Disciples of Dirt: Guardians of WhyPass
Photo courtesy of Lee Wilkinson & DoD
One of the biggest challenges facing the sport of mountain biking is land-use access and management. Every user group of public lands, such as the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), or local communities, strives to provide enjoyable experiences for their users. To ensure mountain bike enthusiasts have a place to ride, various trail advocacy groups have popped up across the country and here locally in the Willamette Valley to promote and provide advocacy for the sport. In the southern Willamette Valley, organizations like the Disciples of Dirt are working to ensure mountain bike riding will continue on public and private lands where appropriate.
The Disciples of Dirt was founded in the spring of 1987 by a small group of riders who wanted to enjoy biking together locally in the Eugene area while also finding “adventure rides” farther away from the big city to places like Oakridge. It all started with a paper newsletter. The publication, titled Let’s Talk Dirty, was distributed to local bike shops and featured articles on mountain biking tips, equipment reviews, and of course, places to ride. This evolved with the advent of the internet, and eventually led to the creation of a simple list server that allowed riders to discuss all things MTB and plan future events digitally.
During these early days of the Disciples of Dirt, riders were continually seeking out new places to ride, whether they had permission from landowners or not. A particular focus of interest was finding a wintertime spot to ride that was reasonably close to town and wouldn’t get buried by snow, a problem faced at the trails around Oakridge. The crew began to explore deeper into the forests around Eugene. Areas like Shotgun Creek (east of Springfield) were becoming more popular. Riders also started organizing weekly night rides on Wednesdays to keep active during the long winter months. Finding something reasonably close to town was always a priority because everybody had to go to work the next day, and long drives would limit the amount of “seat time” a rider could get. At the time, riders were riding the South Hills trail system in Eugene and venturing out on their own to build bootleg trails. They knew it wasn’t a good fit, however, and couldn’t last forever; there were just too many user conflicts between the riders and regular users of the city’s trail system.
Sometime in the fall of 1996, members of the Disciples of Dirt, known simply as Disciples, began exploring other areas to the west of Eugene, touching into the coast ranges where they could find a place to build some wintertime trails. While traversing the seemingly endless logging and fire roads on BLM, FS, and county lands, they came upon a piece of land near the sleepy little town of Lorane named Carpenter Bypass. As they began exploring this area on foot and bikes, they noticed some bootleg motorcycle trails and began thinking of ways to build out the trails that crisscrossed along the Carpenter Bypass road. Soon, trails began to take shape, and the effort became known as “WhyPass,” the new wintertime playground for mountain bike riders in the area.
The Disciples continued the exploration of WhyPass and began to stitch together a bunch of trails with a “rake and ride” theme. Rake and ride trails feature minimal debris clearing and no genuine concern for drainage or maintenance. As time went on, and with continued use from various riders, enthusiasts began to “tilt the earth” with some bank turns and a few drop-offs to change the character a bit. Through the years, more and more trails appeared in the network as riders continually did their best to expand into different sections of BLM and private ownership lands. While everything was going well and there were no negative encounters with landowners in the area, the club felt the time was right to become more legitimate. In 2016, nearly 30 years after the club began, the Disciples of Dirt became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and began the process of formalizing relationships with the BLM and other landowners.
Since becoming a nonprofit, the Disciples of Dirt has become the major trail stewardship organization for Carpenter Bypass. Its agreement with the BLM was first signed in 2012, and since then the club has been instrumental in building and maintaining a significant network of trails. In addition to the classic singletrack trails, various machine-built trails have also been added. Working with professional trail-building companies, and in cooperation with the BLM, these new trails added a dynamic and different experience for riders to enjoy.
