# Guerilla (FAST) trail building techniques?



## SWriverstone (Sep 3, 2009)

I'm interesting in hearing about "guerilla" trail building techniques. Not because I plan to do anything illegal...but because I'm interested in building a trail on my own property...but I want to do it as quickly, cheaply, easily as possible...and the only labor is me.

Here are my thoughts...critique away! (Or add to these...)

1. Most barebones-basic: map out a trail, then hack/cut/clear any brush/branches/briars within a handlebars's width (plus a little extra) of the prescribed line. Ride it over and over. (How long before just doing this results in a narrow bit of singletrack?)

2. Next step...do a narrow bench cut on slopes (like 6-8" max), and scrape away the top layer of detritus along the whole trail. (Obviously this increases the workload significantly.)

3. Start getting pickier about tread, drainage, etc...lay paving stones anywhere necessary, etc. (again, a whole 'nother level of work and complexity)

4. Start adding narrow log bridges where appropriate or necessary.

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So again, my main goal is to get something that I can ride reasonably well in a hurry (without having to basically "bushwhack/ride" through the forest on my bike).

Any other ideas, suggestions?

Oh, one other question: what is the best way to get narrow singletrack through an open meadow of dense, tall grass and weeds? This is a particularly "thorny" issue...as it seems like the only real solution is to mow/cut/hack/dig down to dirt along the track (because otherwise you're left with a bunch of spiky, tire-piercing stubble).

Scott


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## SWriverstone (Sep 3, 2009)

Okay...after reading more about "rake and ride" and slacking on bench cutting, etc...I see that there really isn't any fast way to make decent trails to ride.

At first I thought perhaps a rake-and-ride trail could be built first...and then improved later...but it appears this is iffy as damage could occur resulting in the need for far greater improvement (or repair) effort later.

Hmm...gotta do more research...

Scott


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

I didn't want to answer because of the rake & ride controversy. Since you are aware of the problems involved I think it's safe to tell you I have miles of rake & ride trails that are standing up well to a couple of hundred riders per month. Some of it is on some pretty flat ground and it gets wet when it rains. It's the low traffic that saves the ground. I can build up if I need to, but after 10 years, it hasn't been necessary

I've also mowed trails across plowed fields. Kick the top of the furrow into the bottom. A few passes with a bike will flatten it out but it will be a rut.

Some places where it would be too wet to ride comfortably, I build a causeway with no edge. Imagine digging a ditch and piling the dirt beside it. Ride along the top of the pile of dirt. Like a levee beside a canal. If it's just dirt, that work can go pretty fast.

It's your land. You can build what you want. The rules don't apply. IMBA would freak if they saw my backyard.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

As Trail Ninja says, clearing some bushes out of the way and just riding CAN work. *Depends*. On terrain, soil, vegetation, climate. If there's not too many users, wear and tear may not be an issue. Sometimes keeping the vegetation from taking the trail back is the hardest part. Or you might live in a place where every puddle turns into a landslide that kills your neighbor...

Whatever you do, take a good look at your land. Where's the spots you want to go? Where's the nasty wet spots? How do you connect the good spots in an interesting way while avoiding the nasty spots?


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## prooperator (Jan 31, 2007)

*How long?*

How much milieage are u talking about? It could be feasible to gather some riding buddies in and pull some resources together and rent a dingo to machine cut as much as possible and then hand finish the rest. First layout trail w/ no more than 10% grade and use the contours of the area. Flag the trail where it flows the best and start clearing.


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## SWriverstone (Sep 3, 2009)

Good posts and info/suggestions, thanks. 

I did more reading (here and elsewhere) and have a better picture of the rake-and-ride versus serious construction controversy.

I do understand that building trails is highly dependent on the terrain, soil, vegetation, rock, etc...as well as the traffic (type and amount). In my case, I'm just thinking of making a short loop, no more than a mile tops (I don't have much land!), just something to ride laps on in my own backyard. I was even thinking of making it a "psuedo pump track" in places...but that seems like a lot of work (building up whoops).

