Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship

Just over the ridge from Downieville is the gold rush ghost town of Forest City. All the while SBTS has been busy building and caring for the popular trails on the DVille side of the ridge, a dedicated group of mountain bikers has been creating a system of trails near Forest City. It has long been a dream of ours to have a connector trail built between Forest City and Downieville to link up these two trail systems. Zachi has spent the last several Trail Daze events finding and flagging a route that will eventually connect to the Downieville section of the North Yuba Trail. Zachi and his crew have been braving hip-deep snow, 90 degree slopes, cliff faces, and huge rock outcroppings in an effort to find a route. Zachi thinks that with one more day’s effort, there should be a route flagged for the new Forest City to Downieville connector trail! To recognize those efforts, we at SBTS awarded Zachi Anderson April’s Volunteer of the Month. Zachi received an SBTS hoodie and his two crew members each got a pair of the latest SBTS socks.

According to the last weather report we’d heard, it was to be a nice day on Saturday. Unfortunately, we awoke to a cold gray day that felt more like mid-winter than mid spring and we were pretty sure we’d be getting good and wet before the day was done. The plan was to repair a damaged section of 2nd Divide located just past the cabin. We also needed to remove some large boulders from 1st Divide. Van and Todd needed to leave early, so we sent them to 1st to tackle the boulders while the rest of us headed out to 2nd. After hiking 3 ½ miles and finding ourselves less than ½ mile from the worksite, the snow was 8 inches deep and filled the trail and the surrounding woods. Rather than continuing up into uncertain conditions, we opted for plan “B,” to buff out the trail. (We’ll send a pro crew up to complete our original plan after the snow melts.)

The Trail Daze volunteers spent the next several hours pulling berm off the outer edge of the trail, filling ruts, and adding drainage features. In all, we worked on more than a mile of 2nd Divide. Ron walked the entire trail with his chainsaw and removed any fallen trees. Together with the work done last fall, 2nd will be in awesome shape for the season.  Read More »

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) has teamed up with Plumas Unified School District (PUSD) to provide an outdoor educational opportunity for students district wide. PUSD’s Rob Wade has been working on what he calls “Learning Landscapes,” a program that continues his efforts to get students engaged in the outdoors on the Plumas, fostering a sense of appreciation and stewardship. The main initiative of the Learning Landscapes program is to provide easily accessible trails with in a short distance of every school on the district. The trails would not only provide outdoor recreational opportunities, but would act as an outdoor classroom for teachers and students. Additionally, students with guidance from the SBTS, will be involved in the planning, building and maintenance of the trails.

Johnny Anderson, a Greeneville High senior took on the ambitious Learning Landscapes pilot project as his senior project. With guidance from the SBTS, he has been able to successfully plan, and start construction on a ½ mile loop trail that is with in a five minute walk from his high school. Previously Johnny volunteered on the Mills Peak Trail and then worked with SBTS’s Brett Marty and Ron Heard to plan and work out a project plan for his teachers. After meeting with the local community district and several days on site Johnny with the help of Brett and Ron, teamed up with a handful of his fellow class-mates to start construction on his trail.  Read More »

Clifbar Press Release

On the evening of Thursday, April 8th, Team Clif Bar is excited to host an evening event with the Santa Cruz Syndicate.

We'll pop the caps on some tasty beverages while we chow down on delicious grub served hot from one of the finest vehicles on the road today - the taco truck.

Please join us here at the Clif Bar & Co. mothership in Berkeley, CA!
Hang out with fellow cycling fans, chat it up with the folks from Clif Bar and meet the Syndicate riders. Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar & Josh Bryceland will be on stage to talk about what it takes to go ridiculously fast on a mountain bike.

This is a rare op to meet the gold & silver medalists from the 2009 DH World Championships, as well as the 2008 Junior DH World Champ.

Hurry and RSVP! Attendance is limited to 250 people, so RSVPs are required.
$20 (per person) gets you in the door for food, drink and festivities.
Net proceeds from the evening will go to the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship.

Evening Agenda
6:00pm: Doors open
6:00pm-7:15pm: Food & beverages for all – plus a glorious Heckler frame raffle!
7:15pm-7:30pm: Welcome intro & Take-a-Seat time
7:30pm-9:00pm: Meet the Syndicate

Please RSVP to: TCBevents@clifbar.com

We will respond to the first 250 RSVPs with a confirmation email that includes instructions for payment and directions to the event.

When the event is full we will send that information by email to any RSVPs that we are unable to accommodate.

No reservations will be taken by phone.

"Who wants to go big today?" I asked. The task, the longest hike of the day, walking 7 miles of the North Yuba while doing some McCleod work behind Ron while he chainsawed away at fallen trees. Nobody seemed too eager as eyes shifted back and forth to see who would step forward. I found out later that Zea had quitely volunteered for the spot. Therefore, we at SBTS would like to award her as our March volunteer of the month. Zea has been volunteering with us for over 4 years, regularly showing up to all of our events and helping out in every way possible to ensure that our events go smoothe as butter. Zea also brings us her expertise in Biology which is helpful in keeping our efforts ecologically sensitive. Thanks Zea! We here appreciate all your efforts and ongoing support! Zea received a SBTS hoodie and some fly gold grips for all her hard work. Hope you like 'em!