On May 4th, Ryder’s Eyewear and the Muddbunnies hosted their second trail day on Dale’s on Seymour. We met at Old Buck Parking lot to kick start our morning with coffee from Bean Around the World and yummy treats from Dar. The highlight was when one of our volunteers introduced himself as Dale, THE Dale of Dale’s trail! It was great to hear about how the trail came to be from the man who originally built it, and to hear his feedback on the work being done on the trail. Fifteen volunteers then biked, hiked and off-roaded their way up to the trail.
Then and now: Me (in pink), my sister and friends digging in the mud in 1989 and our crew of volleys working on Dale’s 2014.
Like every other trail day I have ever attended, it was raining. Seriously, if you want to work on a trail on a nice sunny day, make sure it’s a trail day I won’t be at. There is something to be said about rainy trail days though. With the water streaming down the trail, you can really see the problem spots and where the drainage issues are. We spent lots of the day digging the muck out of the puddles and clearing the rocks and organic matter that has been washed down the trail and created pools on the trail. We then used those rocks and bucket after bucket after bucket of gold to ï¬ll in the problem areas and to keep the rivers running off the trail!
Wet, rainy trail days offer another bonus: time travel back to your youth. Digging for gold, covered in mud, it’s hard not to let your thoughts drift back to mudcakes, puddle jumping, and coming home soaking wet and covered in mud, to that pure joy of being ridiculously dirty. FYI, a quick search on google puts the price of a Mud Spa/bath in Vancouver at up to $245!!! On a wet trail day, not only is it free to get all covered in mud, but we will also feed you gourmet pizza and brownies. Who doesn’t love brownies! Oh, and you earn yourself some karma all the while giving back to the mountain biking community.
Celebrity trail builders, free Mud Spas, Gourmet pizza and brownies (thank you chef Siobhan), and lots and lots laughs and smiles. If you haven’t experienced the muddy magic of a trail day yet, I highly suggest to give it a try. There will be more full day trail days in September – November, but also keep an eye out for the trail «evenings» we will be hosting throughout the summer!
Check out the before and after photos to see the work that was accomplished by our amazing team of volunteers!
Words:Â Carrie Antoniazzi
Pictures:Â Berglind Hafsteinsdottir & Jaclyn Delacroix
You can find the trail day report here: Dale’s Trail Day Report #2.
