Latest Posts

Gateway System Learning Zone volunteer trail work days are getting started Thurs, July 11th.

The Learning Zone of the Gateway Trail System offers some fun trails – but first they need finish work. That’s where volunteer work days come in. We had a great series of work days last fall in the Learning Zone, which is located at the Mt. Shasta Nordic Center. Thursday, July 11th we’ll be picking up where we left off with a focus on getting the Huckleberry Loop usable by this fall. It’s going to take a bunch of raking and tree removal. We need your help! Join us Thursday morning at the Nordic Center parking lot at 8am for a few hours of work (before it gets too hot)! Come with your long pants, long sleeves, work boots and gloves. Bring plenty of water for on the trail and we’ll have cold drinks and beverages in the truck when we wrap up (by 11 or 11:30am, depending on the heat). Mt. Shasta Trail Association will provide the tools. Folks are welcome to work for as long or as little as they like.

Five of us made great progress removing many of the downed trees in the Learning Zone as we prepare for Trail Labs to finish trail construction in that area. John Kelly, Bryson Adams, and Ron Bravo acted as swampers extraordinaire, while Bryson Schreder and yours truly wielded the saws. Check out just how much stuff had fallen on and around the trails, and the size of the last one we cut. Many thanks to this group. We have a few more to take out on another day. Photos courtesy of Bryson Adams.

Chainsaw trail work day on Tuesday, June 11th at 8:30am

We’re planning a morning up at the Learning Zone Tuesday, June 11 at 8:30. We’ll meet at the Nordic Center parking lot and spread out from there.

In order to get the rough cut trails in the Learning Zone ready for finish work and volunteer days, we will need to log out all of the downed trees from last winter.  There are numerous trees down across the zone, so it will take a team effort, but with a good crew hopefully we will be able to accomplish this task in one go.  

We will be meeting at 8:30 at the Nordic Center parking lot, then heading to work zones.  For any volunteers with their chainsaw certification from the Forest Service, please bring any related PPE (chaps, eye/ear protection, hardhat, gloves) you have.  There will also be a need for swampers.  Additional volunteers can carry rakes and tools to work on tread around fallen trees.

If you can’t make it this week, keep an eye out for an email or social media post as we’re likely to schedule another chainsaw workday very soon.

If you’re unaware, the National Forest Service requires a chainsaw card in order to operate a chainsaw on volunteer work days. If you don’t have saw card and are interested in getting one, now is the time. See below for the course being offered later this month (it’s likely this will be the only one this year, so take advantage of it).

Below is the invite for the certification training class for those chainsaw fiends who want to be a part of our chainsaw crew. This is a very popular class and is being provided by the USFS free of charge. We hope your participation means you’ll help out with trail clearing, brushing, etc. from time to time.

Remember that your prior certification lasts three years, so check your saw card to make sure yours doesn’t expire soon. Also, you need a CPR/first aid certificate to enroll. Last time we were able to do that online for about $20.

Thanks to Josh McNulty and his crew for offering this class.

Volunteer Trail Builder’s Chainsaw Course

The Shasta Trinity National Forest would like to provide the opportunity for a two day chainsaw course on Friday June 28th & Saturday June 29th. This course is open to all who have interest in receiving professional instruction in saw operations related to trail construction & maintenance. Backcountry Horsemen, mountain bikers, hikers, walkers, birders, all are welcome! This is a full two day NWCG S-212 chainsaw course. Saws and safety equipment will be provided. Plan to spend time outdoors. Instructors have an accumulation of 30+ years of chainsaw experience. See following info for more. 

Where : 204 West Alma Street Mt. Shasta, CA 96067 

When: Friday June 28th & Saturday June 29^th

10am -4 pm Both days

What to Bring : Current CPR and 1^st AID Certification, Boots,  Long   sleeve shirt and pants

Contact: Josh McNulty Captain E-371 McCloud (530) 925-1047

*space is limited, reserve your spot ASAP

* CPR and 1^st AID is mandatory for selection, see ya there!

