Galbraith is a world-class mountain biking destination located a short 20 minutes from Superfeet HQ. Many employee-owners spend afternoons and weekends flowing through its tight and technical trails, around berms and airing off drops to perfect, PNW hero dirt.
World-class trails don't build themselves and we're well aware. That's why we adopted Intestine, a moderate trail that mostly gets used for climbing to access other trails. We have an agreement with the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coaltion (WMBC) that makes us stewards of the trail as of 2014. Several of us are WMBC members (and if you run, hike or ride at Galbraith, you should be too!) Our stewardship is more than a chunk of change, we actively maintain and volunteer in the area too.
On Wednesday, eight Superfeet volunteers cleared and enlarged drains, filled low spots and holes, cambered the trail for proper drainage, removed dangerous woody debris, brushed the sides of the trail of organic material and then used a backpack blower to clear all of the organic material off the tread.
Colin Tobin works in sales at Superfeet HQ and played a key role in organizing and facilitating the trail work. Tobin says that trail stewardship is important because without stewardship, advocacy and volunteers, there wouldn't be a place to recreate.
"Mountain biking is a relatively new sport and does not have [the same resources that] more traditional sports like baseball, basketball and tennis do. You don't see paid parks employees maintaining trails like they do for more traditional parks facilities," Tobin said. For this reason, it's important to be proactive about maintenance and conservation. "Come visit Bellingham, ride the ever-expanding trail networks, shop at local businesses and donate to the WMBC to ensure continued educational and recreational opportunities for years to come."
