SCT’s first trail building project is underway

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Since early fall, the woods in the Cascades or northern sector of the Municipality have been buzzing with trail builders, hard at work on Chelsea Trails’ first trail building project. The trail corridor, approximately one km in length, stretches from the north end of chemin des Pommiers south to Route 105 just north of Pine Road on land  the municipality acquired when the Des Pommiers subdivision was approved.  The project is a partnership between the Municipality of Chelsea and Chelsea Trails; the Municipality has contributed land, tools and materials, and Chelsea Trails has provided project planning, trail design and volunteer labour.
As of October 20, four Saturday morning work bees have been held – over 30 individuals have volunteered approximately 150 hours of labour to help clear brush, move lumber and construct creek crossings. Doug Taylor, Chelsea Trails’ sector champion for the area, is heading up the build and he hopes the trail can be finished in time for the winter season, but that depends on the weather. He says future work will focus on completing the creek crossings, bench cutting and rock armouring.

Once this first trail is completed, our keen and highly motivated  trail building volunteers are looking forward to building connecting trails in future on adjacent municipal corridors

Volunteers are very welcome. If you are interested in helping on this project, please contact Doug Taylor at [email protected]

Trail Building Workshop a Success!

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On August 11, 2012 a dozen members of Chelsea Trails participated in a trail building training workshop in Wakefield given by two members of the International Mountain Bike Association’s Trail Care Crew, a dynamic two-person team of professional trail builders. Supported by Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail, the Crew travels across the country year-round, educating Canadians about how to design and build sustainable, multi-use trails.

The daylong event – organized in partnership with Wakefield Ensemble – included a morning classroom session on sustainable trail design, while the afternoon saw participants roll up their sleeves to use specialized trail building hand tools to construct a short section of trail.  While many of us would assume trails can be easily built using common garden tools such as spades and rakes, the benefits of using a Rogue Hoe, Pulaski Axe or Lamberton Rake should not be under-estimated – these specialized tools are wonderful! Chelsea Trails is working with the Municipality of Chelsea to acquire these tools for use in trail building projects.

The timing of the workshop was perfect – just in time for Chelsea Trails’ first trail construction project slated to start in September near chemin des Pommiers, at the northern end of the Municipality of Chelsea. Volunteers are needed so if you are interested in helping with this project, please contact Doug Taylor at [email protected]

Sector 4 (Cascades-Farm Point) Developments

Cascades-Farm Point area showing approximate location of Municipal properties for trails

In the northern most sector of the Municipality of Chelsea – in a triangle of wooded land bounded on the west by Route 105, on the east by the Gatineau River, and on the north by the border between Chelsea and LaPeche – exists a substantial network of informal trails and walking paths. Most of these trails are located on relatively large tracts of private property – land owned by individual land owners or in some cases by numbered companies. These trails are generally not well known and are used by local residents with the unspoken and assumed consent of property owners. These trails provide a glimpse into Chelsea’s past, providing access along long-forgotten bush roads, old fence lines, and abandoned mica mines dating back to the 1890’s. They represent a small part of Chelsea’s heritage – just one portion of the larger network of such trails scattered throughout the municipality.

But change is coming – and fast.

Click here to read the whole article.

Join us at our Annual General Meeting on April 23

The future of trails in Chelsea,

It’s more than just a walk in the Park

Our community has a great chance to preserve and develop a green network of non-motorized trails linking neighbourhoods and meeting places throughout the municipality.

The time is now.

Join us at our Annual General Meeting of Chelsea Trails

Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7 pm

Chelsea Community Centre basement 

Fun-raiser and Dance Party … May 5, 2012 at 8pm

Mark your calendars!

Sentiers Chelsea Trails presents, May 5 at 8 pm, Camp Fortune Main Lodge:

A Funraiser and Dance Party in memory of Sentiers Chelsea Trails founding member Richard Garlick. Featuring The B-Side Band, Les Poutines Etouffées, David Irving, John Burns’ Elvis Band and special surprise guests.

Join us for an evening of great music, dancing, prizes and FUN FUN FUN! Fabulous snacks courtesy of our sponsors Boucanerie Chelsea and Le Resto as well as Restaurant Les Fougères.

Purchase your tickets online.

Eventbrite - Chelsea Trails FunRaiser

Click to view the poster.

We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our sponsors:

Boucanerie Chelsea Smokehouse

Le Resto

Restaurant Les Fougères