Go to camp and build singletrack in the Chequamegon this month
Bicycling with Mark Parman For years, one of the few complaints about the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) trails was a lack of singletrack. According to
CAMBA director Ron Bergin, this complaint surfaced occasionally in a survey of riders a few years back.
With over 300 miles of mapped and marked trails in a pristine northwoods setting, CAMBA had the most extensive trail network in the state. No one could complain about a sheer lack or variety of trails, yet CAMBA remained a network of logging roads, woods trails, ski trails and gravel roads.
No longer. CAMBA, in the last few years has aggressively built and continues to build
singletrack, to a point which should satisfy even the most disgruntled singletrack junkie.
Singletrack, however, doesn't come easy. It doesn't just appear one day. Unlike logging roads or ski trails that can be connected and placed on a map, singletrack must be planned and created. Then it has to be built, painstakingly foot by foot, yard by yard.
"You get a lot of people who like to ride the trails, but not too many who like to dig in the dirt," Bergin said. We all would much
rather ride than wield a shovel or a pick axe. "It's work. It's not easy work," he said.
CAMBA also faced the unique situation of thousands of potential acres of land with few volunteers to develop singletrack on all this land, a reverse of the situation in the southern parts of the upper Midwest. The Southern Kettles, for example, sees thousands of riders on a limited amount of land and trail. Bergin also noted that the volunteer pool, besides being shallow, was stretched thin
by the many activities and events in the Hayward-Cable area.
Nevertheless, CAMBA forged ahead, and its first projects were centered in the Telemark area, starting with the 1.25-mile Terrain Park. Most recently, the Ojibwe Trail has opened, a 12-mile singletrack loop. Ten miles of this is nonredundant singletrack, while the first two miles from Telemark Lodge are out and back.
Over the July 4 weekend, a group of us rode up to the Ojibwe Trail from Seeley via the Lake Helene Loop. We cut
to the Ojibwe at Timber Trail and rode the southernmost section of the Ojibwe, circling back toward its other intersection with Timber Trail.
This section of the trail is a bit more open than that closer to Telemark. Much of the trail rides on top of the numerous ridges in the area, occasionally dropping into a valley before climbing out and up onto another ridge. We rode past massive white pine, around and by oak, maple and poplar, over rocks and roots. I remember hearing several wood
thrush and their flutey songs, as well as one white-throated sparrow. As we turned back toward Seeley so the ride didn't turn into an all-day affair, we all agreed we should ride the Ojibwe more often. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite trails.
The Ojibwe Trail was CAMBA's first big singletrack project. "We started (building singletrack) with the path of least resistance," Bergin said. In this case, he meant on private land, where access often comes easiest, particularly
with a sympathetic landowner in this case, Telemark which benefits from mountain bikers.
After mapping and flagging the trails, Bergin employed several groups to dig and build the trail. First were the CAMBA members. Bergin also enlisted juvenile offenders from the Prentice House in Ashland. They had to do community service, so why not build trail, Bergin figured. They were a monumental help.
And finally, Bergin used a trail-building camp, a week-long session for those interested in
making singletrack. "It's a great upper body workout," Bergin joked. "We also give them opportunities to ride."
Modeled after similar service camps that Bergin participated in on the Appalachian Mountain Trail, this year's camp, the fourth annual, runs from August 15-22. This "part one" of the project will focus on trail building. Volunteers will help build trail at the Rock Lake project where new singletrack will get riders off the badly eroding ski trail
there.
Part 2, August 19-22, will employ the help of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) trail crew. Chris Berhardt and Jill Van Winkle from IMBA's two national trail crews conduct more than 70 such camps yearly across the country. They will lead this four-day camp, teaching sustainable trail-building techniques through classroom instruction as well as handson trail work. Fortunately, there will also be plenty of time for socializing and riding, including an optional
Thursday evening ride with the Chequama Mamas and a Saturday night dinner and party.
The Rock Lake trails are the current focus of CAMBA's singletrack building. Rock Lake, originally designed as a ski trail for diagonal striders in the 70s, had serious problems with soil erosion. Rock Lake is a roller coaster of a trail, with the trail going straight down and up the slopes, which becomes a problem when mountain bike tires wear a single rut down the grades. "It was impossible to
sustain," Bergin said.
The solution was to get mountain bikes off the ski trails, which either meant closing the trails to mountain bikers or building new trail. Since Rock Lake lies within the Chequamegon National Forest, CAMBA had to work with the U.S. Forest Service. Fortunately, CAMBA found a sympathetic land manager in Dave Nelson at the Hayward office of the forest service. In fact, the federal agency agreed to split with CAMBA the $30,000 cost of building the 16 miles of new
singletrack at Rock Lake.
Last summer, CAMBA and the Forest Service built four miles of new singletrack. Bergin hopes to get another four to six miles built this summer and finish the project in 2005.
For the Rock Lake project, CAMBA employed TrailSource to design and lay out the trails. Forest Service employees are providing the labor, using a Dingo to roughly shape the trail. The Dingo (dingominidiggers.com) is a walk-behind machine with a 42-inch blade that plows through rocks and
roots. It also has several other attachments; for instance, it can dig post holes. After roughing in the trail, human workers replace rocks, edging the trail.
CAMBA continues to carve out more singletrack each year. Volunteers have built singletrack in Hayward cluster, at the West Fork Trail in the Delta cluster and near the Seeley cluster. Riders can get a taste of the Seeley singletrack in the Pre-Fat race on August 28. Some of these trails are on private land, but the majority snake
through the Sawyer County Forest.
Ultimately, Bergin hopes to have at least five miles of singletrack at each of the six CAMBA trailheads the most extensive network of singletrack in the state.
The trail camp, either Part 1 or 2, costs $65 and participants can register the day of. Camps include lodging at Telemark plus some meals. Campers will also score a special edition CAMBA trail crew T-shirt and other swag. Bring work leather gloves, work clothing, bug dope, sun screen and rain
gear. And don't forget your bike, helmet and shorts. For more information, e-mail camba@cheqnet.net or call 715/798-3599.
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