Stewards of the Lost Sierra

At the far north end of the Sierra Nevada Range lies a rugged landscape of volcanic buttes and deep, scoured canyons etched by cold and clear tumbling waters. Here forests of fir, pine and cedar grow thick, cloaking the steep mountainsides and canyon walls with a lush shade of green that lies in stark contrast to the much drier slopes of the Sierra Nevada to the south. Meandering their way through this beautifully raw landscape is a suite of ever-growing trails; a network that originated well over a century ago, at a time when hopeful pioneers clawed their way through thick forests and harsh winters, guided only by dreams of striking it rich with timber and gold. Now a new generation of pioneers stewards these trails and this landscape – they are no longer on a quest for wealth but driven by a shared passion for the fun and adventure that can be had by traversing the Lost Sierra by bike.


It was a weekday morning in early June and I awoke the diffuse light of dawn pouring through my cabin window. My bike lay propped on the porch outside, silhouetted by the churning waters of the North Fork of the Yuba River, and I took a few moments to listen to the water rush by and to watch the hazy light filter softly through the pines. “Damn, look at those jesus beams…” I muttered to myself as I watched the rays of light reach down like fingers to touch the water. The time for daydreaming was over almost before it started though; there was some serious work to be done before the sun passed from one side of this incised canyon to the other. We had been kindly invited to this idyllic place by Shimano, to spend a couple nights at the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s (SBTS) newly acquired riverside accommodations, the Lure Resort (https://lureresort.com). We were a hodgepodge of bike shop employees, sales reps and a media goon (me) and our purpose there was multi-fold; the first being to become familiar with some of Shimano’s newer product offerings, the second and most important goal was to assist SBTS with some fairly remote and very necessary trail work, and thirdly, we were going to get to ride. This particular day was the dig day.


After a hearty riverside breakfast we donned our riding gear and assembled under the shaded canopy of the towering conifers that towered over our cabins. We were kindly greeted there by SBTS representatives who gave us a quick refresher course on the do’s and don’ts of trail work and we all reviewed the map and location of our work zone for the day. It was already unseasonably hot, with a forecasted high of over 90F and the far end of our objective sat perched in the depths of a steeply walled canyon, nearly 13 miles away and almost 3,000 vertical feet above the Lure Resort where we’d depart from. Stubborn late-season snow at Packer Saddle and beyond rendered shuttle access a non-option, so we were informed we would be pedaling in to the Lavezzola Creek Trail. Lavezzola Creek happened to be one of the oldest trails in the Downieville Trail network, and was just recently adopted by Shimano in partnership with SBTS and the Yuba River Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest. Being such a mature and remote trail, it was in dire need of some brushing, benching, and touching up, and Shimano had brought us all here to help get the job done.

http://https://www.trailforks.com/trails/lavezzola-creek-trail/

“One of the challenges of getting work done on Lavezzola Creek is the trail’s remoteness,” stated SBTS’s Kurt Gensheimer as we wrapped up our orientation that morning. “The trail starts approximately 8 miles up a rugged dirt road from Downieville, requiring a capable truck to get workers close enough that they can carry in tools without hiking too far. But having [volunteers] hike up takes valuable time, and by the time they get to the work area the day is already half gone. Enter the usefulness of e-bikes.” He smirked, almost as if he’d said something taboo but was proud to stir controversy.



From a land management perspective, the Downieville area is fairly unique in that all of its trails are OHV-designated trails open to both motorized and non-motorized use. Despite the fame the region has gained as a mountain bike destination, it’s old mining roads and trails were burned in most recently by OHVs. SBTS still cleverly leverages that history and management policy by regularly applying for California OHV grants, a process which often provides them the funds necessary to build and maintain the trails that we all love to pedal. As a result of this OHV designation, e-bikes are completely legal on the entirety of the trail network, and actually offer a much quieter and organic alternative to a moto. Needless to say, all ten of us were soon saddling up on Shimano STEPS e-bikes to carry us to deep into the forest toward our work zone for the day.