Trail maintenance. Photo courtesy of Lee Wilkinson & DoD
What began as a hodgepodge of rake and ride singletrack, Carpenter Bypass has evolved into a destination or go-to spot on the greater Oregon mountain bike rider scene. There is something for almost every type of rider, from beginner to advanced seasoned enthusiasts. The system has been referred to as a mountain bike gymnasium, with a variety of trails to engage different types of riding, with a total of about 18 miles of trails. Everything from “old school” singletrack to gravity-fueled jump lines, and everything in between can be experienced. Here are a few of my personal recommendations for riding at Wy Pass:
Tree Hugger: A classic example of “old school” cool, this trail features a one-mile descent through dense forest along an exciting, slightly rowdy singletrack line. The trail meanders down a shallow slope, with a few booters to get some air under your tires. If you’re not feeling it, you can simply ride around them. Halfway down the trail, you can also turn off onto a connecting trail which will take you back to the top if you wish to session that section again. If not, enjoy the whole ride by carving through trees like a slalom skier to a small rollable drop that leaves you just below the north end parking lot (a great place to start or finish a ride at Carpenter Bypass).
Hit Parade: This was a recent addition to the network, featuring a jump line of over ten “hits” or jumps. This trail came about after reviewing the Environmental Assessment report, which stated that trails could be rebuilt as long as they stayed in the original corridor where the trail existed. For years, the trail was known as a greasy, mucky climb to get back to another connecting trail. While I was the club president, I kept riding this trail with my trail work coordinator and thought about different possibilities for the area. It was such a short corridor and trail, and I began to wonder what it might be like if we added a descent with some features that could be easily sessioned. We decided to consult with a professional trail-building business named Creative Trail Designs and get their thoughts on possibilities. The club had hired this outfit before to enhance some existing trails in the network with excellent results, so we felt good about bringing them in on this project. What we all came up with and decided to pitch to the BLM was a short trail, approximately a half-mile in length, that featured an easy jump line that was accessible to a variety of skill levels. We wanted as many hits as possible, with a high success rate for different rider abilities, and a climbing trail to bring riders back to the top. Creative Trail Design came up with a budget, which they presented to the board, and we signed off on the project. What we got was exactly that.
A wonderful jump line, featuring easy tabletop-style jumps that allowed for a high success rate. The first time I rode down the trail, still green, soft, and fresh from the build, I knew we had something special. As the trail packed in from use by riders, all that was needed to make it really good was some small tuning for the jumps. The final product was a smash hit, with people actually parking out near the trail so they could spend a few hours just riding Hit Parade. Families were making a day of it, shuttling their kids between the hit parade and a few other close trails.
Una Mas: This trail was originally one of the early rake and ride trails, and the furthest trail south in the system. With a bit of a fall line (straight down the hill), some meandering turns, and a lead-in to another trail, it saw use from mostly riders who wanted to ride the whole system. BLM logging operations in the area impacted several trails in the system, including Una Mas, and while they did not clear-cut the area, enough of the trail was disturbed that a rebuilding project was necessary. Creative Trail Designs was called in again to see what could be done and make some improvements with features and drainage to make it a fun, sustainable trail. Again, staying within the confines of the Environmental Assessment report, Creative Trail Designs made Una Mas into something special with some exciting doubles, drops, and lightly-banked corners. With the improvements to this trail, more riders began exploring the system’s south end, expanding their enjoyment of Carpenter Bypass.
Creekin’. Photo courtesy of Lee Wilkinson & DoD
From humble beginnings, the Carpenter Bypass Trail System has evolved into something truly special over the years. With its unique variety of trails, it offers most riders something they can have a blast riding and is one of the “crown jewels” in the Disciples of Dirt’s projects to increase the availability and experiences of mountain bike riders in the Southern Willamette Valley. The positive relationship between the Disciples of Dirt and the BLM will continue to be a valued partnership and undoubtedly lead to new trails in the future at Carpenter Bypass.
In addition to Carpenter Bypass, the Disciples have also been instrumental in the formation, building, and maintenance of other mountain bike trail systems in the area. This includes the mountain biking trails in the Thurston Hills Recreation Area, the first-ever mountain bike-specific trail system in the Eugene-Springfield area. Alongside these, several entirely new systems of mountain biking trails around Eugene are in the works. The future site of the new 515-acre Arlie Park in Eugene will bring another urban riding experience to the area, and trails are also being proposed around Lane County Community College. And, when it’s time to start building, the Disciples will be there to help out with construction and maintenance, just like we have been for over 30 years.