Maintaining & Building Trails
The vast network of summer trails that reach out from the Tahoe XC lodge have been built and maintained by an assortment of folks over the years. Tahoe XC staff have been known to remove trees from trails and carry out lots of maintenance projects, and in recent years the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association has built and maintains an array of new and fun mountain biking/hiking trails that are a highlight of heading out onto the Tahoe XC trail system.
Building Trails
Just in the last few years Tamba built the Stumpy and Ocelot trails near what is Tahoe XC’s Bronze and Platinum Trails, and the Lakeview Ridge Trail which goes between the top of the Lakeview Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail. These trails were built with a few well trained crew leaders and an assortment of other volunteers. In other words, they were built by whomever showed up, grabbed a tool and got to work.
Now, after six years of planning, TAMBA has embarked on construction of a new trail. This one, tentatively titled 73 Bypass Trail, will be a several mile long single track trail that will enable riders to ride on dirt instead of a long climb up the Fiberboard Freeway (Also known as Forest Service 73). It will also make for a nice nearly continuous connection between the Ocelot Trail, Stumpy Trail and Whoop Dee Doo Trail. The trail will begin near the low point in the road near where The Wall goes uphill and across from where the Bear Trap Connector trail comes over to the Fiberboard from the bottom of the Stumpy Trail. The new trail will wind its way uphill to the top of the WhoopdeeDoo (Great Ski Race) and have another side trail further uphill to the Tahoe Rim Trail.
How long it takes to build the trail is dependent upon how many people show up for trail days and volunteer to help. Tamba has work days are every Tuesday and Saturday in August, More days will be scheduled in September and October. For more information on how to become involved contact John Clausen at john (@) tamba.org. Tahoe XC has two upcoming work days, September 11 & October 15.
How the Work Gets Done
Aside from how to sign up, would you like to know why to sign up to help? Our lovely network of trails does not magically appear. Out for a ride last Saturday I ran into these three stalwart super volunteers who have put in a lot of hours creating trail over the last ten years. While they love doing it, they know if they could get a bunch more volunteers, trailbuilding would be more fun and the task would be completed a lot sooner. Working on trails is a full body workout, and gives you a great feeling of satisfaction that you are contributing to the trail network that you love. And these days, with lots more people using our trail system, the more trails we have, the less crowded they will be.
Spending time building trail also gives you an understanding that there is a lot more to building trail than you might think. A bit of trail that might take you 30 seconds to roll over could have taken weeks of hard work to build. Once you realize the work and love and time that goes into the process, you will certainly enjoy being out on trails even more.
Our Commitment to the Trails
There are various trail work days for you to join as a volunteer. Whether it’s through Tamba or Tahoe XC, we are committed to practicing trail stewardship, reciprocity, and responsibility. What does this mean? It means that we believe the actions we take have an effect on the land and people around us. We understand it is our responsibility to give to the future, by maintaining the physical condition of the trails today, for tomorrow’s generations of riders, hikers, and explorers. There were those who enjoyed this land before us, and it is up to us to ensure the trails will be here for those who come next. For more on trail etiquette, visit here, and if you’d like to sign up to volunteer for our upcoming trail work days taking place September 11 and October 15, please email us at contact (@) tahoexc.org.
