Reviews
A map on the right track
By Daily Sun Staff
Arizona Daily Sun
01 May 2003
Just in time for the hiking and biking season, Emmitt Barks Cartography has published the Flagstaff Trails Map by Martin Ince that's available in outdoors, book and bike shops around town.
The map includes 200 miles of single-track, 25 miles of Flagstaff Urban Trails System, 140 miles of on-street bikeways and 300 miles of Forest Service roads.
The waterproof, foldable map is printed on durable, tear-resistant synthetic paper, that makes it easy to carry. Colorful graphics and shaded relief gives a "3D" appearance to the map that make it easy to use.
Plus it's loaded with up-to-date trail, street and bikeway information for novice and experienced mountain bikers or hikers. Ince, an avid mountain biker, said he first thought of mapping local trails about 2 1/2 years ago while exploring a trail in Walnut Canyon.
"I was riding on some of the unofficial trails out by Fisher Point and I started to think of a project of just mapping those trails. But it kind of grew after that to include all the trails. It's a little more than I originally conceived," Ince said.
The map covers 375 square miles of area around Flagstaff, from Upper Lake Mary to the south to north of the San Francisco Peaks.
"I spent a lot of time out on the trails with a GPS (global positioning system), and once that was done, it was just a matter of putting it together. The forest roads there are from the Coconino Forest Service map ... I've been on all of them to make sure they are OK for riding," Ince said.
The map details nearly 50 trails and includes notes about trail conditions, topography and tips about safe and nondamaging trail use. Ince has hiked or biked each trail several times.
Choosing trails wasn't easy, especially given the number of unofficial trails or those that have been the subject of controversy, such as the so-called Elks Club trail to the Schultz Creek trailhead that was closed by property owners.
"I had Brian Poturalski at Forest Service review it and we sat down and talked about what trails ought to be included and what should not be," Ince said.
So some trail aficionados might not see their favorite single-track included in the map. But that's fine with Ince.
"I originally thought that it would be a criticism of the completeness of the map, but most of the locals I've talked to are happy that they're not shown," he said.
The map has a nifty trail profile feature that allows a biker or hiker to immediately get a grip on the steepness of a trail before heading out.
"With as much topography as we have and the difficulty of some of the trails, I think it's useful for people to be able to see how long it is or how steep it is," Ince said.
"I made all the trail profiles at scale to each other so you can immediately look and know if one's longer or more steeper than the other," he said.
For example, one look at the map's profile of the Elden Lookout trail, that resembles the profile of a rocket launch, might persuade an out-of-shape hiker to consider the relatively flat meandering of the Deer Hill Trail.
Others looking for a pulse-pounding workout will doubtless welcome the steepness index provided in the map.
Emmitt Barks Cartography is based in Flagstaff. Suggested retail price for the map is $10.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the map will support trail advocacy, construction and maintenance in the Flagstaff area.
More information about the map is provided at www.emmittbarks.com or 779-7146.
Finding your way
by John Stanley
Arizona Republic
24 July 2003
Like any great map, Flagstaff Trails Map provides tons of helpful information to hikers, bikers and horseback riders, as well as hours of satisfaction to armchair cartophiles.
The two-sided, topographic-style map, with contour intervals of 50 feet, covers 375 square miles around Flagstaff, roughly form Upper Lake Mary in the south to slightly beyond the San Francisco Peaks to the north.
The tear-resistant, waterproof map shows Flagstaff streets, forest roads (and their numbers), trailheads and area lakes.
Features include vertical profiles of more than two dozen trails (showing their steepness at a glance) and one-sentence descriptions of 45 trails, including their mileage, elevation range, difficulty rating and use restrictions, if any.
Map maker Martin Ince of Flagstaff has personally hiked and/or biked virtually every mile of every trail, guaranteeing an unusual degree of accuracy.
Cyclists get encouraging news -- for a change
Arizona Daily Sun
03 May 2003
OK, so the Elks Lodge trail is closed and the trail that connects Cheshire to Coconino Estates has been cut off.
There's still good news for bikers and hikers in the Fort Valley corridor, where a new trail is being developed.
And the news is even better for those of us who are directionally challenged and lack a good trail map. The new
Fla-staff Trails Map is a surefire winner.
Let's start with the Fort Valley trail. Bikers have long lamented the fact that there is no off-road alternative if they want to head north from Flagstaff to Snowbowl and beyond. But now the Flagstaff Biking Organization and the Forest Service have teamed up for a solution. It's a new trail that starts from the Lower Schultz Creek trailhead and climbs past Chimney Spring before heading west across the lower face of the San Francisco Peaks to Snowbowl Road.
That's the good news. On the down side, the trail isn't finished yet, but there are plenty of opportunities to help get the job done. Each Saturday between now and October, the biking group will be organizing work parties of volunteers to build the trail, with a free lunch and water bottle thrown in. Contact Carl Williamson at 773-4694 or visit www.flagstaffbiking.org for more information.
The new map by veteran hiker Martin Ince and cartographer Emmitt Barks, covers most formal and informal trails throughout the Flagstaff region. It's got elevations, key roads and prominent natural features, and it's printed on heavy-duty paper designed to withstand a lot of folding and unfolding. There's even a steepness index and graphic profile for many trails. The suggested price is $10, and a portion of the proceeds go toward trail work in the Flagstaff region. For more information, see www.emmittbarks.com or call 779-7146.
As for the trails on private land in the lower Fort Valley corridor, it may be that tort law and privacy concerns have combined to make such access a thing of the past. We're hopeful that a new bike lane on Fort Valley Road next summer will provide safer passage between for cyclists between downtown Flagstaff and Cheshire. Beyond that, it's a short hop over the new Chimney Spring trail - assuming enough volunteers sign up this summer. One Saturday a month sounds about right for us. How about you
Getting to the Point
By Randy Wilson, Daily Sun Editor
Arizona Daily Sun
17 July 2003
Novice bikers owe Martin Ince a big favor.
