Down to disneyland tomorrow and am planning on hitting the red route. I just saw a GoPro video of the Pie Run from earlier this year and noticed that the lovely rooty stepdown/switchbach seems to have been altered. Was this storm damage or are they building a chicken route round the outside?
The video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wvGXhVD2Uk
Cheers gents

It was narrowed down while they were working around if for a bit but last time I was down it (about two weeks ago) it was opened back up again. They’ve altered the exit line and it’s actually harder than it ws previously.

A wide chicken line around that corner (whose offical name is Trail Perfection) got started just before Christmas. Last I checked the chicken line had yet to be finished and opened. There wasn’t much work done to Trail Perfection itself, I think some of the Trailfairies were repacking the hollow after the roots and rocks with material again but I’m not sure.

We were also attempting to return the following section to its original form: Hop (over the big root), Skip (down the wiggly line between the two features) or Jump (off the little bit of boardwalk). However public opinion appears to want it to remain as Hop, Skip, Jump or Take The Massive Crap Line Off The Built Trail And Outside The Tree Because Cornering Is Just Too Hard And Slow. Bah.

yeah its been easified sadly 🙁

In what way? By filling back in a hole that was not originally there? By providing (a not yet open) option to avoid the hardest thing on the trail without removing that hard thing?

Is there still an alternative line round the outside?

OK, looking at that video, as far as I know the barrier mesh is still up around the new alternate outside line. Prior to this getting added there was never a built alternative line round the outside. People had tried to improvise out there but their attempts to find something not involving many roots didn’t look very successful and they were undermining the outside of the trail at the exit of the corner.

The new alternate outside line is not open yet because there was not enough material available to surface it adequately on the session when it got added. As it currently stands I think it’s got a thin surface and is too low in parts, causing drainage issues. Unfortunately a thousand and one other things have occupied the attention of the Glentress MTB Rangers and the Trailfairies since that session so it hasn’t been completed yet.

Yeah its been filled in and smoothed over so it isn’t awkward any more, i thought it was quite a nice little obstacle before. still a sweet little section of trail though

When first built it was a lot smoother than it’s ever been since. The rocks got added in an effort to improve things (!) after we discovered how much of a hollow was appearing after the last root but the material around the rocks quickly washed away and left it perhaps less nasty but more visually intimidating at least.

I ride at Glentress a lot and Trail Perfection can still cause me trouble and I know other regulars who find it trouble. The Pie Run is a red graded trail and if regular visitors can find Trail Perfection a problem then it’s going to be hellish for a lot of first time or irregular riders, so it couldn’t really be left to get worse. Hopefully once the alternate line gets opened there’ll be decent options for the confident and the less confident, plus no doubt the inside line will start to hollow out again in time.

Aw, I always enjoyed the challenge of trail perfection, really broke up the regular flow of the top 3 trails. However, I suppose the alternative line will eliminate mincers damaging the trail with impromptu chicken runs. ce la vie

As ChrisL says, it’s not been made easier, it’s been returned to its original spec- so as a result of maintenance it’s essentially been made as hard as it originally was.

If you want to see the alternative, go back up the trail to the previous cluster of roots, in the righthander just before the boardwalk. It basically no longer exists as a feature, because the roots became undercut and hollowed out, and collapsed. Same would happen to trail perfection, basically we were too late on that one and now it can’t be fixed 🙁

rode it yesterday, no fencing, back to tight turn off root step. was dry and fast!

I expect that the Rangers found time to finish off the alternate line then. That’s good to hear.

Just to clarify, is there now an alternative, easy line round the outside of trail perfection?

I can report that the new wide line is still being worked on.