Still, I'm definitely interested in trail building in general, because I'd like to try to get some new trails happening in our area (and every bit of knowledge helps).

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In spite of the "Thou Shalt Built No Guerilla Trails Without Permission" rule (which I agree with in general), I know there are many, many miles of trails all over the nation that people just "rode into existence" (with possibly a little handwork here and there) over time...and in most of those areas, the existence of the trails isn't disputed by anyone because...well..."they've just been there for a long time."

So I sense a kind of unspoken coexistence of open, publicized trail projects that are by-the-book and fully permitted and condoned...and these other social trails (which I think is an odd term).

What all this has to do with my OP is that it's the "construction" of the social trails I'm interested in. I was curious to know how many of these were raked and dug by hand? Versus just ridden into existence over time?

My guess is that most of these trails were originally just invisble paths followed repeatedly by a few riders...which gradually became tire-width singletrack...which gradually became 2-foot-wide singletrack...which gradually became more constructed and sustainable multiuse trails.

Scott


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

Well...

If you want to get a trail done as quickly as possible, by yourself, you need to invest in some power tools, and not the kind you buy at Lowe's. Rake and ride? I think not.

* backpack blower
* trimmer with cutting wheel
* chainsaw
* lawnmower that you don't mind beating the crap out of

I have the Stihl BR550, FS250R, and MS361, respectively. I've gone through a donated lawnmower already and am working with a loaner now, it's a great trail drafter.


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## Walt Dizzy (Aug 18, 2003)

As you've probably picked up from the Bench Cut thread, it's possible to build without digging a lot of dirt, but the dirt and the location will dictate what's possible.

My $0.02 is to site the trail on the slope (avoid flat areas if possible) where it's not too steep. Spending the money for a clinometer and avoid guessing in order to stay off the fall line helps a lot.

I have been told that running a dirt bike over your trail-to-be will kill the weeds and break down weed stubs fast.

Walt


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## cjohnson (Jul 14, 2004)

*Location?*

I only have experience in hardwood forests. this is our typical method.

1. pick route.
2. back pack leaf blower.
3. hand lopper to trim brush and branches.
4. line trimmer.
5. bench and/or knock the high spots into the low spots to get a fairly smooth trail.

Clear brush an extended arm's width. line trim a foot or so width. In the best of conditions.

good luck.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

MOST trails are a result of people traveling from one point to another via the easiest and usually shortest route and just wearing a path. Some of these are thousands of years old.

MOST bike trails are a result of someone making minor modifications to one of those paths.

The "rules" for bike trail building are a fairly new thing and are mostly there to appease land managers, opponents to biking and governments. It's a good idea to follow them if that's your goal.

Otherwise.....


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

I'd add to that statement that sometimes, deer can be great trailblazers. Other times, man, no way. They have no problem with steep fall ines.


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## SWriverstone (Sep 3, 2009)

Well...I'll be honest and say that in addition to my own property, there's a lot of empty land nearby that is completely going to waste.

For example, the would-be housing development that never got built because it started right before the economy crashed. It's a lot of land that's not gated and not posted...(with a bit of forest, lots of tallgrass meadows, and lots of open dirt areas with mounds of dirt) that's just been sitting there for years...and showing zero signs of anyone doing anything with it. With the housing market in the toilet, I'm 99.9% sure nothing will be done with this land for years to come.

In fact, there is a TON of "would-be housing development" land near where I live (with the same rotting "For Sale, Zoned Residential" signs that have been there for years) ...and it kills me to see all that potentially awesome MTB trail real estate just sitting there.

Could I contact the landowners about developing an MTB trail there? Sure...but I'm also 99.9% sure they'd say "No way."

So I am going to simply identify a trail route and start riding it...quietly.

Scott


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

Ah ha, now the truth is out.


