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As I mentioned last week, the Danimals were segmented in 2002. I forgot to mention that the trails were essentially saved by being given a special right of way through some Stonebridge lots. This was a generous consideration on the part of the developer and a huge step to acknowledging the importance of trails as a community amenity. Chris Markle (of Comfortably Numb fame) was hired to reroute Danimal North and he had built the now defunct gap jump to wall ride (that was the clickbait in last week’s report!).
Now we’re reno-redesigning the trail and realized that our re-routing hands were tied due to the tight right of way markers which line the current trail. I made some calls and a field visit was arranged with Duane Jackson to review our proposed changes. Duane is an avid mountain biker and he was monumental in securing the trails in 2002. In fact, the Stonebridge development has bankrolled many more trail projects including A Cut Above, Beaver Pass Summit/South, Scotia Nova and the recently completed Beaver Nova (built by Howler Contracting). Duane liked our redesign plan for Danimal North. “That turn was just silly” he said and gave us the green light to make the changes. “McElhanney will survey for the new pins and we’re good as gold!” Of note: McElhanney are also huge WORCA supporters: they have sponsored WORCA volunteer trail nights for many years!
With the “red tape” out of the way, we went ahead with a small reroute that keeps the trail’s main line blue. We put the battery powered saw to the test (and it passed!) ripping a large cedar that had fallen nearby to make the bridge frames. The awkward optional slab move is still in play, just check the “passing lane” before dropping in. There’s more wood work and armoring to come next week.
Addendum: In Last week’s post I credited Dan Swanstrom with constructing “Anal Intruder”. An attentive reader (and trail building historian) corrected me: The Intruder was built by Blake Jorgensen. And now we all know!
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Wasps are not a problem when we get 30mm of rain in a day, but 30mm can feel like a swim when you’re bushwhacking. Despite wearing full rain gear, the dense second growth just south of Function Junction soaked me to the core. I was on a flagging mission in anticipation of a walk through with our region’s recreation officer. This is part of the approval process for the planned Mystic-Function trail. The area is steep and dense. My recent scouting missions remind me of 2014 when I started flagging “First Rule of Bike Club”... which ultimately became Lord of the Squirrels. It’s all exciting and daunting. This week’s walk led me back to a special view point and a decrepit squat. I found a pool ball quite literally in the middle of nowhere. And helium balloons. Seriously, those should be banned!
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Further north, I ventured into High Hopes with Tim Haggerty to see how the fire thinning had affected the trail. Heavy machinery is still working in the area. They’ll be piling/chiping debris for another few weeks. We’ll let you know when it’s Good To Go! So please stay out of the worksite for a little bit longer. Tim and I discussed some redesigns to the trail and we’ll be asking you for help on Sunday September 15 for a volunteer dig morning. Details coming soon!
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
