80+ volunteers from 5 organizations representing 4 different user groups gathered at Gales Creek Campground on Saturday March 30th for the inaugural Trail Mix, a Tillamook State Forest Clean Up.
Trail Mix was a brainchild of Nathan Frechen, an active trail steward with the Oregon Timber Trail & Jeremy Long, owner of Daybreak Racing, a endurance trail running events company.
Nathan approached Northwest Trail Alliance in October of 2018 asking to us to partner in this event, we happily said YES! & things took off from there.
Our Trail Mix partners were Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Timber Trail, Daybreak Racing, Trailkeepers of Oregon & Oregon Equestrians Trails – NW Chapter.
Photo by Daybreak Racing
After the morning meet & greet / safety meeting, 13 crews traveled out of basecamp at the Gales Creek Campground ready to cover 14 miles of trails in the area that were in need of maintenance. The late winter snow that blanketed the Tillamook State Forest brought a lot of work for our volunteers.
The work that we accomplished varied from trimming back foliage, clearing trail debris, drains & culverts, as well as moving dirt to help define the natural trail for hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and equestrians.
Photo by N. Stones
After 4+ hours of work, volunteers returned to basecamp to a hot lunch & desserts provided by Daybreak Racking & Oregon Equestrian Trails – NW Chapter. Lagunitas Brewery generously provided beer for age appropriate volunteers.
Thank you to everyone that participated in this event. We look forward to seeing you at Tillamook Trail Mix 2020!
Photo by Nathan F.