Trails Update: May 21, 2021
Winter’s back?
It was a rough week (weather-wise) for our newest crew member: Camie. Monday’s heavy rain changed to Tuesday snow and sub-zero Wednesday...yet, she still managed to commute by bike! We were sprucing up Beaver Pass: improving drainage and supporting the trail where tires have been drifting wider and wider, and wiiiiider… away from the original line. We armoured some holes and re-aligned a bridge for a refreshed experience.
One afternoon, we were surprised by trailforks reporter @Ben-Hryciw and his Chief Stick Officer: Garbo. Every spring, they’ve put Ben’s Silky Katana hand saw to good use around the valley, cutting deadfall pretty much as soon as it gets announced on trailforks.
They were out to deal with a downed tree on lower beaver pass. Seeing our trucks at the bottom of the trail, Ben thoughtfully brought a treat for the crew… an unhealthy amount of my favorite food group: Candy! This ticked all of the boxes: Fruity, Sour, Gummy! Thanks Ben! I was supercharged for the rest of the day!
Sadly for Ben, I’d already taken care of the reported tree, so he didn’t get to use his cool saw… This reminded me of the importance of sharing trail status updates to trailforks even when you’re fixing the problems (like Ben does! With photos too!).
Save some room for (more) dessert!
The crew were giddy to clean up after the last Tuesday dig night on Piece of Cake/Yoda’s/Taxi. This project (UP)cycled two under-used trails to simplify navigation and improve the climbing experience for the Lower Sproatt network. It’s so satisfying to put the finishing touches on a trail we know will be popular for all styles of riders. Whether venturing out of Lost lake looking for a new challenge or wanting to get to Bush Doctor without breaking a sweat, the dessert platter will deliver!
I want to thank all of the volunteers that helped on this, as well as Big Mountain Bike adventures, Melius Suspension, Vorsprung and Comor for sponsoring our trail building nights!
Tunnel Vision climb
Tuesday had a second project on the go and it too is close to a ribbon cutting… We’ll be trying to finish this climb (and/or flashback) on May 25th! Sign up here.
Nester’s hill fire thinning update
For the duration of the Nester’s hill fire thinning project, the ONLY trail open to the public is the double track connecting the soccer field to Nester’s road. This route is in dire need of a switchback/re-route in order to facilitate traveling south...
Weren’t we just talking about volunteers?
Benoit ran our annual Waldorf trail work week. This year’s small group took on a big project: upgrading Quick Expulsion into a 2-way trail.
We may have bitten off more than we (5 students) could chew on this one, so we'll need to send in reinforcements to get it done. Check trailforks to see when it’s ready for tires.
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