Ince is the Flagstaff city planner who, on his own time, developed a map of Flagstaff-area trails that has finally made it safe for beginning cyclists like me to venture into the woods.
I tried out Ince's map for the first time several weekends ago on the maze of trails south of Interstate 40 that leads to Fisher Point. In the past, I had made tentative forays on the Flagstaff Urban Trail off Lone Tree Road, but had gotten confused the further south I ventured on unmarked trails.
Instead, I was content to hike in from the south on the Sandys Canyon Trail. Once, I even came in from Fay Canyon. Both are straight shots along canyon bottoms that lead directly to Fisher Point and its famous cave, but the trailheads are considerably south of town off Lake Mary Road.
But with Ince's map in hand, I set off two Saturdays ago from the parking lot of Sam's Club determined to get to the Point without going the long way around. Ince's map, published by Emmitt Barks Cartography, is color-coded according to whether a trail is single- or double-tracked. It lists the Fisher Point Trail as 4.8 miles long one-way and rates it as moderate, which seemed about the limit of my endurance and abilities.
From Sam's Club, I hooked up with the Flagstaff Urban Trail by taking the access road under I-40 that leads past the Rio de Flag sewage treatment plant.
At the first outlet pond, I headed up the hill instead of taking the left fork labeled "Little America," then simply consulted the map every time I came to an unmarked junction. Every single one was listed on Ince's map, and without it I might have wound up back at the treatment plant.
The trails are on a combination of private lands mixed with Forest Service and State Trust parcels. Some of the parcels are labeled in the regional plan as "planning reserve areas" that will accommodate Flagstaff growth once infill is completed. But for now, there weren't any houses in sight, and the traffic buzz from I-40 faded away as I neared Fisher Point.
The Point is an enormous rounded cliff face with a cave at its base, and on this day it provided a welcome respite from hot winds that were kicking up trail dust. Just around the corner, the walls of Walnut Canyon close in, and I parked my bike in the bushes before setting out on foot for another mile along the canyon floor.
Even in the driest part of early summer, Walnut Canyon remains lush with oak, cottonwood and other deciduous trees that thrive in the moist bottomland. Birds were flitting about even in the heat of the day, and the canyon walls towering hundreds of feet overhead provided welcome shade. It is truly a magical spot, and I was surprised to come across just one other hiker in the canyon that day.
For my return trip, I chose to walk my bike up the trail from the base of Fisher Point, then follow the Ince map on a series of trails bearing roughly northwestward toward my starting point.
When I passed dry Hoffman Tank, I knew I was on the right track, and the final mile was a level sprint along the evergreen Rio de Flag. Even though the "stream" actually is treated wastewater, it had little or no odor, and the cattails and grasses made it look like any other scenic wetlands.
The Ince map is called simply "Flagstaff Trails Map," and at $10 it is still a bargain. It is sold at bike shops and several coffee shops around town. For more information, visit the Web site,
www.emmittbarks.com.
If you go:
What: Fisher Point Trail
Length: 4.8 miles one-way
Difficulty: Moderate
Highlights: Ends at scenic rock point with half-cave at the mouth of lush Walnut Canyon.
Source: Flagstaff Trails Map by Martin Ince
A bike map with attitude
By Randy Wilson, Daily Sun Editor
Arizona Daily Sun
29 May 2003
Hard on the heels of the release of the excellent Flagstaff Trails Map comes another map equally deserving of praise. It's the new Flagstaff Bike Map, and it's notable for what it says the city lacks in safe bike routes as well as what it's got.
The map covers mainly the paved streets of Flagstaff, and it is color coded. Green is for streets with bike lanes, blue for a route "suitable" for bikes, yellow for "Ride with caution" and red is not recommended.
The last category includes South Milton, Humphreys and East Route 66. Those are the arterials that fortunately have parallel, alternative routes, including the Flagstaff Urban Trails, which is printed in a confusing reddish-purple.
San Francisco Street gets a caution flag between Butler Avenue and Cherry Street, which is to be expected. It is Flagstaff's most congested downtown street, and if we had our way, the speed limit would be 15 mph and enforced.
Other caution routes include Woodlands Village Boulevard, Fort Valley Road between Humphreys and Late for the Train, West Street in Sunnyside and West Route 66.
Some of those might sound obvious, but it never hurts to check a map before setting out on a cross-town ride.
I was a little surprised to see Lone Tree Road listed in the "suitable" category, but there have been some recent improvements to the shoulder. That also applies to outer Fort Valley Road in front of The Peaks and the Museum of Northern Arizona.
The map also lists some single-track bike trails at the edge of the national forest, but because this map essentially stops at the city limits, the Flagstaff Trails Map is better for off-road riders.
The flip side of the map is a potpourri of helpful hints and fun facts about biking that especially appeals to beginners. It includes safety and health tips, as well as how to ride with "low impact" on trails. There's a section on hand signals (a right turn is signaled with the right hand, so be prepared to brake and steer with your left) and a note on how many cyclists can ride abreast in traffic (no more than two) and when they can move away from the curb (when making a left-hand turn). There's also a reminder to motorists to leave at least 3 feet between a cyclist and an overtaking vehicle.
The map was produced by the Flagstaff Biking Organization, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on improving the cycling environment for all types of cyclists, including mountain bikers, commuters and racers. See the group's Web site at www.flagstaffbiking.org or call 226-0673 for more details. The map costs $3 and is available at most bike shops.
To get involved in cycling issues in Flagstaff, consider joining the Flagstaff Bicycle Advisory Committee or at least attending its meetings the first Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. For more information, contact Jack Welch at 714-050