Building Trails with Character: The Story Behind the Axolotl Trail
In Aztec lore, Axolotl is the god of fire and lightning. Legend has it that he turned himself into a salamander to avoid being sacrificed. If you Google the word “axolotl,” you’ll find all kinds of articles on the Aztec god and the namesake salamander, originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City. Someday, if you Google that name again, the search engine just might point you to a mountain bike trail outside of Portland, Oregon.
This article continues my story in Volume 2, Issue 1, “Warpaint Outdoors is Building Trails for All.” While I’ll share snippets from that article, I wanted to give an update on this trail since I’ve been able to ride it once it was opened. Now for some backstory ...
On a surprisingly warm and sunny Saturday in March, I met up with the crew from Warpaint Outdoors to accompany them as they led a work party with a group of volunteers. The goal? To bring Axolotl to life. No, this was not some kind of sacred ceremony where we sought to resurrect an ancient Aztec deity. Instead, it was to begin shaping a new trail that had been previously roughed in by the Warpaint leadership. Truth be told, as we were walking out on the trail, there were conversations back then about what to call the trail, as the name hadn’t been finalized. One of the names being bantered about was Burrito de desayuno, which is Spanish for breakfast burrito. Having downed one such burrito in the last 24 hours that was the size of an obese Chihuahua dog, I have an affinity for the name. However, Axolotl won out.
On that sunny Saturday morning back in March, while the work party drove deep into the Rocky Point trail system, I hopped on my bike to pedal out to rendevous with them. I caught up as the work crew and Warpaint leaders parked near the trailhead and gathered to go over the plan for the day. Luis Flores, the trail program director for Warpaint, gave the safety talk while Luis Zaragoza, a Warpaint board member, shared about the trail. Afterward, everyone grabbed tools, donned helmets, and headed towards this trail that was still hidden.
As we walked towards the trail, Luis shared the vision of the trail. He mentioned they want this to be a “spicy blue” based on trail ratings. More than that, at a time when most trails are made to flow with such features as sweeping berms, they are intentionally making this a bit more old-school of a trail. “Raw” was a term used several times. While I love all of the advances in trail building, a part of me misses the janky old cattle trails that were turned into mountain bike trails I used to ride in southern Arizona. Talk about no flow …
When I first got into mountain biking in the early- to mid-90s, there were no such things as trails with flow, at least where I lived. In the Midwest, it was mostly on gravel roads or hiking trails. As I mentioned above, when I moved to Arizona, a lot of the trails were still-used cattle trails that we rode. They were super narrow, rutted, and absolutely had no flow.
Again, I love all the advancements in trail building and the kinds of trails we build. These are fun and beyond enjoyable. However, there’s still that masochistic part of me that relishes super janky trails chocked full of baby head rocks that your 80mm front suspension forks couldn’t handle. It was beyond challenging, and on top of that, I rode only a singlespeed back then, which only ramped up the difficulty rating.
Not too long ago, I decided to see if I could conquer and maybe even vanquish Axolotl. Rather than rushing into battle on a singlespeed with an 80mm fork, this time, I had a cushy full-suspension rig with more travel than I needed.
On a damp afternoon with a slight mist falling from the sky, I made my way out to Axolotl. It’s one thing to walk the trail with the volunteer work crew and a whole different experience on bike. I was immediately struck by Luis’ description of wanting to build a raw trail. It was truly raw ... and I loved every bit of it. The techy tight turns, the rock garden, and other surprises. It was that reminder of the trails I used to ride. I smiled when I rode it.
Luckily, that whole trail system, called Rocky Point, has everything one could want in a trail system, from jump lines to XC trails and more. I’m grateful for the contribution of the Warpaint to add another kind of trail into the mix. One of the ongoing conversation threads that pop up in our DMs or comments is there’s a slice of people out there who still long for raw and, at times, janky trails. I am curious about those flagging and building new trails. How often do you intentionally build a trail like this?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean Benesh
Sean is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Trail Builder Mag. He is also the Communications Director for the Northwest Trail Alliance in Portland, Oregon. While in grad school, he worked as a mountain biking guide in Southern Arizona. Sean also spends time in the classroom as a digital media instructor at Warner Pacific University.
