Making New Trail Experiences

This time of year, I begin to obsessess about higher elevation trails. I wonder what is yet clear of snow and what Sierra adventures I'll experience this year before the snow takes it all away again. Even after seven years of living in Nevada County, every year, I learn about new high country trails in our area that are fantastically fun to ride.

The Donner Rim Lake Trail could be this year's discovery for me. BONC has a trailwork day planned for July 23rd. What is better yet is that the Truckee Donner Land Trust (the great organization building this trail) has asked us for input on creating fun mountain bike features for this trail. I plan to fully take advantage of this offer and help make a super fun (but sustainable) trail for us to enjoy.

To fire you up for this trail project on 7/23, I have included some images here of the new trail and the great views it affords.

Wrestling With Manzanita

BONC had another great day of trailwork at Malakoff Diggins creating a new section of singletrack at the top of the Slaughterhouse Trail.

About ten of us (two with chainsaws) worked this trail until we were ready to retire, drink beer and suck on salsa and chips back at the trailhead.

The trailwork was slow going because of the thick, deep manzanita roots that were so difficult to remove. The next time I work on a project like this, I will insist that we route the trail around such old thickets of manzanita. It is just requires too much effort to cut through this stuff; we have had to work this 1/2 mile section on two days and we are still not done yet.

Having said this, the trail looks really nice and it is in a very pretty area of the park. The plan is to return to finish this trail this fall or winter once we see some rainfall. Stay tuned for details.

In the meantime, you can help out by walking or riding the new section to help settle in the trail and prevent the plants from growing over our work. Just watch out for the remaining manzanita stumps :-)

Trail Around Donner Lake?

Yesirreee, thanks to the Truckee Donner Land Trust there soon will be. Imagine riding Hole-in-the-Ground, and then extending your granite slab bike adventure for up to 22 more miles!

And you can help make it happen. Join BONC and FATRAC on July 22-23 to help us complete the latest higher elevation trail in Nevada County. We will help build a section of the forthcoming DLRT, which will be a great local riding option with gorgeous views and some fun technical sections. Details forthcoming about meeting time and place. Please save the dates for now.