Winter Trail Update

Empress Bypass– Seymour

Build with Board Community Dig Day: Refreshed two corners/berms on Empress Bypass, dug out diversion ditches above one of them where a new seep had done significant damage and installed a natural culvert to prevent water damage from any water still not redirected.

Corner rebuilds – long-term the plan is to have water stay off trail via the re-dug diversion ditch, but to manage the already-saturated ground and ensure that the new work isn’t immediately washed away we installed a new culvert under the trail in the lower corner.  Significant rock and dirt fill added to re-grade the trail surface.

Griffen Ascent – Fromme

All drains cleared and improved by digging the drain channel deeper and extending the channel to allow water to flow more easily. Reverse grades rebuilt to ensure water flows towards the drains. Lots of rain last month, trail tread is holding up very well. Some mineral soil top up will be needed in key areas once we can get a few days of good weather in a row to allow the work to bed in

Expresso Original Entrance– Fromme

TAP Partner: MEC

A project led by Digger and the trail crew identified an opportunity to replace old and rotten woodwork on the Expresso Original Entrance. What could have been a simple fix turned into a fresh cut and install for the Expresso version of a classic Discombobulator. Shout out to NSMBA Trail Crew – Digger, Marcus, Rouben and Trail Director Henry for tackling this upgrade through difficult conditions.

Expresso– Fromme

TAP Partner: MEC

Volunteers refurbished Berm 2 on Expresso and fixed drainage and trail bed at the entrance to Dempsey climb from St. Marys. Refurbished berm 2 by removing visible logs and protruding rocks from the berm face, dug out old soil then added new mineral soil and tamped and shaped the berm. Fixed drainage and trail bed on Dempsey climb by adding a reverse grade that had eroded and added mineral soil to a short section of trail bed that had eroded due to the above grade’s erosion.

Pingu– Seymour

TAP Partner: Arcteryx

Dreamweaver– Fromme

TAP Partner: Arc’teryx

Very enthusiastic crew of 22 volunteers that moved a lot of dirt in a short time!  Big thanks to Peter, Vince and Rouben for supporting with such a large crew. Retread of a long section of trail that had been eroded and rooted. Re-tread trail surface with locally sourced mineral dirt.

King of the Shore– Fromme

Tap Partner: Brian Young Real Estate 

(March 2025) Some top quality drain cleaning and a few buckets of gold dirt for the 11 Youth Trail Stewards in attendance.

Lower Expresso– Fromme

TAP Partners: Sacre Davey

(March 2025) It was noted on a walk through the week prior that one for the stringers on the first down ramp was broken through.  Offsite material (slats) where carried into area and stored.  Structure of bridge was assessed and it was found that in addition to the broken stringer and number of structural components of the bridge where on the verge of needing to be replaced.  As repairing the bridge could not be completed on the day it was determined that in order to leave the area safe, the whole bridge should be removed and all hazards to trail users removed.  Work for the day consisted of brining new materials into the site.  Dismantling the old bridge and safely disposing of the materials.

Rebuilt ladder bridge follow up: Using material brought in from offsite we rebuilt the ladder bridge at the top of the Lower Expresso trail.  Entrance and exit ramps where regraded and topped up with fresh mineral soil.  The area was naturalized and generally cleaned up.  Instead of mostly rain we had a mostly sunny day!

Jersey Shore– Cypress

(March 2025) A new section of trail was routed to control rider speed ahead of joining the new climbing trail. This section will direct riders uphill and through a grade reversal before crossing the climb trail drainage uphill of the current high-speed exit. The intersection of the new line with the climb trail will allow for better sight lines between non-riders and riders from both directions of the climb trail, and will join the climb trail on an uphill trajectory, reducing rider speed and giving time for riders to maintain control. Today’s work included clearing the line of deadfall, topsoil, and other debris, and preparing the line to be a proper riding surface.This trail day was a hit. All volunteers were engaged and excited about the work, and we were lucky to have some nice weather. Volunteers were rewarded with a BBQ and some refreshments afterwards, many stuck around, though a few folks had to leave early.

Lower Skull – Fromme

Thanks to Vince Beasse for the volunteer work – The canoe on Lower Skull was getting a bit wobbly, it was shored up with rock and the supports were fixed. Trail tread maintenance also completed.  The section before the rock armouring was very eroded causing riders to braid the trail. Rock armouring was added and the trail was topped up with mineral soil.

Lower Boundary– Fromme

The section after the rock roll became eroded, volunteers rebuilt the trail tread with rock armouring and topped up the trail bed with mineral soil. This work will provide a better user experience and also protect the mature tree roots which were being exposed.

Meat Sweats – Cypress

Work started on the lower Meats Sweats exit.  This work will create a squirrel catcher at the exit of the trail in the hope of keeping hikers and mountain bikers separated.  Additional work was done on three berms higher up the trail with a grade reversal reworked. The exit berm reroute was reworked. A new exit for the trail is being constructed. A windfall cedar tree was bucked, stripped and cut into 8 posts for the wooden canoe exit.

More work to be completed by the cypress crew over the next month.

Jersey Shore– Cypress

Jersey Shore on Cypress gets two fresh jumps! Work was completed to improve trail flow and water management. Ditches were dug on the rider’s left of both jumps. The first jump was smoothed out, and a cedar box structure built with a large pipe through it to direct water away from the trail. New drainage ditch also dug on the rider’s left. The second jump was created using large rocks, again improving water management and trail flow.

Cambodia– Seymour

TAP Partners: SRAM

Griffen Ascent– Fromme

(Jan 2025) Clean, maintain, and improve all drains, plus targeted trail tread repairs. Ready for more rain!

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