National Trails Day  Volunteer Event Saturday, June 1stJoin in a day of community stewardship of our trails!  We’ll work on a new trail and trailhead, followed by a complimentary lunch at Shastice Park and a shuttle ride courtesy of Shasta Gravity The US Forest Service, Mt. Shasta Trail Association, Bike Shasta, Trail Labs and SORA will be hosting a morning of trail work on a brand new, nearly completed (and still closed) trail in the Gateway System from a brand new trailhead on the south end of Mt. Shasta. Volunteers will work alongside the crew from Trail Labs to shape features, rake trail, naturalize the area adjacent to the trail and there will be work to do at the new Pioneer Trailhead as well. There is something for everyone! Thanks to The Fifth Season, Bike Shasta and Shasta Gravity, we’ll have complimentary lunch for volunteers as well as a shuttle ride when the work and lunch are done. Read details below and make sure you click the link to RSVP if you’d like lunch or a shuttle ride. Trail work day schedule:  8:30am – meet at USFS office on Alma Street to sign waivers 9:00am – carpool to work location9:30am-12:30pm – trail work and clean up at trailhead1:00pm – Shastice Park for lunch2:00pm – shuttle ride Come prepared for trail work: work gloves, long pants and boots, long sleeve shirts, hat and water. Be prepared for the weather. Tools will be provided.What’s for lunch, you ask?  Well, we’re super excited to be welcoming a food truck new to the area. Sprengelmeyer’s Food Truck will be serving a complimentary lunch to volunteers. If you’d like a lunch, you’ll need to click this link to RSVP for lunch and select your lunch option. Sprengelmeyer’s is coming to Mt. Shasta after more than 10 years of serving delicious, organic, gluten free food in Bandon, Oregon. Brian and his crew make their food by hand (he’ll be making fresh corn tortillas that morning!). Volunteers will enjoy a large rice bowl with your choice of shredded chicken, shredded beef, snapper or a vegetarian option, along with a fresh made lemonade. You won’t get it if you don’t click the link to RSVP and sign in at the Forest Service.  The best part is you can invite your friends and family to meet you at the park where they can buy lunch off the truck from noon to 3pm. Please spread the word. We’ll be sharing this news with the community so we can all get to know this new fresh food option. Sprenglemeyer’s will be coming to the Mt. Shasta Farmers Market and Petals Flower Shop in June, so keep your eye out. Is your mouth watering yet? Did you click the link to RSVP for lunch? Do it now. Click to RSVP for lunch and/or shuttleIf you want to join Shasta Gravity for a free shuttle to the 10 Gallon Trailhead, you’ll need to RSVP  – click the big blue button above. 18 spots are available on two trips up the mountain. First come, first served. The big plan – Nordic Center Facilities and Trails Upgrade ProjectThe trail we’ll be working on next Saturday is part of the Prop 68 funded work happening at the Nordic Center, which also happens to include 5 miles of the Gateway Phase II underway with Mt. Shasta Trail Association, the US Forest Service and Trail Labs. SORA is super excited to lend time and funding to the Gateway II expansion. Trail construction under this project will continue this year and possibly into 2025, as soil conditions, weather and other conditions influence the construction season. Already this funding has brought the new double vault toilet to the Nordic Center and some minor facilities upgrades. The next big part of that project is the construction of the new mobile lodge. Stay tuned for more news and details about the Nordic Center Facilities and Trails Upgrade Project.Copyright © 2024 Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance, All rights reserved.

Seven of us showed up yesterday to install the warning and crossing signs on Road 31 (upper section of Old McCloud Rd.) where Gateway Trails cross or will cross the roadway. Chris Marrone graciously provided the heavy equipment to drive the posts, saving us dozens of hours of digging and cement mixing. Others who spent either part or all of their day (we started at 0830 and finished at about 5 pm) were Mike Hlynsky, Steve Mitrovich, Mark Derby, Bill Repetto, and Paul Skilbeck. 

You will also see the Nordic Center Trailhead signs that were placed on Ski Park Hwy. It was a long, hard day, but the worst of the sign installation is now done. We have many more signs to place within the trail system as construction continues, but they will be simpler and we’ll bite them off in smaller chunks.

Gargantuan thanks to this determined crew!

Chris Marrone has informed me that he and his Bobcat are available to install steel signposts on Road 31 (AKA Old McCloud Rd.) this Wed, May 22. We’re going to meet at 8:30 am just below the RR tracks on Road 31. We don’t need 25 helpers, but could use about a half dozen folks to: handle the steel posts, one person to watch for approaching cars (we don’t need a formal traffic control group like last time on Everitt Mem Hwy), and install the hardware and signs. Others, like Jim Wrona, can take photos and taunt us.

This approach will save us hours of backbreaking digging of holes. We’ll probably be there a couple hours, so volunteers can come in staggered groups if more convenient (e.g. 9 am, 10, 11). Thanks!!

This is Jim Wrona helping on a work day last fall