Temporary Trail Closure – Cambodia trail, Mt Seymour.
Everything you need to know about Cambodia becoming a sanctioned trail
That’s right, Cambodia will soon be officially part of the NSMBA trail network! This has been in the works for quite some time, but the project is finally coming to fruition this year.
Read the full update from NSMBA Trails Director- Sarah McLeod – July 31st 2023;
The conversation to sanction Cambodia began in late 2020. Metro Vancouver (Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve), the land manager for this area of Mt Seymour, put together an area management plan that included work on Cambodia to bring it into the sanctioned trail network. Metro hired IMBA Canada and Lees & Associates to complete the trail prescription outlining the work needed to bring the trail up to their trail standards while being environmentally sustainable. The trail traverses through an area identified as consisting of old growth trees, and protecting them while maintaining the character of the trail was a huge priority. The NSMBA was offered the project in 2021, and so began many months of collaborative meetings with Metro before we could put shovels in the ground.
SRAM came on board as the sponsor in 2022, and we’re so grateful for their funding and support to bring this project to life. We kicked off the project later that year with several trail days with SRAM, but the amount of work prescribed required a full-time crew to bring it home. I set to work coming up with a project strategy and timeline, and hired Daniel Shaw and Henry Fitzgerald as our Cambodia trail crew! They began working through the projects laid out in the prescription in late April of this year, and with weekly help from myself and our other trail crew member Marcus Vanheyst, have truly been killing it out there.
The majority of the work outlined in the prescription consists of adding more drainage and raising the trail tread for water management, protecting many of the large exposed tree roots, and augmenting the trail user experience. A couple of reroutes will be added to bypass unsustainable fall-line sections, without taking away from the trail’s character. Finally, several wood features are being constructed to get through some low-lying wet spots, or to protect significant tree roots. Less Lumpy is being used as the access trail from Cabin to Cambodia, but will be combined with Cambodia upon its completion. Once completed, the trail will be graded as a single black, with double black diamond features still accessible off of the main line. We’ve been working incredibly hard to make sure we are being true to the original character of the trail, while updating its sustainability. We continue to work closely with Metro staff throughout the project to ensure it remains on track.
As the crew continues their work, and with such dry conditions (yes, we’ve had some rain, but not nearly enough!), we need to close the trail down completely to allow all the great work that Daniel and Henry are doing to properly set up. This can’t happen until we have significant rain in the forecast, which will likely be in the fall. We are anticipating reopening the trail sometime this fall, but this is rain-dependent and may be subject to change. As it stands currently, the trail is still unsanctioned while we overhaul it, but will be officially sanctioned once Metro signs off that the work is completed. Stay tuned for the official announcement of its opening!
Thank you to everyone who has come down and has been stoked on the work – it means a lot to get your feedback on such a monumental project! We’re so excited to welcome you back once the trail is officially ready and sanctioned. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at sarahmcleod@nsmba.ca, and I’ll do my best to answer ‘em!
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