Final Dale’s TAP Day

When we arrived at Dale’s for our final TAP trail day of 2011 we received a swift kick to the genitals. A stream from Cabin trail managed to find its way down the top of Dale’s and it destroyed most of the work we had done to the entrance and upper section over the course of the season. All the golden soil we had collected was gone and a trench remained. Undaunted we rebuilt the entire top section and then put in some critical culverts to keep the floods at bay. And then we said goodbye and crossed our fingers just before the first snow flew.

  A great day for some trail work. Photo ~ Cam McRae

The agreement we signed, to sponsor Dale’s in the TAP program along with Rock Shox, should have included a little more info. It failed to mention an obvious but critical fact: if you build it they will come. Once a trail is buffed, knobby traffic is going to increase. This in turn will ramp your workload. The agreement also conveniently omitted the part about trail building becoming a compulsion. Once you put a significant amount of energy into a trail you are bound to get obsessed about its condition. If it bleeds so shall you.

  Greeted by goop. Dale’s is not a game with good odds but Ben (right) and Ben (left) were willing to step up. The middle section’s creekside alignment makes water management an (insert monster truck voice) epic battle. Photo ~ Jerry Willows.

My first Dale’s ride of 2012 was 10 days ago and I had no idea what I’d find. The winter was hard and long and snow fell well into April. I knew the trail saw traffic in the snow and on some of the nastiest days of the year. I dropped in expecting the worst.

  There was little glory on this day. No bridges finished, no pretty berms or hips to sculpt; it was all hard work. Thankfully we had a great group and they worked their asses off hauling rocks and soil, digging, chopping and packing down the finished product. They produced a huge amount of work in just a few hours. Photo ~ Jerry Willows.

Thankfully Digger’s tutorial on water diversion worked wonders and the top of the trail, where most of the glory resides, was virtually as we left it. Unfortunately the rest of the trail, the portion that parallels a stream at the bottom of a drainage, was sodden and filled with holes. There was a little work to do on the top section but the lower zone would require some serious attention.

The weather cooperated and our solid group of ten marched in to work some magic.

  This spot, just before the switchbacks, had a constant seep and the trail was much lower than the adjacent forest. Some serious digging delivered an escape route for moisture and a culvert did the rest. Photo ~ Jerry Willows.

  Mouse over for before shot. This photo shows almost all of the techniques we employed on the day. First our crew raised the trail bed with a combination of rock and golden mineral soil. In the foreground you see a sump, a low point where water can collect and be dispersed by gravity. Further along you’ll notice a culvert that cuts right across the trail. Grade reversals don’t show well in photos, but the grade does indeed reverse after the culvert. Finally the entire trail surface has been crowned to discourage water from pooling. Photos ~ Jerry Willows

  Mouse over for finished product. This was a mucky spot with no drainage so Shannon and I did some excavating. Luckily our sump was filled with gold. With that we rocked in a little wedge to act as a grade reversal and an opportunity for a little air (you can’t tell in the after shot but take my word for it). When you mouse over you’ll see that we did some planting and site rehab to make it look pretty. We decided not to close the trail and a few riders rolled through. Everyone was friendly and a few even lent a hand. Photo 1 ~ Morgan Taylor. Photo 2 ~ Jerry Willows.

  Jörn showing some attention to detail. Photo ~ Morgan Taylor.

  Our ingenious crew appropriated old slats to build culverts and other drainage features. And yes – that is the ever-present creek, flowing right alongside our little project. Photo ~ Morgan Taylor.

 The unforgettable Vanessa Carrington came along to dilute the dudefest. Sister has some serious building cred as well. Photo ~ Jerry Willows.

  Big thanks to Jerry Willows for his fearless leadership. Lots of encouragement and trail knowledge to go along with his hard work. Photo ~ Vanessa Carrington.

That’s it for us on Dale’s for this year. NSMB.com, with continued support from Rock Shox, is heading over to Expresso (that is how you spell it in this case) for an even more challenging project. Our first trail day is scheduled for May 27th. Details TBA – but we’d love to have you come and join us. Lunch provided and maybe even some prizes to kick off the project.

---

Have you ridden Dale’s since we put some love into it? Still tech and gnar enough for you? Leave your comments below…