The Sac & Fox Trail One Year Later

One of the perks of living in Cedar Rapids is its fairly nice park system. It’s not perfect—there is a “park” along Dry Creek in my neighborhood that had been a nice mowed meadow a couple of years ago that the city has apparently decided is too much of a hassle to mow—rendering it a large, impassible weed patch—but there are lots of nice parks.

Several years after we had moved to Cedar Rapids in 2001, we discovered the Sac and Fox trail, a 7.2-mile walking/biking trail. We used it several times during the summer when the kids still lived here, although our family usage has fallen off as we have become fewer in number in residence.

Still, once I discovered a more-or-less OK biking route (Cottage Grove hill is still a challenge) to the north end of the trail, I would visit it two or three times a summer. It’s a challenging bike ride, at least for me, which takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours. Doing the trail is a 14 ½ mile ride, and it’s about a 15-mile round trip from my house, so I’m cycling at about 10 miles per hour.

Last summer was an exception. Between the flood and Amanda getting married, the whole season passed without me riding the trail. So today, June 3, 2009, a beautiful sunny cool early summer day, perfect for a bit of a bike romp, I decided it was time to visit the trail again.

If I had thought to check the city’s web site, I would have ready this ominous notice printed in red type on the “trail” page, http://www.cedar-rapids.org/parks/walktrail.asp:
“Due to June 2008 flood damage, the Sac and Fox Trail is not safe for use along any part of its 7.2 mile length. The trail may not reopen before fall of 2009.”

I rode the street route to the trail—traffic was light at 9:30, and it was around 10:15 when I arrived at the Cottage Grove Parkway trail end.

Well. What a tragedy.

Right after starting on the trail, around the first bend when the trail goes under East Post Road, the trail was basically destroyed. It was an aggregate gully, not a trail. 20 yards into my ride and I had to “portage” my bike around a big pit.

I had not seen any “trail closed” sign.

I continued my ride. Beside the trail, in many places, a “mini trail” has sprung up, where people have gone around the washed out areas. I rode about half the trail, but didn’t enjoy it much—was too busy not planting my face in the turf.

And I rode over a lot of rocks and soft sand.

I was able to ride, for the most part, rather than walk, except when I encountered the bridges. The trail surface had been washed away from the first two bridges I encountered, so they were definitely pedestrian passages.

It took me about 20 minutes to go the first two miles. Incredibly slow, even for me—about my jogging speed, and I know I am a very slow jogger.

About 3 miles into the trail, I came to a place where a bridge used to be. The bridge itself had been overturned and pushed downstream—and was still there, upside-down.

I was all set to write a rant about this trail being in such poor shape a year after the flood, but I’ve lost my steam, a bit. For one thing, there is so much work to do in Cedar Rapids, and much as I loved this trail, I can see there are many other priorities. For another, when I checked the city’s web site, it clearly stated the trail would not be repaired until this fall.

Which means, at least, there probably are plans to repair it.

I spent some of my time on the trail praying for my father-in-law, George Schultz, who is being treated for a lymphoma. The trail, treacherous as it is, is still a good place for thought and prayer.

I hope it and he are both back in good condition by this fall.