October Trail Daze Recap: Mills Peak & the Sunrise Trail

With the number of events SBTS has going this month it was a pleasant surprise to have 23 volunteers turn out for the October 10th Double Duty weekend. 15 people made their way to the top of Packer Saddle to lend a hand to Joe Smailes and help keep his property fire safe and his trees healthy. Joe is the stand up guy that allowed SBTS to construct the Sunrise Trail, which is now the start of the world famous Downieville Downhill. Volunteers piled brush and created burn piles that will be torched now that the rains have come and fire restrictions have been lifted. The remaining 8 volunteers helped out on Mills Peak Trail, a 7 mile multiple use trail located in the Plumas National Forest. This new trail will connect the community of Graeagle with the Lakes Basin Recreation Area and is a crucial link in the proposed Mohawk Trail System. Volunteers worked ahead of the mini excavator clearing the trail corridor for more than a quarter mile, bringing new trail construction to 2 miles. We still have a lot to do to complete this trail, but momentum is building and funding keeps trickling in. We hope to have this trail completed by 2011, with work continuing to complete the Mohawk Trail System sometime around 2015.

• Greg Williams's blog