Beck Hamilton knows the Crown like few others. Growing up in Carbondale and racing on the RFHS Mountain Bike Team gave him plenty of trail time to explore the miles and miles of singletrack trails on Crown Mountain.
Beck said that witnessing the evolution of the trail network on the Crown, starting with just a few cow trails into a giant system featuring a top to bottom flow trails over the past decade is remarkable.
“Experiencing the trail improvements over the years makes you realize just how much work goes into building new trail. And also how much work RFMBA does to make sure that new trails are able to get built and built in a way that makes them last for years rather than just lasting for a short while” Beck said. His favorite trail is Crown Royale.
Beck became a trail crew member because he wanted to give back to the trails and just be in the outdoors. One of the perks of being on the trail crew is exploring trails he would not normally ride.
“I hadn’t ever ridden Lorax,” Beck said. “Lorax is actually a lot of fun, especially once you get out past Lollipop” Beck said. “The views are amazing, and it’s always fun to visit new trails because you always get a different, picture of where you live, and you can see things from a different perspective.”
To the members of RFMBA, Beck has high praise. “I want to thank the members for supporting the work that RFMBA does, Beck said. “It’s really important, especially on the lesser-used trails. We don’t just visit the high-use trails, we also visit the trails that are less visited, and that’s also really important work because those trails, if we want to keep them available and ready to use, need to put in drainage and make sure that water doesn’t rut them out.”
RFMBA is fortunate to have Beck on the crew. His dedication to the trail network shows through every lopped back branch and drainage ditch dug.
Once his season with RFMBA is finished, Beck will be attending Middlebury college this fall. RFMBA is proud to be associated with Beck and stoked to be a part of his life’s journey.
