had headed out with a backpack blower and covered over half of the entire trail system before we knew it. Paul and I worked crowbars on the larger rocks clearing quickly without removing all of the the rock gardens. 

It was pretty cold at first but the work soon had us sweating. After about 4 hours of work we had reached the main loop and decided to call it quits. If you are heading out there soon, don't expect a super groomed trail, there are still plenty of rocks and roots along the way, but you should be able to enjoy a good ride on the bail trail.

If you're interested in helping with more work on the Jackfork or other trails in the area, please like our Facebook page and sign up for our newsletter. If you want to support the work of the Central Arkansas Trail Aliance, please join up.

Barely visible trail when we arrived.

Melanie making the trail, and the rocks, visible

Paul doing some rock hounding.

Joe, in charge of style....obviously.