It was my first experience riding an e-bike offroad, and as what some might call a ‘purist’, I’ve never been all that enthralled by the idea of having some form of motor-powered assistance out on the trail. But within a matter of minutes, the entire group of us – an assemblage of varied fitness levels and riding abilities – was floating up steep, rocky climbs as a giggly cohort. With only the faint buzz of power humming beneath us we ascended with full packs and light legs as we carried on conversations and kept our heart rates low enough to peruse our surroundings. And as things got steeper, they only became more interesting. “Up-ieville!” somebody quipped, as we all took turns attempting to power up a boulder-ridden chute. Even with our pedal-assisted power it took us a few solid runs to clean the section.


Before I knew it we were rendezvousing with the SBTS trail crew at our meet up point where the fire road ended and Lavezzola Creek Trail began. We were handed McLeods and shears and off we went to brush back the sides of the trail and re-bench areas that had sloughed off due to erosion. The faint cry of chainsaws echoed from the canyon walls above as the hard-working SBTS Trail Crew cleared the winter’s felled trees ahead of us. All the while the gin-clear tumbling waters of a swollen Lavezzola Creek offered a welcome ambience; particularly when a short, yet much deserved lunch break was taken. After only four short hours our crew had accomplished roughly three miles of trail work. Tired, fulfilled and hungry, we turned the e-bikes downhill and headed back to Downieville for some pizza and beer at Yuba Expeditions.



The beer and pizza went down easy, and that night the sleep hit hard once again as the Yuba River rolled by my window. Morning commenced in much the same manner as the day prior, with epic light piercing the trees, the melancholy calls of a hermit thrush emitting from the dogwood tree beside my cabin, and the river hurriedly rushing by. Another killer breakfast somehow materialized on our plates (cheers to the guys at Modus Group!), and I threw on my riding gear to meet everyone out front. This time though, we loaded our analog bikes on the Yuba Expeditions vans and departed to Quincy for a Mount Hough shuttle. Today was all about fun.

In 2015 SBTS completed the Mount Hough Trail; a 12-mile descent that plummets 3,800 feet from the summit of Mount Hough down through open pine forests, rife with expansive views, to a refreshingly cool summer swimming hole at Spanish Creek. During the short van ride up Mount Hough Road we could spot sections of the trail ebbing and flowing with the contours of the mountain, and the glimpses of flow were plenty sufficient to fuel our stoke. As the van rolled up to the top of Mount Hough road we eagerly hopped out and saddled our bikes. We all opted for the short bonus climb up to the fire lookout tower at the summit where we were greeted with 360 degree views of the Northern Sierra Nevada. Just below us floes of ice slowly danced about the lee side of Crystal Lake, and off in the distance beyond the swaying tips of ponderosa and white fir a snow-capped Mount Lassen stood sentinel over a rolling mountainous landscape blanketed by trees.


Once our eyes had feasted on the views we started our descent. A brief rocky and steep section off of the summit quickly gave way to swaths of warp speed, high visibility singletrack that carried us through the trees just fast enough to make you start second guessing whether or not you tightened everything properly the last time you threw your bike together. One after another, a plethora of natural features just begged to be popped off of and the organic, playful style of the trail pushes you to dig deeper into each corner and seek out clever lines into and out of sections you can see approaching from far ahead. As we ripped along for what seemed like an almost endless twelve miles, it was incredibly evident that the number of hours that went into the design and build out of this trail was immense…likely only to be surpassed by the number of high fives and smiles we put down that day.



Behind every perfectly radiused corner, every smile-inducing feature - behind every trail network for that matter, is a small group of collective minds and hands that put forth the necessary thought and effort to make their dreams (and those we didn’t even know we had) a reality. For the Lost Sierra that collective group of people is the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. Their progressive, calculated approach to trail design, implementation and maintenance has been critical to the growth and acceptance of mountain biking in the greater Lost Sierra Region. Our work and our riding during our visit with Shimano offered only the slightest sampling of the work to be done and fun to be had in the area, so we will surely be back soon to dig and pedal some more.

To learn how you can assist SBTS with trail maintenance, advocacy and more, head to https://sierratrails.org/events/.


Downieville mountain biking trails