It was a busy summer for trail crew, with lots of trail repairs and lots of bridges to replace. 2022 marks the third year of FVMBA Summer Crew and we welcomed two of last summer’s crew, Noah and Jared, back. We had hoped to expand to include two more crew members dedicated to working at Vedder, but unfortunately we did not receive all of the grant funding we applied for. All of this work is made possible through a Canada Summer Jobs grant.

Here’s a few highlights from the first two months. Crew’s first task was repairing some of the trail damage caused by the storms last November. High water flows in an ephemeral creek washed out a short section of Devil’s Throat on Sumas. Just below on World Cup, the already eroded entrance was more damaged by the storm.

Next up crew headed to Bear and Red. This old bridge on Momentum was extra slick when wet and a broken support left it off camber, ready to tip riders, runners, and hikers into the creek. Replaced with fresh split cedar for decking, the bridge is safer for all.

Over at Bear, crew upgraded Pond Access, the trail that connects over to BTLC. Used for the kid race on June 5th, the goal was to make the trail a little friendlier as well as improve the drainage.

It was a summer of bridge building. The extreme fire risk last summer that closed Bear & Red meant that a number of projects from last summer had been deferred to this year. At Bear alone, crew replaced 12 bridges! You’ll likely still encounter the fresh scent of cedar on Wasp, Tower Trail, Little Death, Bomba, Pioneer Connector, Corduroy.

The FVMBA Trail Crew also spent some additional time at Sumas, again with a focus on bridge replacements. Multiple bridges on Emma Peel were rebuilt as well as bridges on lower Time Killer.

We’re very grateful for the funds received through the Canada Summer Jobs grant and thank Brad Vis, MP for Mission – Matsqui – Fraser Canyon for supporting the FVMBA grant application. The work that we do to care for the trails benefits all – bikers, hikes, trail runners, and our four legged friends.