Trails Update: Sept 25, 2020
Patching up the alpine section of Lord of the Squirrels.
We’re trying to get up there before the weather turns really wet and cold. This week already required puffy jackets and hot drinks for snack breaks, although the black flies have not yet been frosted out.
As you can imagine, this is a huge daily commute... the weather in the alpine can shift wildly so our packs are loaded with tools, thermoses, rain gear and extra (in case) layers. For this, the e-bikes donated by Santa Cruz help (a lot!).
So far, brake-ruts have been armoured, drains upgraded and some off camber sections were propped-up.
On Tuesday’s morning commute, we saw a bear in a distant meadow (near the south summit) and wondered if it was one of the recently sighted grizzlies. Binoculars would have been useful to correctly identify the dark blob moving across the stunning gold and rust landscape. The sproatt mountain ranger agreed with Renee’s guess (grizzly bear) and showed us his photos from Sep 19. I have no doubt that both the ranger and bear were well fed: the late season berries are booming right now!
***Mental note: add bear spray canister to my pack***
That same day, after an exhilarating ride down, our commute was interrupted by a mama black bear and cub eating in the ditch along Lower Sproatt. I kept my distance (at least 60m) and used my most authoritative tone to ask the bears to move on so that we could pass.
Momma bear was not in a mood to negotiate: She charged!
“HEY!!!” I blurted, as I realized that lifting the heavy e-bike over my head was not an option.
Surprisingly, this stopped her! She changed course, slowly climbing into the forest with her cub following in tow.
I thanked her for choosing the more reasonable exit strategy.
This prompted me to refresh my “bear smarts” when I got home.
In Autumn, bears enter a state of hyperphagia: they become more food obsessed in preparation for hibernation. This will make them “moody” so we need to give them more space than ever.
Next time our commute is interrupted by a bear, we’ll take the long(er) way home.
Chipmunk rebellion update?
Progress + trail day Oct 3rd.
Progress on the new trail has been made despite the trail crew having shifted to performing important maintenance around the valley.
The Chipmunk Rebellion has served as the classroom for the Whistler Adventure School sustainable trail building course (taught by yours truly). We’ve studied water management, construction physics, tool maintenance and safety, all while tackling some benching, armouring and woodwork on the trail. The students’ work has been outstanding as we focused on “working smarter, not harder”.
“So, is the trail done?!?”
Not quite, but the end is in sight though…
You can help!: Arc’teryx is hosting a trail day on Oct 3rd.
We’ll be distributing tools at the lower sproatt gate at 9am before riding or hiking up to the worksite.
Remember that we will have COVID-safe measures in place:
No sharing tools, physical distancing and staying home if symptomatic. Trail day participants also need to register in advance.
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
