It’s officially summer mountain biking season here in the Northwoods. Last weekend the Borah Epic sent more than 700 riders zipping through the CAMBA singletrack network. Behind the scenes, preparing the trail for one of the biggest singletrack races in the country, were hundreds of hours of both paid and volunteer trail work. The CAMBA trail network (which now spans more than 120 miles of purpose built singletrack) has become a mountain bike destination because of the hard work, sweat, and vision of hundreds of people over the past 25 years.
The summer trail building and maintenance season is filled with projects, both recurring annual tasks, as well as new and exciting building opportunities. I’ve had the pleasure to serve two seasons on the paid trail crew and am wrapping up my third year on the Board of Directors along with several committees. From my brief perspective, I have been able to witness how much effort and passion is put into our trail system and it has fueled my excitement for the amazing resource it is. Each season brings a new list of projects, here are some of the highlights to look forward to this summer.
Hospital Gateway Phase 2
One of the most significant projects in the lineup this summer is the continuation of the Hospital Gateway Trail. Located on the property of the Hayward Area Memorial Hospital, this trail is aimed towards beginner level riders, but offers a fun, scenic ride for riders of any level. Phase 1 of this collaborative trail project was completed last season with roughly 1.4 miles of trail built by Travis Ellman from Minocqua. As the closest singletrack for Hayward residents, it has already become very popular, and drawn in new riders with a wide range of ages and abilities.
Even riders who prefer more advanced riding have appreciated having a quick ride so close to town (accessible via bike path through the network of HASTA ski trails). Phase 2 of the project is currently underway, with hopes of adding over 2 miles of additional trail this season. The current construction follows the existing trail format with a wide tread (36”-48”), minimal rocks, flowing banked curves, and plenty of scenery. The final proposed segment of trail will be constructed in 2019, with a goal of completing roughly 6 miles of trail on the Hospital property. Currently Phase 2 is about 75% funded, which means there is still a need to raise money to complete this season’s construction, put your money where your bike is 😉
Ashwabay Plans Completion
Dirt is continuing to move up at the Ashwabay trails, as Phase 3 of construction is underway. Phase 3 consists of a final 6 mile segment of trail that will bring the total mileage of the system to 20! A combination of highly dedicated volunteer work led by Mike Weispfenning is being supported by the dynamic duo of Adam and Mica Harju from Dirt Candy Designs. The Ashwabay system offers riding unique within the CAMBA system, highlighting the natural topography which includes some technical downhill lines, incredible views of Lake Superior, and even a trailside yurt for an overnight adventure. Take a trip up north and see the future of CAMBA being built!
Downward Spiral (Esker Connector)
One of the most exciting features added to the CAMBA network last season was the corkscrew boardwalk and corresponding segment built by the fine folks at Dirt Candy (they stay plenty busy). Ron has a nice write up on the details of the trail from last year’s trail report so I won’t bother with that, but I will bother with telling you that this amazing piece of trail is planned to be completed this season. The connection of the Ojibwe and Esker trails will allow a rider to traverse continuous singletrack from Hatchery Creek to Namakagon Town Hall, roughly 60 miles on the most direct route and around 80 including several of the loops, without overlap! This will be one of the longest connected singletrack trail networks in the United States.
Rock Lake Revamp
Among the oldest and most well known trails in the network is Rock Lake. Located in the Chequamegon National Forest and part of a select few IMBA Epic Routes, it features narrow, winding trails and enough rocks to earn its namesake. However, as trails age, they require maintenance, and Rock Lake has been due for some loving. Thanks to a substantial grant from the National Forest Service, there is money dedicated to the improvements of the trail. The projected remediations carried out by the CAMBA paid trail crew will address issues of drainage and improve overall ride quality while retaining the technical nature of the trail. Fear not, there will still be rocks in Rock Lake.
Maintenance = Thankless Love
All of the new construction and future plans are the exciting, dare I say, sexy bits of the CAMBA world, but what really makes the trails top notch is how well they are maintained. Thousands of hours are spent each year maintaining the trail system. The range of maintenance tasks throughout the year includes:
-Leaf blowing in the spring and fall
-Brush clearing and branch trimming along the trail corridor
-Deberming, clearing, and adding drainages
-Re-routing trails due to logging and/or erosion
-Removing fallen trees
-Grooming winter fat bike trails
-Replacing and/or adding signage
-Repairing or modifying wooden boardwalks and rock ride-overs
-Maintaining or re-establishing the shape and lip of jumps including the Hatchery Pump Track
-Dusting the trail, polishing the rocks, and removing mosquitos and ticks by hand (if there’s time)
This long list is tackled by a whole team of people. Enthusiastic volunteers, paid trail crew, and even casual riders all have a hand in maintaining the trails. Since we as riders rarely stop in the middle of a ride to appreciate how unencumbered our experience has been, and since there are so many people who contribute to the effort, it is difficult to award recognition to those people who make this all possible. So I’ll leave you with some food for thought. If you’ve ridden trails, but haven’t yet found an opportunity to get your hands dirty volunteering, consider reaching out to your local trail organization to see when the next trail work day is, not only are these events beneficial for the trail, but they give you a sense of ownership and pride in the trail, and are usually populated by joyful people, snacks and beer.
If you’ve dirtied your hands in any capacity on the trail, from the occasional mid-ride stick and rock shucking, to something approaching a masters degree in trail stewardship, I extend a sincere thank you, and would be happy to shake that once dirty mitt and share a drink or good chat sometime. It’s helpful and appreciated to report a downed tree, missing sign, or grown-in, thorny patch, but I’ll just put this out there, there is no cap on the number of volunteers that can be utilized either on the trails, during events (so many!) , or serving on CAMBA committees (did you know these exist!?). There is also no cap on the amount of donations CAMBA can receive to build and maintain awesome trails! Feel free to chat me up in the shop about how to get involved or just to share our mutual love of bikes (beer) and trails. See you riding!
https://www.cambatrails.org/support/volunteer/opportunities/
—Ian Finch, Photos courtesy of CAMBA
Tom Detzner says:
Great pictures and narrative, Very interesting, Thanks