10 Most Common Trail-building Mistakes

For as long as humans have been following trails, we've been making
mistakes on trails. Still, our missteps - whether they left us in the
digestive tracts of saber-toothed beasts or wandering the intestinal
roadways of trail-encroaching suburbs - usually only affect ourselves.
When trail-builders make mistakes, however, they affect everybody. Trail
users, land managers, vegetation and wildlife all feel the sting of the
well-meaning but inexperienced trail-builder. In our travels, we often see
the same mistakes again and again, but the good news is they can all be
avoided. In an effort to bury them alongside dinosaurs in the evolutionary
graveyard, we bring you the top 10:

1. Not Getting Land Manager Approval

We know, we know: you just want to build trails. But believe us when
we tell you that nothing - not a single darned thing - more important
before starting trail-work than the approval of the land owner or
manager. In our experience, a failure to secure permission is the
single biggest cause of trail closures. When it comes to building
trails, to ask for forgiveness is not better than to ask for
permission.

2. Falling for the Fall Line

Put simply, fall line trails are erosion nightmares. They
turbo-charge natural and user-created erosion, exposing rocks and
roots and generally living short lives before becoming loose, wide,
ecosystem-damaging disasters. To build trails that last, use the Half
Rule: trail grade, or steepness, shouldn't exceed half the grade, or
steepness, of the hillside; and the 10 Percent Rule: overall trail
grade should be 10 percent or less.

3. Guessing the Grade

Nobody, no matter how masterful their eye, can guess trail grades
right every time. Trust us, we know. Sure, it's fun to try, but use a
Clinometer to confirm the grade whenever you're laying out trail -
it's worth a regiment of self-powered, Fantasia-style Pulaskis,
because no amount of trail-work can fix a trail built on an
unsustainable grade. If you don't have a clinometer, we highly
recommend an investment in this indispensable tool.

4. Going Against the Flow

Not even race courses - which are sometimes designed with erratic
flow to throw off a racer's rhythm - should make this trail-building
faux pas. All trail-builders should make "smooth transitions" their
mantra. Bad flow, especially fast sections leading into sharp turns,
is a primary cause of user conflict. When you are building, think
flow - it's the key to an enjoyable trail.

5. Half Bench is Half Baked

The only time you should ever skimp on a fully bench cut trail is (1)
when the side-slope is so steep - 80 percent or greater - that the
back-slope exceeds six feet in height, or (2) when your trail design
forces you to build close to the downhill side of a large tree. In
both cases, a proper crib wall should be built to support your
partial bench, and, as in all trails, the tread should maintain a
five to seven percent out-slope.

6. The West Virginia Climbing Turn

Our friends in West Virginia affectionately gave this name to some of
their steep, fall line turns, and while they've gotten away with it
in a few locations because of the soil and user types, most fall line
turns will erode badly. If you want your climbing turns to endure,
build them on side-slopes with no steeper than a seven to 10 percent
grade.

7. Building Houses of Straw

Remember the little piggy who built his house with straw? He got
chowed by a wolf. Using shoddy materials when building trail
structures leaves you and others similarly vulnerable by reducing the
structure's safety and longevity. This opens the door to things like
pain, guilt and even lawyers. Build it right. Keep the wolves at bay.

8. Finishing a Line Before Its Time

We heartily support on-the-trail training, but some new trail-builders
are so eager to keep building more! new! better! trails that they
don't devote enough time or care to each new trail section. Resist
the temptation to move forward. Don't finish a line before its time,
and always patch past mistakes.

9. Building a Pathway to Grandma's House

This is what we call some trail-builders' obsession with lining trail
with logs. A properly constructed trail shouldn't need them. In fact,
lining a trail with logs can trap water and increase erosion.

10. Ignoring Old Wounds

As mountain bikers we may think our scars are cool, but scars on the
land left by closed trails are damaging wounds that need to heal.
Always reclaim eroded areas with check dams - natural obstacles like
logs or rocks that divert the flow of water and soil - and reclaim
all closed trails with transplanted native vegetation that conceals
the old corridor. Shine the spotlight on the great trails you've
built, not the ugly scars that have been left behind.