whatUcanDo

EVANS CANYON RESTORATION & IMBA TRAIL WORK The timing could have not been better. A call from IMBA’s Boulder office in December inquired to see if there was a place to host a trail building school in Reno in conjunction with the WTA conference. Although there are plans for trails in the area, not a whole lot is currently “online”. After contacting the USFS, BLM and Washoe County, we determined that the Rancho San Rafael area would probably work best accommodate the needs of the conference and its participants. After further investigation, we found out the TRUCKEE MEADOWS TRAIL ASSOCIATION had received a $10,000 grant to work on the restoration of Evans Canyon and Creek. A small group has been meeting periodically since January to work on a plan for canyon, starting with rehabilitation of the trail for the purposes of stream restoration and improving the recreational experience. This provided a great opportunity to offer up a local trail to use for the trail building school and to get a jump start on the Evans Creek restoration project. THE REROUTE. Priority of the Evans Canyon Restoration Project is to preserve the rare desert riparian environment in Evans Canyon. The current trail and roads in the canyon are not conducive to this ecosystem. By simply getting out of the creek and having strategically and properly built creek crossings, the riparian corridor will soon recover while still providing a quality trail experience. A section of approximately 150-200 meters was rerouted out of the stream bed, on to the canyon side, with a number rolling grade dips to make it interesting while getting a nice view of the creek below. Total obliteration and reseeding of the old trail was imperative and almost as time and labor intensive as building the new trail! THE ROCK GARDEN. Know your resource –one of the fundamentals in creating a good trail. Recently a new breed of trail riders have discovered this, by veering off an established route to take advantage of great physical resource—rock. Rocks and outcroppings offer natural material which can be used to create technical, yet sustainable sections of trail. This section utilized the ample local supply of stone to replace the previously used makeshift materials to recreate the technical features while adding another exciting drop option. THE SNAKE. After negotiating the rock garden, and perhaps the diving board, a short ravine offers a natural and fun line to the bottom of Evans Canyon. IMBA used this section to show flow and technical challenge. At the entrance of the snake, rocks were added to visually and physically better represent the nature of the trail at the lower end, where the more technical sections are located. By letting trail users knowing what they are getting into will help keep the trail narrow, lessening the chance of braiding, when trail users search for easier options. A couple of turns were reworked for better flow and a big boulder was moved into position to provide another optional and substantial drop. FUTURE PLANS Impressed by IMBA’s Advanced trail building school (both indoors and out) , the TMTA hired on Joey Klein to stay an additional week to do a complete assessment and trail plan for Evans Canyon and connecting trails. This plan takes in to account the canyon, plus the anticipation that the northern most end of the canyon (at Parr Blvd) is private and currently being considered for development. A new trail link (longer and better) will be needed to reach the USFS property and trails above. Rich and Joey have been tentatively scheduled to return in the fall, to help implement some of the more difficult sections planned. Till then, look for a number of smaller projects to take place soon. Don’t’ forget to check out the trail calendar for these work days when they are announced.	People power! With over 50 participants in the Advanced Trail Building school, 500 feet of new trail gets completed in less than a day. In Evans Canyon—on City of Reno property.
	Work in the rock garden. Out with the palettes and dumped cinder blocks - and in native material. It takes some work and a strong back— but a la natural is the way to go! Rancho San Rafael—Washoe County Park Off the diving board—this downhill finish has become quite popular within the last year. Haphazard construction and a proliferation of lines have caught the attention of the land owners—Washoe County Parks . Below the “N” at Rancho San Rafael Park