Better trails, better biking

News Sports & Recreation — 03 August 2011

The Ghost and Mavis Lakes trail system has seen some help with upgrades recently. The Junior Rangers Program has jumped on board to give the local biking and running community a hand with cleaning up the trails and improving the safety.

“We contacted the Junior Ranger Program, and it’s the type of work they would do, and like to do, so they came out and helped us with the trail system,” said Mike Wood, member of the biking and running communities. “There are sections of the trail where you had to go along the road, a kilometer, 800 metres of gravel road. It was a safety concern. They helped us get those trails off the road and into the bush.”

Wood says the group of volunteers have taken virgin bush, clearing and brushing out the trail surface, taking out all the vegetation and loose rocks and preparing the actual trail bed.

“A phenomenal amount of work they did. They put in over a kilometer of trail for us in two days. I was shocked at how much they got done in such a short amount of time,” said Wood. “They become permanent, beautiful trails.”

The trail system is world class, with approximately 45 kms of trail in various skill levels, from super easy, to advanced. The mountain biking community has primarily maintained the trails in the past, with the Dryden High School (DHS) running club taking up some of the slack this year.

“There’s probably another 3 kms that need to be rerouted, maintained, or brought up to a better standard. There are some safety issues, and we want to improve the safety of them. That’s our first goal,” said Wood. “The second goal is to create a few more easy-level trails for beginners.”

The 22 Rangers setup camp at Aaron Park during their stay, and cleaned the entire trail system in the park as well.

Junior Rangers is a program put on by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and is open to youth who are age 16 that summer. Wood says the kids come from all walks of life, and most have never been to Northern Ontario.

The non-motorized trails have all been mapped and GPS’d for public use, and can be found on the DHS Running Club Facebook Page.

By Ally Dunham

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