Greg Williams's blog

(field notes from SBTS Crew Leader, Henry O'Donnell)
For the most part it was a pretty normal week on the trail. The job site is 1.5 hours away from our tool shed in Graeagle and nobody is camping because of the cold, so we have been taking turns driving and car-pooling as much as possible. We have been falling trees just as much or more than we have been digging. This entire trail system was burnt several years ago and the dead trees are rotting out and falling on the trail everywhere. There were so many down trees when we first got to this job that the trails were virtually closed.

There is no maintenance plan for this trail system once we leave so we are doing everything we can to make our work last as long as possible. There are so many dead standing trees lining the trail we will never be able to cut all the ones that can reach the trail, but we are trying to get everything that will obviously land in the trail.  Read More »

(field notes from SBTS Crew Leader, Henry O'Donnell)
This week was pretty normal at work there was no camping in the extreme cold or dealing with animals in the middle of the night. We all decided to commute for the week so we car pooled as much as possible. The drive from our tool barn in Graeagle to the job is three hours round trip so it made for a lot of driving. We had some cloudy weather and a little rain one day. We had to cancel work on Friday because there were 60 MPH winds forecasted which would make very hazardous conditions under 100 foot tall burnt dead trees.

The SBTS crew continued doing restoration work on the Antelope / Taylor Lake Trail from the Middle Creek Trail intersection back toward Antelope Lake. This entire trail system does not appear to get much use except from the mountain lions, deer and bears. When a trail doesn’t get much use it is difficult to keep Mother Nature from reclaiming it.  Read More »

(field notes from SBTS crew leader, Henry O'Donnell)
When we first went back to work at Antelope Lake, Coz and I decided we were going to camp, even though we were seeing cat tracks everywhere and knew it would be getting really cold. The first night wasn’t that bad; we had plenty of easy to get firewood and built a huge campfire. It was dark by 5:15 and as soon as the sun went down the temperature dropped below freezing and the party was over.

The second night I decided to take home some firewood, so Coz stayed and camped by himself. He said he crawled into his camper early, but at about 1:30 in the morning he woke up to the sound of a mountain lion checking out our camp ,only three feet away from his truck. He opened up his window and shouted at the cat to scare it off, but the thing came back no more that twenty minutes later. The second time it came back, Coz pulled out his 22. caliber woodsman and fired several shots into the air. This kept the cat away for the rest of the night. By Thursday morning the temperature was down to 17 degrees, so we decided that would be our last day camping on the job.

~ Henry O'Donnell

We’re putting the final touches on our 2011 trail season and we have a few exciting and humbling highlights we’d like to share with you. For starters, we hosted 18 Trail Daze events between the months of April and December (5 in Tahoe Forest and 13 in Plumas Forest). Combined, these volunteer workdays attracted 491 volunteers and produced 3,728 labor hours. These same devoted volunteers travelled 63,201 miles to help maintain and enhance our treasured trails.

And while these numbers are impressive, they’re also important. Because as part of our grants and agreements with the Forest Service, we’re required to provide a 25% in-kind contribution, which can be achieved through volunteer labor, travel, materials and tools. Our 2011 in-kind contribution towards federally funded trail projects is $175,362.

Producing an in-kind contribution of this magnitude not only requires a dedicated volunteer base, it demands a passionate and professional staff, and a sizable amount of food and beer. At the peak of this year’s trail season, SBTS employed 17 Plumas and Sierra County residents (there are currently 5 of us) with an annual payroll of $372,000.  Read More »

We hosted our final Trail Daze event of 2011 in Downieville on December 3rd. There were 19 of us that braved the cold temperatures, and together we rebuilt a 25' long rock wall that had failed on Upper First Divide Trail.

We've had our eye on this section of trail for a while, knowing that it would need some heavy restoration work at some point. But after an inexperienced dirt bike rider dropped his bike over the edge and completely destroyed what was left of the wall, we decided it was time for some repair work. In addition to the wall restoration, volunteers cleared deadfall and dialed in the tread on both Upper and Lower First Divide Trails. Click for First Divide restoration photos  Read More »

Help Protect Our Trails $1 at a time
and support the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship
trail maintenance program

SBTS is officially launching it's $1 for Sierra Trails Program- In our best efforts to continually maintain local trails and to build new trails, we partner with local businesses and ask their customers for a small donation of $1, which is added to their bill. Customers can opt out of the program, but many donate more if they can.

The concept was tested for two seasons at the Gray Eagle Lodge and is being expanded. Now, businesses that benefit from recreational tourism, or simply love sweet Sierra singletrack, are being asked to participate in the program.

Here's an ad that is currently running in Plumas County newspapers:

And here's what the customer stamp looks like:

It's easy to participate and the funding will go a long way to ensure the quality and sustainability of our local trails. If you have a business and want to become a member of the $1 for Sierra Trails Program, please contact us at info@sierratrails.org, or give us a call at (530) 545.2580

SIERRA BUTTES TRAIL STEWARDSHIP
2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS  Read More »

Congratulations Quincy, California! You’ve just received two Learning Landscape Trails at local school campuses, and the South Park and Mount Hough trail projects have been approved for funding by the Plumas Forest. This is big news for the community and economy of Quincy, as the town is surrounded by National Forest and currently has no Forest Service "System Trails" to offer.

While there are trails in the South Park and Mount Hough areas, they are user-created and “technically” illegal to enjoy or maintain until they are designated as System Trails, which is what these two projects are focused on.

The process of obtaining System Trail status has been long and drawn out, starting back in 2008, when our grant application for non-motorized trails in South Park was recommended for funding by the Plumas County RAC. Soon after the recommendation, the South Park project was appealed by Sierra Access Coalition (SAC), on behalf of area dirt bike riders, who felt they were being forced off trails they had built and have been riding for decades.
 Read More »

I received the call Thursday (Oct 27th) evening, in between changing a dirty diaper and chasing a chicken out of the house. It was Cozmo-
“Well we did it buddy. We punched the trail through, and tomorrow morning we’re raising a toast at the summit and dropping to Graeagle for first tracks."
"Are you in?”
In the morning I grabbed the trailhead sign, mounting hardware and a 12- pack of PBR, and met the crew on top of Mills Peak for a sign raising ceremony. We drank a cold beer, dug a hole for the signpost, and shared stories about the project and the daunting process of legally building a 9- mile trail through the rugged Sierra.
Once the sign was installed, we toasted each other, gave a shout out to our beautiful surroundings and to the Great Spirit, and hopped on our bikes and road Mills Peak Trail for the first time; hooting and hollering the whole way down.
Even Troy, who somehow managed to get 5 flats along the way, had an ear to ear grin of satisfaction and pride.  Read More »