Trails Update: August 28, 2026
shocking!
Last Saturday, I was awoken by thunder and stayed up, distracted by the wild lightning show. Seeing strikes all over Sproatt (Squirrels/Marmot zone) and near Loggers lake had me tossing and turning, wondering what the morning would bring. The heavy rain helped avoid any nearby wildfire starts so set off on our Sunday commute up the Flank in the tail end of the storm. The downpour left the flank looking like a creek bed. Water blasted away a lot of the fine soil material. Leaving behind loose soft ball sized rocks and woody debris piles that made for spicy navigating.
Up on the Squirrels, the lower grade tread took it all in. It went from pure dust a week ago to mud in a flash. This helped showcase sections of trail that “worked” and parts that needed more attention. Rather than jump straight into the mud, we focused on bridges and moving the blue re-route along. I honed in on a problem of my own design: the best shaped swoop (that I had flagged) went through a monster sized rock. Armed with a long metal rod, gravity and the stonework teachings of Ken Melamed, I ambitioned for more than simply removing the rock… It would become the trail. After preparing its final destination, I summoned my inner Obelix to precisely nudge the menhir into place! For the engineers reading this, I mostly used class 2 levering to nudge the fall and class 1 levering to get the final tilt just right. We’ll be dealing with mud and compacting tread in the coming weeks while juggling volunteer digging events which start-up again in September. SHOCKING: IT'S SEPTEMBER ALREADY!
Wildfire Thinning Project News
The Alta lake road project is in its final cleanup on the River Runs Through it side and crews will be moving into the Get Over it/ Rebobs side soon. On the other side of the valley, starting in September, the RMOW and Whistler-Blackcomb will conduct more thinning work around the Kadenwood neighborhood (near the gondola). This will affect some trails in and around the bike park. Please obey all signage in the area as the tree falling crews work.
See you on the Trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
