Chico, CA, Brews Up a Great Visit for the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew

Volunteers boost Bidwell Park's defense against muddy trails.

There's nothing like holding a trailbuilding school surrounded by the sweet smell of brewing hops and barley.
Trailbuilding school participants logged close to 100 hours of volunteer work in one afternoon.
Jim Jacobsen shows local volunteers the fine art of armoring and chinking.
The first step in the armoring process was to excavate a shallow trench.
Local rock was placed in the trench strategically to form a relatively smooth riding and walking surface.
A slurry of soil and water was used to fill in air pockets and help hold the rocks in place.

April 2004- Nat and Rachael Lopes teamed with the City of Chico Parks and Recreation, the Chico Velo Cycling Club and the Sierra Nevada Brewery for a weekend of improving trails in Bidwell Park.

Thirty volunteers learned how to design and construct sustainable trails from the Crew and put the techniques to the test in the field on a heavily used section of the multi-use Middle Trail in the upper park. During the rainy season, there are a few low sections of the trail where the water pools in the meadow because of the poor drainage of the Tuscan hardpan, which lies just six inches under the top soil. Armoring three sections, volunteers used a hybrid stone pitching technique. After the treads were pitched, the entire tread was covered with a soil slurry made from the excavated tread soils and lake water, creating a raised trail tread. After the slurry was applied the volunteers set to revegetating the widened tread areas that had resulted from the problem spots.

In addition to teaching about sustainable trails, Nat and Rachael filmed and shared a seven-minute helmet cam video of professional downhillers, Rob Sears of Team Dirt Works and Shawn Osborne of Pullins Cyclery, riding their favorite trails in Upper Bidwell Park, opening up lines of communication between the parks department and local riders about different riding experiences.

Thanks to Ed McLaughlin of Chico Velo Cycling Club for helping to plan the event, along with Bidwell Park staff, Ann De Felice, Jack Peters, Dennis Beardsley and Jackie Gonzolas. Big thanks to Sierra Nevada owner Kenny Grossman for donating the "big room" at the brewery and for supplying the excellent food. Plus, thanks to Guzzetti's Catering, Holiday Inn, and Clif Bar for their support of this weekend.