SORBA-Chattanooga TRAIL CARE CREW Volunteer Work Hours |
|
SORBA-Chattanooga is proud of the work our all-volunteer Trail Care Crew has accomplished, constructing an maintaining mountain bike accessible trails in southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia.
Booker T. Washington S.P. = 288
Raccoon Mt Trail Network = 772.5
Total (so far) for 2007 = 1060.5
2006 volunteer hours = 1520
2005 volunteer hours = 1055
2004 volunteer hours = 951.75
Trail Volunteers Needed
Please help us expand trail opportunities in the greater Chattanooga-area. If you are a mountain biker, hiker, trail runner, or nature lover that would like to see the construction of more trails, or would like to volunteer to help maintain existing trails, please contact our trails director.
|
|
Advocacy
Singletrack Mind Initiative
In 2004, SORBA-Chattanooga reviewed the state of mountain biking in the greater Chattanooga area and found there was less than 7 miles of singletrack trail open to mountain bikers. To remedy this SORBA Chattanooga developed its Singletrack Mind Initiative. Through the Initiative we seek to increase the quantity and quality of sustainable singletrack trails. The goal is to access (open or build) 100 miles of trails to mountain biking in the greater Chattanooga area by the end of 2010.
The goal is a lofty one, but with the help of volunteers like you we can prove to land managers that mountain bikers are conservationists, and are concerned about preserving the environment while making low-cost, high benefit use of the land. By engaging land managers and volunteering to maintain the trails, SORBA-Chattanooga has been opening up mountain bike opportunities.
Not only are we opening up existing trails to mountain biking, but we are securing permission to build new trails, using the latest trail building techniques to ensure the trails will be sustainable for generations to come. SORBA-Chattanooga has already achieved great successes and through various agreements with land managers was able to open approximately 20 miles of mountain bike accessible trails in the Chattanooga-area since our initiative began. |
Success at Booker T. Washington State Park
Before SORBA-Chattanooga entered into a trail maintenance agreement with Booker T. Washington State Park, it had two short trail totaling 3.5 miles in length. Both trails had sustainability issues, and the nature trail had been closed for months due to the amount of downed trees across the trail. After adopting the trails SORBA-Chattanooga set about rehabbing them by clearing all of the downed trees and fixing or rerouting sections of trail that were not sustainable. At the same time the trails were connected into a single unified loop. The final project saw the addition of two miles of trail to the loop and construction of five new bridges. The costs of the entire project, including several thousands of dollars needed to construct the bridges and lease trail building equipment was covered by SORBA-Chattanooga. |
 SORBA-Chattanooga continues to improve the trails at Booker T. Washington State Park. |
 Raccoon Mt Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, opening 17.5 miles of new singletrack. |
Success at Raccoon Mountain
On July 17th, 2005, SORBA-Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) entered into a land contract allowing SORBA-Chattanooga to build and maintain mountain bike accessible trails on Raccoon Mountain. Phase I of the project called for the construction of 15 to 20 miles of trail to be built on the top of the mountain, with the possibility of constructing additional trail during future phases. Our volunteers have completed Phase I opening 17.5 miles of new singletrack. The trail system has already achieved great praise and was featured in Bike magazine. We are in the process of flagging more trail to be approved by TVA, hopefully doubling the amount of singletrack trail at this site. All of this was accomplished without costs to TVA. |
Success at Harrison Bay State Park
For years the trail at Harrison Bay State Park has been plagued with major mud issues as a result of the relative flat topography, the park's attempts to "fix" muddy areas by applying wood chips, which exacerbated the problem, and continued trail use during wets condition. To address the worst mud puddles we opted to construct several turnpikes to raise the trail bed above the surrounding area, so water could drain off the trail bed following rains. This was accomplished by digging drainage ditches to allow the existing puddles to drain and then using wheelbarrows to bring in crush-and-run to create the turnpike. SORBA-Chattanooga plans to meet with park officials in the future to discuss the possibility of board walking the remaining sections of trail in areas where it is either impossible or not practical to turnpike. |
 SORBA-Chattanooga turnpiked a mile of trail at Harrison Bay State Park.
For before and after pictures see: b&a #1, b&a #2, and b&a #3
|
|
Trail Opportunities
We have had some outstanding trail successes in the past year, however our volunteers continue to seek out additional trail opportunities. Presently, our volunteers are working with Outdoor Chattanooga and Georgia DNR to re-open the currently closed 5-Points trail system near Cloudland Canyon. Additionally, our volunteers continue to meet with area land managers to discuss constructing new trails on public parcels throughout the region, including; Stringers Ridge in North Chattanooga, Enterprise South in East Chattanooga, North Chickamauga State Park in Soddy-Daisy, and Little Cedar Mountain near Jasper, TN. |
volunteer | join | donate
home | about us | calendar | trail guide | forums | membership | advocacy | events | links
|
|
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Awards SORBA-Chattanooga Certificate of Appreciation
The Chattanooga Chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association (SORBA) was recognized by the USDA Forest Service for this volunteer trail work contributions. Representatives from SORBA-Chattanooga, which is active in the volunteer program of the Ocoee/Hiwassee District of the Cherokee National Forest, accepted a Certificate of Appreciation from the Cherokee National Forest Supervisor H. Thomas Speaks, jr. The district itself was awarded top honors among all ranger districts in the 13-state USFS Southern Region for its volunteer program.
Forest Supervisor Speaks also acknowledged the Ocoee-Hiwassee District employees, particularly Ranger Steve Biatowas, the district volunteer coordinator. Biatowas coordinates trail maintenance work among many user groups,
including SORBA. "Steve is, quite appropriately, a force of nature," said SORBA-Chattanooga '05 trails director Tim Carlfeldt. "He often contributes first hand to our work days, sometimes even on his day off."
|
|
