The Soggy Bottom of North Shore Tie gets a Serious Makeover

Laying down gravel is certainly not a mountain biker’s first choice for building and maintaining trails. But when we have a trail that is undrainable, unsustainable, and unrideable, then sometimes we have to do what we have to do. The bottom of North Shore Tie (aka Eugene to Crest Trail) is a perfect example of such a situation. Sections of this trail are composed of a sludgy, ashy soil that over the course of many wet seasons had devolved into mud holes from hell … the only solution for which was to add rock.

On Saturday March 5th a group of DOD volunteers headed out with Kevin Rowell of the USFS to make the lower section of NS Tie more navigable for both wheels and hiking boots. At the end of the day some of the nastiest wheel-swallowing trenches had been filled in and turnpikes created over the top to make durable trail surfaces that will last for years to come.