#22 Sep 27 - Oct 1

The KCTS trail crews are now done for the year, and it’s been a great one for us. We just finished up a major new re-route on the Record Ridge section of the 7 Summits trail (avoids the tight, steep switchbacks), but overall the trails have never seen such high quality and extensive maintenance, with significant improvements on just about every one of the 50 trails that we manage. Major new trails (Dewdney Backside, B.S. and Dreadhead) have been incorporated into the network, and entirely new trails (Larch Ridge, Monticola, and COG) have been built. We’ve introduced trails into neighboring communities (Camp Tweedsmuir ouside of Fruitvale), and our signature trail – the Seven Summits, has been re-routed in several key sections, creating an experience that continues to draw people from around the World.

It’s the hardworking KCTS trail workers that make all this happen with their hard labor. If you get chance, give them a pat on the back or buy them a beer. Thanks to the trail maintenance crew:

• Campbell Spooner.
• Ross Campbell
• Jana Scott

And the JOP crew:

• Matt Titheridge
• Shane D’Appalonia
• Ward Robinson
• Alanna Theoret
• Gerald Plotnikoff
• Don Davies
• Clinton Syfchuck
• Andrew Gansemer
• Mark Bubitz

#21 Sep 20-24

With only one more week of work, it’s been a big year for the Trail maintenance crew. With an experienced and knowledgeable crew, the quality of the work on the trails has never been higher, and we’ve been getting plenty of compliments. 

With what remains of the JOP crew we’ve started a re-route of another part of the Seven Summits trail. The grassy section at the south end of Record Ridge is such a spectacular little zone, that deserves a high quality section of flowing trail, as opposed to the steep and absurdly tight switchbacks now in place. 

Otherwise we’re working our way down a list of trails that need tread and drainage work, including: Doukhobor Draw, Kootenay Columbia, Iron Colt Access, Tamarack and Dewdney (hopefully this will be the year we’ve finally fixed the bog under the powerlines). Trees have been cleared, the elevated bridge on Cherry Poppins has been repaired, and signs are now up on the new trails out at the Blackjack Recreation Site. 

The landowner has requested that the Full Monte trail be closed for the rest of the year, as he’ll be selectively logging the vicinity. Closed signs are in place and your cooperation would be appreciated.

#20, Sep 13-17

The new trails we’ve been developing within the Camp Tweedsmuir Recreation Area are now completed and signed. Access is via the Columbia Gardens road, just to the south of Fruitvale. Check them out. 

The trail maintenance crew have continued their work upgrading the tread on Tamarack, doing some seasonal maintenance on Sudden Exposure, Snake, Plewman, Centre Star Gulch, and Larch Ridge trails.

#17 & #18, Aug 23 - Sep3

I was riding my bike in Idaho last week, so this report covers the past 2 weeks. The trail maintenance crew have:

• Installed a new bridge and repaired side-hill section on Flume.
• Installed signs, addressed drainage issues, and bermed corners on Dewdney Backside.
• Upgraded tread and repaired drainage issue son Miners.
• Brushed, constructed berms, replaced earthen jump with wooden one (at Red’s insistence), and cleared fallen trees on Dreadhead.
• Moved sign and cleared fallen trees on Larry’s.
• Repaired tread on Moe’s.
• Brushed and cleared fallen trees from Cemetery.
• Cleared fallen trees from Doukhobor.
• Repaired tread on Snake.
• Installed a new sign on Centennial.
• Upgraded tread on Tamarack.
• Felled and cleared trees, widened tread, and rebuilt rock-walls to address issues identified by the backcountry horsemen on the 7 Summits trail.
• Addressed drainage issues and flush-cut stumps on the 7 Summits trail.
• Repaired tread on the south end of the 7 Summits trail.

The JOP crew have now finished working on the upper section of the Monticola trail in the Blackjack Recreation Site. It’ll receive lots of fine-tuning in the coming years, but the corridor has been cleared, and a rideable tread has been excavated wherever necessary. See the attached map to see the full extent of summer trails now available in this area.

