A trail maintenance crew made up of NVC and NMBA members spent most of Mother's Day (5/13/01) in Shingletown Gap. Weather conditions were ideal. The goal was to reroute a portion of the singletrack to avoid what had become a marshy area and then to bridge the small, seasonal stream that feeds the marsh.

One stipulation from the land managers was that we could only use local materials. The solution? Don Andrews selected a dry piece of deadfall, about the size of utility pole, to serve as the bridge's foundation. Don and Jim Glover spent well over an hour (maybe it was two hours!) making the necessary three cuts with a 36" bow saw. It took every bit of strength from six of us to move the two logs down to the stream bed.

At the same time a crew cut the new trail to avoid the original, but now damp, section. Frank Maguire had mapped the short reroute and directed the usual suspects - Mike Cerenzia, Mike Biegelski and Chris Heyl - plus a few others from the NVC roster. The result was a new bit of singletrack with a couple of rock gardens and a truly massive log bridge. Don devised a wood/sand/clay "paved" surface for the bridge and an impressive rock ramp for the two foot drop on one end. Don has taken it upon himself to make repeated visits to fine tune the structure of the bridge.

In the end, not only was the problem solved, but the new section is great for biking and hiking. Happily, NVC purchased a chainsaw shortly after this work day so Don will never have to use the bow saws again.