Keeping it Natural!

C-Buster is an older, short steep trail on Mt. Seymour. It is not often ridden due to its steepness and because it has climbing sections that are not the friendliest for big bikes.

This is at the top of the trail. The logs were previously covered with moss and the ends were eroding. We connected the logs so they could be ridden and an entry ramp was built onto one log.

The next two logs were also splitting at their ends. The ends were bridged to make the logs rideable while still challenging.

This next section is steeper than it looks. The picture looks down the trail. As soon as you clear the drop-in entry you have to bear off to the left to continue down the trail

A rock was placed to allow your tire to hit it as you go over the entrydrop. The rock is immobilized by a small cedar step secured on either side of the trail. In front of that small cedar step, drainage was cut to the right of the rock to prevent water erosion in this section.

Due to the steep nature of this section it's pretty hard to prevent water from running straight down. You can see the water erosion in the areas where the rocks were not laid down to armour the trail. Ideally, this whole section should be rocked in to prevent erosion especially since it is so steep and the tendency is to lock up your wheels when going down this section.

Armouring a trail in intervals will at least prevent a trench from forming as the dirt backs up on the rocks lower down.

This picture is taken from about 3 feet lower than the previous picture. You can see an anchor rock and other rocks being held by the root at the top of the picture. A water trench is forming after the rock, but it's draining at the next rocked section where a drainage was put in to the right of the trail. Notice that the drainage is built in a way so that it follows the natural contours of the land. If the trail wants to drain off to the right - why fight it?

This next section shows a steep tight switchback with an entry where you can hang up your bashguard then a tight right turn going downhill into another steep section. Because there will be so much braking in this section the entire switchback was filled in with rock, the rocks are held back by a small cedar step anchored in the ground and 'gold' mineral dirt was used to cover the rocks.

The apex of the switchback is reinforced with trees that are staked to keep them from fallling down the hill - just like a railing. Against the railing/trees are fairly big rocks for riders to hit if they can't make the turn. Rocks were also placed behind the railing/trees for added reinforcement.

Looking back up the switchback/burm you can see the small cedar step anchored deep into the ground which is holding back the rocks.

The next Switchback is at the end of a really steep section where you can carry a lot of speed. A rider has to make a sharp right turn and brake at the same time to kill their speed. The bank was falling apart on the left side of the trail.

We reinforced the left bank of the trail and switchback with an old piece of burnt cedar that was laid down and supported in the back with smaller cedar trees. Again this section is steeper than it looks, this berm will hopefully prevent people from skidding down this section since the turn is designed well enough to allow the rider to carry speed through the turn.

The entire trail bed in this section is rocked in. A cedar step was laid down to help prevent soil and rocks in this section from washing away but only time will tell if this works.

Ths picture below shows the top of the last really steep section but now looking down the trail. Again rocks were laid down at 3-4 foot intervals to prevent erosion. At the bottom of the picture on the right a trench was dug and a section of cedar was laid down supported by rocks. The middle of the trail (and left side of the cedar we laid down) was covered with mineral dirt and rocked in as that is where riders have a natural tendency to go. The right side of the cedar was left open for drainage. This allowed us to build up the middle of the trail that was previously trenched. We made a drain to allow the water to run off the trail to the right.

These next pictures look down the trail and are closer pictures of typical "natural" drainage ie cedar step laid into a steep section and drainage dug behind the step.

The last burm on the trail. The middle of this section was eroding due to water and riders. The drainage mentioned above will hopefully divert most of the water. We built up the side of this burm with rocks and mineral dirt to give riders the option of staying higher on the trail. Making riders ride on the rock will hopefully prevent this section from eroding. We also put a cedar step into the bottom of the turn to keep the rocks and dirt on the trail.

These pictures will probably not mean much to people who are unfamiliar with this trail. The work we did here was to prevent further erosion and keep this trail in its original condition.

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