#16, Aug 16- 20

The JOP crew continues making good progress trail-building within the Blackjack Recreation Site. They’ve completed (but for decking the bridges) the new COG trail connecting the end of the Monticola trail (on the 2nd switchback at the 3km mark of the Neptune Ck FSR) up onto Gibbard’s FSR, just to the north of the Hanna Ck ford. They’ve also started work on the upper section of the Monticola trail, which will link up to the end of the Larch Ridge trail. We’ll be circulating maps and directions when it’s all ready to ride. 

The trail maintenance crew have repaired collapsing trail tread on Redtop (caused by short-cutting), replaced signs that have gone missing, re-routed a steep and eroded climb on Rogers, addressed drainage issues and re-sculpted the tread on Redhead, added drainage features and narrowed the tread (to keep biker speeds lower and safer for walkers) on Larry’s, and added drainage features and addressed some overly rough sections (trying to maximize use-ability on these popular routes) on Kootenay Columbia and Back of KC. 

I’ll be away next week, researching single-track in the mountains of Idaho, so there won’t be a public report, but the crews will still be hard at it.

This week the JOP crew continued developing trails within the Blackjack Recreation Site. They’ve now finished construction on the lower Monticola trail, which extends from the end of BS trail (designed and built by local volunteers, and accessed from the Larch Ridge trail), to the second switchback (3km) on the Neptune Creek FSR, which we’re designating as a safe pick-up point for shuttles. The JOP crew are now working on a connection from the second switchback up onto Gibbard’s FSR, which can be followed back towards Rossland, or used to loop back up to Hwy 3B. We’re hoping to have enough time this season to rough–in a planned upper section to the Monticola trail, dropping from the end of the Larch Ridge trail. We’ll soon be circulating maps to show how to utilize this exciting new network of trails.

The Trail Maintenance crew were helping out with the JOP crew at Blackjack, upgrading a boggy, spongy, root covered section of Miners, installing ripped cedar spans across bogs on Crown Point (see pic), repairing stunts on the Flume, and clearing trees from the Seven Summits trail.

#14, Aug 2 to 6

This (holiday shortened) week the JOP crew completed a re-route that bypasses the (gnarly) rock-step on Saddleback Peak on the Seven Summits trail. The Trail Maintenance Crew completed some mid-season maintenance on KC Ridge and Crown Point trails, cleared fallen logs from Stunted growth, and replaced a few signs that had gone missing from around the trail network. We continued upgrading the quality of the tread and switchbacks on Tamarack trail, hoping that our efforts will have more and more people appreciating the climb.

Although we realize there is a demand for “intermediate” free-riding trails and features,    most of our intermediate trails are enjoyed by a variety of user types, in both directions, and so it’s just not appropriate to add bike-specific features or to encourage high speed riding. However we have identified Milky Way trail as a trail which we can develop for this type and level of riding, and so bit by bit we’re making changes. This week the TMC added a couple of small jumps, and tweaked the turns and tread between to improve the flow. Enjoy.

This week the trail maintenance and JOP crews worked together on the Seven Summits trail. We’ve re-routed a section on Mt Plewman that eliminates the stacked switchbacks, and have partially completed a re-route that will bypass the (gnarly) rock-step on Saddleback Peak. It’s now peak season on the Seven Summits trail, and even mid-week we’ll see over 20 mountain bikers per day on the trail. They’re mostly visitors, and are literally from all over the world. That people are intentionally coming here from Norway, Texas and Australia and are genuinely stoked with experience, is somewhat of a validation for the many thousands of hours of hard labor that have been expended in its’ ongoing creation. 

This week the trail maintenance crew worked on Tamarack, Drakes, and Redhead trails The JOP crew has almost completed the new extension to BS trail, within the Blackjack recreation site.

