WINSLOW — Every trail name has a story. Glenn and Laurie Fenlason are happy to share every one of them.
Jane’s Addiction is named not only for the band, but in honor of a friend who fell in love with mountain biking on these trails the Fenlasons carved on the land behind their Winslow home. Evie, in honor of a friend’s newborn daughter. Cake, because Glenn named it around his birthday, and who doesn’t like cake?
Achilles Last Stand is named for the Led Zeppelin song of the same name, but also for a friend who ruptured his Achilles tendon on the trail. How did Fuzzy Frog earn its name?
“It just sounded good,” Glenn said.
Tuesday afternoon, with the snow that fell Monday melting quickly, Glenn and Laurie gave a tour of their trails. There are more than 25 miles of trails. It’s hard to measure accurately because with the terrain and trail density, a GPS doesn’t always work. The Fenlasons own 40 acres, and have access to between 800 and 1,100 acres for their trails.
A friend recently bought a camp on Pattee Pone, not far through the woods. There are plans to build a trail connecting the camp to Fenlason’s land.
Glenn and Laurie led guests up the hill, everyone safely spaced apart. Glenn stopped at the intersection of the Pumpkinhead trail, named for the popular seasonal beer and the 150 jack o’lanterns they light along the trail in October.
“It was spectacular to see,” Laurie said.
You can hear traffic in the distance, but you can’t see it, so it feels farther away than it actually is. Easier and harder trails are in sight of each other, so friends of various skill levels can ride together. Fenlasons’ trails are not open to the public, but just ask and they’ll take you for a ride. They’ve turned people away only when they’ve had a prior commitment and the timing doesn’t work.
Glenn stopped again, and pointed at dead leaves on the trail. He’ll be out here soon with a leaf blower to remove them.
“He’s kind of passionate about it,” Laurie said.
There’s a pride that comes with putting your handiwork to use. Every time the Fenlasons ride these trails, they know the effort it took to build them, and the effort it takes to maintain each one. It’s a labor of love to share the trails with friends equally passionate about mountain biking.
“This trail is easy to ride slow, and an absolute blast to ride fast,” Glenn said.
Boulders offer natural challenges and jumps. The Fenlasons built berms on some trails to give them an extra something. Laurie pointed at a moss-covered boulder, rising approximately 6 feet out of the forest floor at its peak. There are some who ride over that, she said.
Laurie stood on a short bridge over one of the many streams the trails crisscross.
“This is my favorite spot. It’s pretty calming,” she said.
Glenn snapped a branch and tossed it aside, away from the trail. It was obvious, but it was asked anyway. This is your happy place, isn’t it?
“Yeah,” Glenn said. His grin affirmed his answer.
The trails are a comfort. These days, they are the best form of self-isolation the Fenlasons can find.
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