After our productive visit in Jasper National Park we were fortunate enough to enjoy a whole week off without an official visit on our calendar. However, we caught wind that the Moose Mountain Bike Trails Society (MMBTS) was hosting a trail day at the tail end of our week off and we decided to go check it out and lend a hand.
Moose Mountain is a 30-minute drive west from the Calgary city limits and is located in the beautiful Kananaskis Country. The Moose Mountain Bike Trails Society was created in 2009 to provide a trail system and riding experience closer to Calgary. With the help of some NTC funding the club was able to hire some professional builders to help kick start their trails. Lots of work has gone in since the spring of 2009 and now Moose Mountain has become a hot bed of activity and trails.
On the trail day we joined a small group who’s main mission was to get a connector trail started to provide a suitable climb to the top of a favourite downhill trail. A few of the volunteers helped with getting materials ready to build a bridge across a small ravine while Chad and Deanne led two others to get as much benchcut in as we could. With Chad leading the benchcut and Deanne working hard on finish work we managed to get about 100 meters completed in just a few hours.
While many of the volunteers took advantage of the shuttles to get in a few runs before dark, we hung out around the bonfire and BBQ and chatted with many of the local riders and builders. We are looking forward to coming back in 2011, perhaps for a trailbuilding school but if nothing else at least to sample more of the Moose Mountain trails.