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Well, the old saw, "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission", works better for kids and with spouses, than private land owners or agency land managers, especially as an adult.  

You might get away with it, you might get rebuffed, you might get busted for trespass, or worse. You, better than anyone else, will have to assess the risk if you decide to roll the dice........ :devil:


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## SWriverstone (Sep 3, 2009)

Well my trailbuilding efforts will be restricted to my own land for now.  I have ridden all over the aforementioned "dead" housing development several times and the sound of the crickets chirping is deafening, LOL.

I grant that there is always a possibility of getting busted...but IMO it's about as low a probability as getting struck by lightning.

Especially nowadays...everyone (from private developers to public park management) is severely strapped for personnel. Most businesses and organizations don't even have the personnel they need to run their businesses...much less be out hunting for trespassers every day. And even if a trespasser were caught...lawsuits cost money...and nobody but the most rabid hater of humanity will file suit over someone riding a bicycle on their property. (Yeah yeah I'm sure someone will toss out examples A, B, and C of when this actually happened...but that is definitely not the rule-it's the extreme exception.)

I am NOT advocating trespassing by the way. I *am* advocating common sense and reasonable behavior all around.

Ours is the most litigious society on earth...and it is largely _without_ good reason.

Scott


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

If it's not posted you're not likely to get busted for riding the land. 

No matter what, you're likely to get busted for building trails. Even if all you have is a rake or shovel.It probably won't even be the landowner that starts the fuss if you're seen building bike trails. There are enough busybodies that think they should police other peoples land and keep the scourge of mountain bikers out of their neighborhoods.

On every legal project I've ever worked, I've had at least one person who feels it's their duty to stop me from building trails. Whether it be on public land or private property they don't own, they'll still come out and tell me off and then try to get the landowner to stop me. It's never worked. I get landowner permission first.

I've never been told not to ride anywhere except for in a provincial park (where I work) on a bike legal trail by a couple of dog walkers who had their dogs off-leash (illegal in that park). It was kind of funny.


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## HarryCallahan (Nov 2, 2004)

SWriverstone said:


> Well my trailbuilding efforts will be restricted to my own land for now.  I have ridden all over the aforementioned "dead" housing development several times and the sound of the crickets chirping is deafening, LOL.
> 
> I grant that there is always a possibility of getting busted...but IMO it's about as low a probability as getting struck by lightning.
> ...


I think Trail Ninja nails it in the post just above, and sounds like you've figured it out as well. Likely, the worst thing thing that will happen if you are just riding is somebody asks you to leave. On the other hand, if you are onsite with tools, you are much more likely to have a negative interaction with someone. And even if you manage to see someone coming and evade them, you've turned up the heat and may lose that area as a riding spot.


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## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

Don't bother wasting much time (if any at all) on building illegal trails and certainly don't get too attached to them. Eventually someone will come along and destroy them, and they'll be totally allowed in doing so.

Rake and ride _can_ work if you have the right terrain conditions. It's up to you to figure it out. Follow IMBA's guidelines as much as possible: http://www.imba.com/resources/trail-building

Ultimately, if it's your property and you want the trails to last, then you might as well invest time doing it right.


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## Fattirewilly (Dec 10, 2001)

Trail Ninja said:


> MOST trails are a result of people traveling from one point to another via the easiest and usually shortest route and just wearing a path. Some of these are thousands of years old .


(Not really picking you Trail Ninja, this for the benefit of the OP or others) ...and "some" of those trails are blown out after 5 years. It depends on the route and alignment selected by the person who built or blazed that trail.



Trail Ninja said:


> MOST bike trails are a result of someone making minor modifications to one of those paths..


And very often of that type trail has fewer "smiles per mile". Around here, many of that type are old road beds. Very boring compared to the potential that can often be unlocked in a piece of land.



