Galbraith’s Poaching Problem
While mountain bike trail builders work tirelessly on Galbraith Mountain, some bikers just can’t wait their turn.
Story and photos by Tarn Bregman
June 12, 2021
Henry Tamondong drops in to Unemployment Line, one of Galbraith Mountain’s biking trails.
The clang of a shovel rings out as the earth of Galbraith Mountain is reshaped. The sound is swallowed by the rain and the trees towering overhead. Andy Grant, a mountain bike trail builder for the Bellingham-based trail-building company Shire Built, stops to examine his work.
Grant has an ah-ha moment and promptly grabs another shovel-full of dirt, throwing it on the lip of an earthen ramp, his newest creation. He is likely alone on the mountain; it’s late Tuesday evening, fifty degrees and raining. Grant whistles; it’s time to go home. The peaceful patter of rain is broken as branches snap and bend in the woods. Grant’s dog, Buddha, comes tearing out of the tree line with a massive piece of log between his jaws. For these two, it has been just another day on Galbraith Mountain.
Andy Grant, a trail builder for Shire Built, throws dirt to the top of a landing he is building. Grant has spent anywhere from four to five days a week for the past two months working Mohawk, a jump trail at the peak of Galbraith Mountain.
The mountain is home to over 100 kilometers of mountain biking trails, ranging from easy greens to steep, jump-filled pro-lines, and has been called Washington state’s premier location for adrenaline junkies to get their fix on two wheels. However, a new threat is putting these coveted trails at risk: Trail poaching.
It happens when cyclists choose to ride a trail that is closed, often setting back the trail work and keeping it closed longer. Extended closures can affect the budget of trail workers, the work of crews and the safety of riders.
“The trails are in a state where they’re more delicate, it’s wet, not packed all the way in. There is a half finished project so it’s not safe,” Grant said.
Grant begins to pack down the landing, using only a shovel to slap down the dirt until it is firm enough to ride.
The trails can take months to build and months longer to repair if they’ve been poached, Grant said. Work is often planned for the fall and end of winter so the trails run smoothly during the riding season.
“Obviously the reason we are building trails is to get people out there and have people enjoy them, but it just sets us back when it’s not [worked on and opened] in the right time frame,” Grant said. “When it’s a public trail it’s kind of a more delicate matter because once you open that trail it’s open to everyone.”
According to Grant, trail poaching often occurs due to riders’ lack of knowledge. Riders don’t understand that trails are closed due to the weather and that riding in the muddy dirt can damage trail features.
“I don’t want to point out Seattleites because I don’t mind, and I am stoked people are coming up. People should travel here,” Grant said. “But I hear the things like, ‘Oh but I drove from two or three hours away.’ Like, that entitles me to [ride closed trails].’”
Even after Mohawk was visibly closed off with tape (left), Grant found damage to a ramp from a trail poacher (right). A single rider can cause extensive damage to a trail. // (Photos courtesy of Andy Grant)
Poaching may also be affecting budgets of local trail organizations like the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition (WMBC).
“I am sure that it affects the WMBC’s budget,” said Ian Webster, a trail building instructor for the WMBC Youth Trail Corp program. “Any minor setback is gonna cost them money out of their pocket that could be going towards the parking lot [expansion] or building other trails.”
Trail poaching can be expensive for volunteer trail builders as well, many of whom purchase their own tools.
“The more you use a shovel, the more likely it is to break,” Webster said. “That stuff does add up over time.”
After about an hour of packing dirt, Grant stands at the top of his finished landing. Even though the feature is new, the dirt is so firm the feature can be ridden.
To combat this issue, trail builders like Webster and Grant use strategies like putting up ‘closed trail’ signs. Grant said that in severe cases where poaching keeps occurring, trail builders might block off jumps by placing heavy logs or rocks in front of features they don’t want people to ride.
Grant has noticed many new faces on the mountain since the outbreak of COVID-19, as team sports and travel are limited.
“There’s just a lot of new people riding, which is great!” Grant said. “It is sweet mountain bikes are becoming more mainstream, but not everyone is going to get trail etiquette right off the bat.”
According to Grant, rider etiquette is typically something best learned through more experienced riders sharing with newcomers.
Tamondong rides the lower section of Unemployment Line.
“When I first started riding growing up in Chicago, I definitely was riding trails I shouldn’t have been because they weren’t ready yet,” said Henry Tamondong, a frequent rider on Galbraith Mountain. “I definitely played a role in messing up trails.”
Grant performs a “No Foot Can-Can” over the last jump on Mohawk. Damage from trail poachers while Grant was working pushed Mohawk’s opening back by a week.
It was Tamondong’s father who told him how difficult it could be for trail builders to completely redo the trails, which gave him a new perspective.
“I am really affecting someone else’s workload, and I am affecting the trail itself,” Tamondong said.
Grant jumps a feature towering over four meters tall for the first time after doing some touch up work.
As summer approaches, trail crews will be spending less time behind the shovel and more time on their bikes, reaping the rewards of their hard work. Nonetheless, trail poaching may affect the crew’s work and budget if the issue persists.
“For a lot of people that’s just kinda a slap in the face to have somebody go ride your freshly built trail and destroy it,” Webster said.
Tamondong rides a feature known as “The Wall” on the bottom of the trail Atomic Dog.
Tarn Bregman is a sophomore journalism student who wants to use his photography to show his readers how the environment is being impacted.