Tamarack trail was completed last year, but it’s still new and somewhat unknown for many local trail users.  It was designed to function as a two way trail, both as a single-track alternative to riding up the Malde Creek FSR, and as a moderate descent. Fit and skilled riders currently have no problem cleaning the climb, but our intention is to keep putting work into upgrading the trail surface (and the climbing turns), so that it can be enjoyed as a climb by as many riders as possible. Whiskey and Crown Point are way more satisfying when you can ride the whole loop on trails. As a downhill, Tamarack is fun and flowing with plenty of technical bits. It can be combined with Doukhobor Draw to create one of the longest descents in the area, and which can be enjoyed by riders of all abilities. My trail running friends tell me it’s also a great running trail, and with such great views from the top, I expect to see hikers getting onto Tamarack as well.

This week the trail maintenance crew worked on the Seven Summits (which is open and seeing lots of traffic), Plewman, Dewdney backside, Cemetery, Coffee Run, and Crown Point trails. After the wind storm on Monday we cleared trees from Full-Monte, Redtop, and Cemetery. Do let us know if you see fallen trees on the trails – the more detail the better. The JOP crew is making good progress on the new extension to BS trail, within the Blackjack recreation site. We’ll circulate all the details when it’s ready for use.

We’re about halfway through our summer work season, and with a few small exceptions (such as the out and back to the summit of Old Glory) we’ve now inspected and completed seasonal maintenance on the entire trail network. In the process we’ve compiled a long list of particular problems we want to address, and improvements we can make, including a few entirely new sections of trail we want to build, and a list of spots that always require brushing at the height of summer – and all this should keep us busy till the end of September.

This week it was all Seven Summits for the trail maintenance crew. Other than large persistent drifts of snow between Mt Elgood and the Plewman trail junction, the trail is now mostly clear of snow and in great shape. People are hiking through the snow and linking up the whole trail, so I guess we can call it open. You can help us to protect the fragile alpine ecosystem by keeping to the snow wherever the established trail is covered. 

Our 8 person JOP crew has completed 15 days of work to create a new moderate angled single-track hiking and mountain biking trail within the Blackjack Recreation Site. We’re calling it the Larch Ridge trail, and it extends 2.4km from Hwy 3B to the end of a broad ridge, where there are great views of the Rossland Range and the Columbia Valley. It’s accessed from the same pull-out as was used for the now permanently closed Upper Oasis trail (and it utilizes some existing sections of that trail),  approximately 600m to the north of the Biathlon parking area on Highway 3B. For now it can be utilized as an out and back trail, but it will soon connect to the BS downhill mountain biking trail, and to a new extension to BS trail (currently being built) which will link to a pick-up point for shuttle accessed mountain biking. Eventually we plan to develop an extensive network of trails in this area.

#9, Jun 28 - Jul 2

On this truncated work week the trail maintenance crew continued trail maintenance on the Seven Summits trail. From the south we’ve got as far as The Pass (though some fallen logs remain). From the north, we’ve got up to the Lepsoe-Elgood saddle, above which there is still too much snow on the trail. I just rode the northern section of the trail as an out and back, and it’s in great shape. I’m going to check out the highest and snowiest parts of the trail on Canada Day (on the way to skiing Old Glory) so will then have a better idea how long it’ll be until we can open the rest of the trail. We also spent a day cleaning up the Dreadhead downhill trail, off Red Mountain. Originally built as a Downhill racing course for the BC Cup mountain bikes events held in Rossland between 1999 and 2004, we’ve resurrected it for use as the downhill component of the Dreadhead challenge (an up-down race being held as part of the Rossland Rubberhead Bike Fest on September 4th), and as a expert level descending option for those who’ve ridden to the top of Redtop. The JOP crew should have the new Larch Ridge Trail completed by sometime next week, at which time we’ll circulate all the details. 

This week the trail maintenance crew completed trail maintenance on: the Raven’s Rock and Miral Height trails (located above the hospital in Trail), cleared the Mt Roberts trail (ready for Canada Day), repaired the Redtop trail (old walls were collapsing), cleared trees off Cemetery, repaired signs throughout the trail network, and continued the huge job of maintaining the Seven Summits trail (the south end is mostly melted out).