Trail Ninja said:


> The "rules" for bike trail building are a fairly new thing and are mostly there to appease land managers, opponents to biking and governments. It's a good idea to follow them if that's your goal.
> 
> Otherwise.....


I think this is a slightly "narrow" view of the "rules". The essence of the "rules" are not new. The Romans thousands of years ago were good trail builders and so was the CCC nearly 100 years ago. Deer and cattle can be good at picking reasonable alignments. The "rules" are based on studying what worked and has lasted and then trying to succinctly state/explain why one trail is blown out after 5 years and another trail still looks great after 100 or 500 years.

It was stated in another thread (credit to Bweide I think) that to have a successful build breaking the rules, you have to know them first to know when you can get away with breaking them. Taking a little pride in you work goes a long way in the fun factor department.

Again Ninja, I'm not saying anything here you probably don't already know. Mainly for the benefit of the OP.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Fattirewilly said:


> The Romans thousands of years ago were good trail builders


... and I always thought they built roads ...


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## hankthespacecowboy (Jun 10, 2004)

I'm a little late in joining the conversation, but I'll go ahead and say the factor that has most increased my trail building "speed" has been spending more and more time walking out routes before starting any sort of trail work at all. Especially if you are wanting to develop anything at all resembling a network rather than random trails scattered through the woods. It's easy to get excited about the first sweet line you come across and launch full-tilt into trail building , only to realize the line goes nowhere, or will require monumental amounts of work to connect it to something else.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Fattirewilly said:


> Again Ninja, I'm not saying anything here you probably don't already know. Mainly for the benefit of the OP.


No offense taken. I would have added most of those qualifiers if I'd felt like typing that much.

I got to save my energy for bench digging.:thumbsup:


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## bweide (Dec 27, 2004)

What kind of private land do you have to build on? Flat? Steep? In between? 

If it is flat, locate the dry areas, clear the corridor and ride it in. I strongly suggest making your flat trails wide enough run a gasoline mover on, as this will ease your maintenance.

If your land is steep you will pretty much have to build bench. If you want to send us a section of topo map with your property lines on it we can probably suggest some lines through the steep terrain.

Learn as much as you can about trail layout and the IMBA rules. Then spend lots of time walking your property imagining trail lines. Walk all of your trail lines in both directions, multiple times, and get some of your buddies to give you their feedback. As previously mentioned, think in terms of a network of trals or at least a loop or two.


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## Walt Dizzy (Aug 18, 2003)

hankthespacecowboy said:


> I'm a little late in joining the conversation, but I'll go ahead and say the factor that has most increased my trail building "speed" has been spending more and more time walking out routes before starting any sort of trail work at all. Especially if you are wanting to develop anything at all resembling a network rather than random trails scattered through the woods. It's easy to get excited about the first sweet line you come across and launch full-tilt into trail building , only to realize the line goes nowhere, or will require monumental amounts of work to connect it to something else.


This is good advise.

A smart man learns from his mistakes. A genius learns from other people's mistakes.

The *minimum* amount of planning in my opinion is to have the entire loop roughed in before you start. A much better approach is to rough in the loop in the fall/winter (right now is the perfect time to get started), then walk over it several times, carefully evaluating it for problems with the fall line (guessing isn't good enough), too-tight curves, and general bad alignment. Then wait untill spring and a wet, rainy weekend when the snow is still melting off. Walk it again, and look for drainage problems.

Building trail is hard work. Rebuilding trail is at least four times as hard because all the joy in making something new is gone. If you had any help the first time around, they won't be there the second time.

If I haven't made my meaning clear, it's that I believe you can build an acceptable trail without a massive amount of labor. But if you skimp on the planning, your odds of success are dismally low.

One final thought. Any kind of trail construction, but most especially a low-impact (guerrilla) trail depends on riders packing it in/smashing weeds down. It's difficult for one rider to do that. Are you prepared to open up your trail to enough people to "ride it in"? Prepared to confront people who abuse the privilege?

Walt


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