Trails Update: September 15th, 2023
Leftover parts
Anyone that’s purchased furniture in a box knows the unwell feeling brought on by finding extra parts when you thought the project was done:
“Uh, did we forget to use this somewhere? Will it work? Is it safe? What should you do with the spares…?”
For the record, I keep all of the spare parts until I’ve amassed enough to make another bookshelf.
Last week’s project in A River Runs Through It had a lot of spare parts leftover when we headed home for the weekend. Instead of adding this stash to my growing list of “parts locations”, I thought we might as well assemble something right away. There were a few more defunct stunts to decommission in that section of trail so we tallied the lot and chose to upgrade an old line. It’s an optional feature that’s a little longer and higher than what was there before.
Rituals of September
Seasonal changes are happening. On cue, Cottonwood leaves have started to fall just as I started teaching another session of the Sustainable Trail Building class. In the first week of this 60 hour program, I took the students to the bottom of Flashback to teach route finding, line selection, clearing and construction. We used the Tirfor to pull a big old stump and covered bench cutting techniques on the literal exit of the trail. Returning to dig in Cheakamus got me excited about the return of Trail Nights…
Another timely tradition was also in the calendar for this week: Honorary trail crew member (and heavy rock aficionado) Rob Mullen was back for another week. With anticipation for weekly volunteer parties, Rob and the crew took to Flashback 1 for some finishing work and to build the bridge which will ultimately link it to the rest of the descent. We’re ready for evening digs… when the weather cooperates! Meanwhile on Far Out 3, “Past WORCA President” Craig Mackenzie has been busy widening the trail to Adaptive-MTB blue standard. I joined him for a progress update and to coordinate where the trail crew can lend a hand. The end is in sight for the first phase of this exciting project!
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