The JOP crew continues developing a new trail within the Blackjack Recreation Site. Within a couple of weeks it’ll be ready to use.

"Stubbornness does have its helpful features. You always know what you are going to be thinking tomorrow”.

We know from experience that whenever we change or close a section of trail, that there will likely be a small constituency of trail users who were particularly attached to how things were, and that they can be passionate in their opposition to changes. However, our mandate is to manage the trails in the interest of the majority of trail users, within the parameters of well considered sensible and safe policy, and compatible with the both our insurance coverage and the specific direction of the private landowners.  Will the rain ever stop! We’ve prepared the re-routes on Miners trail in anticipation of a good turnout on Trails day this Saturday. We completed seasonal maintenance on Rogers, made a start on seasonal maintenance of Stunted Growth (very overgrown), finished maintenance on Drakes, cleared trees from Doukhobor Draw, cleared trees and repaired woodwork on Cherry Poppins. We started intensive seasonal maintenance on the Dewdney (see below), and the JOP Crew have almost completed seasonal maintenance on the Dewdney Backside. Planning and layout for new trails within the Blackjack Recreation Site is well under way. 

I felt like I was mud-bogging while riding the Dewdney recently. Maintaining this classic trail is a constant challenge for the trail crew. Compared to the majority of purpose built trails within our trail network, it’s a combination of the original trail (built in 1865 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewdney_Trail ), and current and deactivated logging and service roads. It therefore lacks the drainage and design features that would enable it to better handle the volume of traffic it now receives, as a popular down-hill shuttle trail, and as the extended finish to the Seven Summits trail. We have ideas to close and re-route some of the most compromised sections, but must wait until the landowner completes long-term planning for the area before these can be considered. This year we’re putting in extra time and effort on the Dewdney, and when the wet spots dry out, the trail should be better than ever. The Dewdney Backside (into Big Sheep Creek) has also just received a thorough once-over by our JOP (Federally funded unemployed forestry workers) crew. We expect the Double-Dewdney combination will be a big favorite (and some compensation for the loss of the Oasis trail) amongst the down-hill shuttle crowd.

Spring rains are keeping the trails tacky, and a perfect consistency for trail work. This week the KCTS trail maintenance crew completed seasonal maintenance on Redtop (though a patch of snow remains), Doukhobor Draw, Drakes (addressing a few persistently boggy sections), Cherry Poppins, and Cemetery. 

For the second year running we have funding through the Federal Job Opportunities Program for unemployed forestry workers, and so starting next week and running through to the end of September, we’ll have an additional crew of 8 working on the trails. To start with they’ll be doing some much needed maintenance on the Dewdney trail between Record Ridge and Big Sheep Ck (aka the Dewdney Backside), then developing new trails within the Blackjack recreation site, and completing upgrades to the Seven Summits trail network.

Why don’t you maintain XXXX trail?
The KCTS can only maintain and manage trails that the landowner (or land management agency) has formally authorized for public use. We generally design and build trails ourselves, with the prior approval of the landowner, but are of course aware of several popular “unauthorized” trails in the region. We would only request authorization for such trails if all the following criteria were met:

1. We perceive a need for that type of trail, and have the resources available to maintain it.
2. The “volunteer” trail builders and local trail users supported such a request.
3. The landowner is open to having additional authorized trails on their property. Note that some landowners could take issue with a trail having been built without their permission, and alerting them to the trail’s existence might result in it being closed.
4. The trail is compatible with KCTS design standards and can handle the increased traffic that authorization might bring. 

#2, May 10-14

The snow is melting fast at lower elevations, and lots of trails are opening up. This week the KCTS trail maintenance crew completed seasonal maintenance on Larry’s, Moe’s, Tamarack, Crown Point, and Flagpole View (above Montrose), and partially completed work on Kootenay Columbia, Doukhobor Draw, Cherry Poppins, Snake, and Centennial. 

We sometimes get asked why we’re so diligent about raking the trails. We take raking seriously for the following reasons: