Jim,

I guess this is right down my alley, since I do all three. (I am always one of “those” people).

I don’t personally have alot of concerns when encountering other users, but I can see how problems arise.  I think that it is extremely important to announce yourself as soon as you’re within earshot.  (If you wait to announce yourself on a trail, you can scare the *** out of somebody.  If you do this to a horse, it can be very dangerous.)  When coming up behind a horse, make sure the horse and rider see you before you come close or pass.  With hikers and horses, it’s very important just to slow down!, if not dismount.

Engaging in conversation, as Chris said, lets everyone relax and realize that the ‘other’ side isn’t so bad after all.

To complete the yielding circle (Hikers & bikers to horses, Bikers to hikers),  hikers and horsemen must step off to the side to let a biker pass from behind.

Just a couple things to add in about horses.  Some of them are afraid of bikes, so don’t move yours around too much in front of them.  Horse riders are not always in complete control of their mount – keep a close eye on the animals body language.  Sometimes a horse will not go by you, so if the horse people pull over, go ahead and go by.  It’s not a good idea to try and pet a strange horse – they could spook, and riders these days are sometimes taught not to allow strangers to approach their mounts.

The loose dog thing – that’s hard to deal with!  I know it’s great fun to let your dog run free, but they can frighten all other trail users.  I have had several loose dogs run up and start fighting with my dog while he’s on a leash, and I’m sure we’ve all had them bite at our ankles.  Horses that are frightened by dogs can hurt their riders, bystanders, or the dog.

Good topic,

~Olivia

POPers,

Earlier today I had a great conversation with Debbie Gullo with the North
Idaho Backcountry Horsemen.  She called to apologize for not getting back to
me sooner about getting a letter of support to us for our Mineral Point
trail extension grant proposal with the Forest Service, and we turned the
conversation around to another topic of mutual concern: multi-use trail
etiquette.

Now I know there has been lots of talk in the club and between many of us
individually about "those hikers' or "those horsemen" etc. that have bad
trail etiquette.  Well, guess what?  They have the same conversations and
often we (those bikers!) are getting the heat.  To paraphrase Rodney King,
'Can't we all just get along?'  :)

To that end, Debbie and I agreed to start a conversation to start working on
a multi-use trail etiquette guide.  I've already invited Jan Griffitts of
the Monday Hikers to participate and she agreed, so we have all three trail
use sectors covered.

Now we need input from users, so here's my requests.  Please reply to the
whole group so we can have a little dialog about this important issue.

1) Does anyone else in the club have any heat about this issue?  In other
words, who would like to work with me and these representatives from the
hikers and horsemen to evolve an etiquette guide for trail use?  If this
issue speaks to you, let me know!

2) What are your issues or concerns about using the trails as a biker wrt
encountering other users?  What makes sense to you when coming upon other
trail users be they other bikers, hikers or horsemen.  What are your
personal etiquette guides that you use? Do you announce yourself when coming
upon other trail users?  When do you yield?  When do you not? Do you
indicate what your going to do, like, "passing on your right", etc. Care to
share any interesting stories about trail encounters of the third kind?  All
this will help us in forming a guide.

3) Do any of you have sources of pre-determined trail use etiquette that may
already exist?  I plan to research the web on this issue, but many of you
may already have stuff to share.  If you do, please be in touch!

The goal for our workgroup is to develop simple to understand trail use
guidelines when encountering others on the trails.  We then may seek to get
these published in various papers, letters to the editor and circulated
among student and other outdoor clubs/groups.   The ultimate goal will be to
enhance our mutual trail experiences and reduce problematic encounters while
out enjoying nature in the personal way we each choose.


Getting psyched to ride...


  -- Jim