On November 21st, 66 people showed up in wind and rain to build new trail at Growlers Gulch outside of Longview, Washington. Among those individuals were Nick, Alex, Carol, Jason, Jeff L, Jeff O, and Travis of the Lower Columbia Bike Project. If you aren’t familiar with Growlers Gulch, it’s a network of trails located on Private Timberland in the Longview/Kelso area. Non-motorized recreational trails use is permitted, but due to the issues with motorized users riding there anyway, the location of the trails remains on the down low, and out of the public eye.
Gathering to head out
However, as the most extensive trail network within the shortest driving distance from the Astoria area, it also is a regular destination for many of our club’s mountain bike enthusiasts.
Jeff Lebo cutting the bench
As a number of us ride the trails, we wanted to give back some trail karma; especially since a number of Growlers locals expressed interest in offering reciprocal aid when we get the Taylorville project build days scheduled.
Jim Lemonds, the organizer, thanks the crowd for coming
So a number of us woke up early that Saturday morning and caravaned out to the trails, where we were split up into different groups. Travis, Jeff L, Jeff O, and myself elected to take on a section of flagging to build. It was a great opportunity to discuss trail building techniques, and best practices including how to do a proper bench cut, as well as grade reversals and drainage. While benching the trail we also implemented rolling grade dips, and knicks. The best part of course, comes when you test what you build. Before we left, our crew suited up and rode our newly constructed section of trail. After which we did a walk and talk of our section and the other crews work where our future crew leaders discussed trail building best practices.
for more on the Growlers Gulch build day, click here
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