Big Wednesday at Heyward

trail workrock workNorth CarolinaNon-Profit Trail Org

Jan 8

In the shadows of a thick summer canopy, Dave Stackhouse wraps webbing around a shopping cart-sized boulder on the slopes of Round Top. The crew is clearing vegetation beside the large rock in order to set up a corridor to connect a 3-ton winch to a large tree that will be used to leverage and roll the feature. Excitement is buzzing with the group from CAMBC (Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club) as they prepare for the final phase of the newest trail at Heyward Community Forest.

“It’s Big Wednesday, and we are here to roll BIG rocks,” Dave announces.

Big Wednesday is indeed a ‘big’ day for Dave and CAMBC. To get to this point at Round Top, Dave, and CAMBC have worked closely with the City of Charlottesville to develop a master trail plan at Heyward. The group fundraised and invested $18,000 towards phase 1 of trail development in the park and completed the initial network. However, a connection to Heyward’s highest point still loomed, thus creating an obvious next goal for Dave and CAMBC. The terrain leading up to Round Top is steep, with many large rock outcroppings. To build a rideable trail in the rugged nature of this environment takes a bit of imagination to wind a path up and around the exposure.

Dave explains, “If you really want to see a mountain with big rock outcroppings and wilderness, but right here [in Charlottesville], this is your trail.”

Due to the rugged terrain, the Round Top Trail took a special skill. Dubbed the ‘rock crew’, Dave assembled a small, yet motivated, team to build the more technical sections of stonework on the steepest of slopes. Rock walls, crib walls, rock gardens with flowing boulders… the new Round Top trail showcases abundant styles of trail design. After months of hand work, there was still one section viewed by the team as the crux: the large boulder features at Big Wednesday.

After strapping the webbing around the large rock and attaching the 3-ton winch to the large tulip poplar, Dave began to take the slack out of the webbing. “Click, click, click …” the winch clicks tighter with each adjustment, and soon the boulder begins to move. In an effort to safely free the giant boulder from rolling uncontrollably down the mountain, the team secures a second uphill leash to the boulder. As the winch continues to crank, movement begins! The feature rolls over itself and is quickly stopped from crashing down the mountain by the leash. Success! A super smooth transition. A visible line now appears amongst the pile of boulders. The rock crew discusses the next move, deciding to again use the winch to slide an even larger boulder horizontally in motion, a few feet to the side, in order to create a 3-foot wide pinch through the remaining rocks. The pinch is wide enough to ride a bike through while still maintaining the character of Round Top’s rugged nature. Big Wednesday is a success.