Posted on May 30, 2018 in Trail Building Cycling Mountain Biking
A river flows through the property in Gore where the Empire Trails live. Many of the trails over the years have had to cross the river at a few places. River change, wood rots, and inevitably we need to build a new bridge. Five of us set out in the rain, walking through mud to get to the location of the old bridge. Mike had already cut the trees down we are going to use for the bridge. I brought a block and tackle system with more than 300 feet of rope to use to pull the logs into place. This is a system of pulleys that gives us great leverage on the logs when pulling. One person can pull the logs down into place with relative ease. I also spent some time debarking the logs so they don't rot a s quick. We didn't finish the bridge today, but the hard work is done.
Nice long supports for the new wide bridge.
Working on trails is work, but also a pleasure to design the trail and shape it as you wish for your riding style. It's also a great source of good karma as many others are going to make use of your hard work. Don't hesitate to get involved in your local trails group to get your hands dirty in some trail building.
Collection of photos I shot while working on the bridge.