Trails Update: May 14, 2021
Jeff’s swimming pool
Spring time is always full of surprises in the forest and the trail crew is quick (tries to be) to react to reports of major issues. Tim Haggerty sent me a picture reminding me about the fishing hole in the middle of Jeff’s trail… I seriously considered wearing a wetsuit to deal with it.
This one has been on the to-do list for a few years.
We considered a bypass, however, the best solution was to bridge it. Conveniently, Tim had already stashed some supplies for the structure a few years ago… so we made quick work of it! (about 3 years + 1 day).
School of rock
I’ve been a fan of Ken Melamed’s stone masonry since the first time I rolled over the chocolate mint drop (on Gargamel). He has placed countless stones around the valley and led efforts on the most bold volunteer night projects since then. We (the trail crew) use “Ken Melamed level” as the gold standard when a section of rockwork needs to live up to it.
I’ve been lucky to see Ken at work in his natural element and this inspired me to set up a clinic for the crew to learn from the master himself. We needed an appropriate classroom: the perfect project that had a little of everything rock related, but not too far from the road so that Ken could play show and tell with all of his toys:
Tying lower Yoda’s to Piece of Cake!
Ken showed us some new tricks and tools to safely move big rock… even uphill. He shared his techniques for shaping and fitting pieces into a 10000 part masterpiece. We worked smarter, not harder and managed to avoid losing any fingers.
You’ll get to see the finished product soon… or in 500 years. We won’t be covering this section with dirt.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Comor is pulling double duty this week with two projects on the go:
Project 1 is working on the Tunnel Vision climb above Kadenwood. This connector will greatly improve northern access to the cheakamus zone trails.
Project 2 is finishing the Dessert Platter (Yoda’s/Taxi/Cake) connection in the lower sproat zone.
Last week, Vorsprung supported powering through the last hard benching and we’re now in the finishing touches phase (moving dirt)!
Strict COVID protocols in play and as always, please sign up here
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
