Great Work Day!

It was an outstanding work day this past Saturday. Over 35 people turned out and a significant amount of work was accomplished.

Primary tasks included removing and replacing four trailhead bulletin boards at OO, Mosquito Brook and Telemark Resort Trailheads. The old bulletin boards, now 20 years old, had degenerated and reached the end of their useful lifespan. Some materials from the old bulletin boards will live on, however, as some of the solid timbers will be reused as bridge material along the trails and some of the plywood will be recycled into map boxes.

In addition, two new structures, referred to as "gateways" have been built and installed at the entrance to the Makwa and Seeley Pass Trails. The gateways are simple structures: two vertical 6 X 6 posts about 14 feet tall with two horizontal crossbars near the top. There's an 18 inch space between the crossbars where eventually we will install a sign or artistic identifier for each trail.  Partly decorative, the gateways help draw attention to the entrance to the trails, which are somewhat obscure.

The other major undertaking was a series of reroutes along the Hatchery Creek Trail. One short reroute and about 1/4 of another were built by a crew of 22 volunteers. These reroutes are improvements to the existing trail to upgrade drainage and sustainability. Volunteers included experienced trail builders and total newbies like Mike Mandli dug trail on Saturday. He commented, "I gained a whole new appreciation for what so many  have done for mountain biking in this area."

More on this past Saturday's workday can be viewed along with several photos on CAMBA's Facebook page:  facebook.com/cambatrails.

CAMBA Spring Work Day - April 28

Join us for our annual spring workday on Saturday, April 28. With the early departure of winter, many of our trails will already have seen considerable clean-up, but there will still be plenty to do.

As usual, we will meet at Mooselips in Seeley to get organized before heading out to the trails. In addition to the traditional clean-up and preparations for the coming season, we have several trailhead spruce up projects in store as well.

The plan is to meet at 9:00 a.m., divide up into teams and head out to the trails. Dress for working in the woods and bring gloves, water and snacks.

CAMBA will provide all necessary tools. We should be done by 1:00 p.m.or so and hope you can join us.

REMAINING CAMBA TRAILS NOW OPEN

The Forest Service has approved the early opening of the CAMBA mountain bike trails on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. This affects CAMBA trails in the Namakagon, Drummond and Delta Clutsters. Included among these trails is the CAMBA-IMBA Epic Route (Rock Lake, Namakagon & Patsy Lake Trails).

CAMBA trails in Sawyer County (Hayward and Seeley Clusters) and Bayfield County (Cable Cluster) were previously announced to open this weekend. With this announcement, all trails in the CAMBA system are officially open. As always, caution and good judgement about deciding when to ride should be exercised should we receive any significant rainfall.

Have a safe and fun mountain biking season. Your support and assistance throughout the season is welcome and invited to help develop, maintain and preserve the great riding in the Chequamegon area.

Limited Trail Openings

The early spring and rapid departure of winter snows have allowed area trails to dry out and be ready to ride several weeks ahead of schedule.

Effective Saturday, April 7, the following CAMBA trail systems will be open to mountain biking:

Hayward Cluster, Sawyer County Forest

Seeley Cluster, Sawyer County Forest

Cable Cluster, Bayfield County Forest

The remaining CAMBA off road bike trails are expected to open soon. Watch the CAMBA website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and this eNewsletter for information about subsequent trail openings.

As always, please exercise good judgement at this time of year after periods of heavy rain or the unexpected spring blizzard. If you are leaving more that a tire tread impression in the trail, conditions are too wet and soft for riding. We appreciate your cooperation and stewardship.

The season has begun - get out and ride.

Birkie Trails Closed to Bikes Too

Trail Steward for some of the Hayward area trails, Steve Morales, had this experience just the other day. It underscores the need to get the word out there that no matter how nice the weather, the trails are still closed. And that includes the Birkie Trail, Birkie Classic, OO loops,etc.

Steve Morales: "I was at the Hatchery Creek trailhead yesterday and my visit just happened to coincide with the arrival of three Hayward high school students who pulled into the parking lot to go mountain biking. They were really surprised that the single-track trails would be closed since it was such a nice day. Their comment when I informed them was "But we can ride on the Birkie trail, right?"

Please help spread the word and suggest alternate places to ride: gravel town roads and pavement are about all there is at this point.

Thanks.

Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Trails Opening Dates Clarification

With temperatures in the 70s folks are getting itchy to ride their fat tire bikes. Patience is advised, however, as the trails are not yet ready nor legally open.

Policies vary from area to area within the region and regardless of how warm and dry it might seem, we must comply with the opening dates set forth by the land managers with which we work.

If conditions continue as they have, we may be able to appeal for earlier openings, as we have in the past. But until notified otherwise, please observe the following trail closure/opening dates as set forth by the respective agencies. If you have any questions, please contact CAMBA.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation. These closures have been established to protect the trails - and that is something we should all support.

Trail Opening Dates in the Chequamegon Area

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
Namakagon, Drummond and Delta Clusters
Opening Date: May 1

Bayfield County Forest
Cable Cluster
Opening date of May 1 is observed.

Sawyer County Forest
Hayward and Seeley Clusters
Opening date: May 15

Please note that signed town roads, gravel or paved, in the CAMBA system are good alternatives if they are sufficiently dry.

CAMBA Ramps up Facebook Presence and Social Media Strategies

CAMBA is ramping up its Facebook presence. Check out our fan page at facebook.com/cambatrails.

Part of the reason, of course, for having a Facebook page is to generate greater awareness of the outstanding mountain bike trails in the Chequamegon area. You can help us by visiting the page and "Liking" CAMBA. Please take a moment to check it out and click Like.

As the season progresses, please feel free to post comments and relevant information on our wall.

CAMBA also has a Twitter feed. If you'd like to follow CAMBA's Twitter posts, check us out at twitter.com/cambatrails.

And, we have a YouTube channel. We're always looking for good videos, so if you have a POV camera, send something our way.

Finally, over the next few weeks keep an eye out for our totally redesigned and revamped website with streamlined navigation, greater content, and integrated social media. Stay tuned...