John Rahm: the man behind the trails

John Rahm is passionate about mountain biking.

Living near Forest Service land, he spent hours riding on a trail that began in his own backyard in Buck Run.

"I must admit, I began taking care of the trails for purely selfish reasons," said Rahm.

What began as one man's dream to improve a bike trail he loved has blossomed into a trail system everyone can enjoy.

When Rahm moved to Sisters in 1995, the first purchase he made was a mountain bike. Years later; Rahm's interest in the trail grew immensely after he invested in a better bike.

"That made all the difference," said Rahm. "I had so much more fun; I went from riding 100 miles a year on that trail to 1,000 miles. I wanted to improve my playground."

An ex-ski racer and course setter, Rahm designed the trail to be as much fun as possible.

"I wanted to keep a rhythm and a flow in the turns, and make it playful and interesting," he said. "The natural land contours like gullies can be enhanced so you feel like a snow boarder in a half-pipe."

Rahm wanted to design a trail that wasn't dangerous or too difficult.

"The trail is designed so that everything on the town side of the Plainview Canal is easy, basically smooth and flat with very little rock. Beyond, there are intermediate sections with some very technical areas for advanced riders," he said.

Dealing with bureaucracy and citizens' concerns made Rahm's quest challenging and long. In 2001 Rahm gave an informal proposal to the Forest Service. He created a schematic map and a simple proposal for putting in a trail.

Not much happened for a couple of years, but he kept getting encouraging sounds from the Forest Service.

Rahm's main focus when he took on this project was simply to make the trails rideable. The sandy soil that comprised the part of the trail closest to town was like riding on a beach by July. From his childhood years John knew a few things about improving soil consistency.

"I grew up on a cattle ranch where we used bentonite clay to firm up the soil. The first two miles of trail by Buck Run took over two tons of it," he said.

Rahm had a core group of volunteers who were involved in improving, maintaining and creating the trails: Rob Corrigan, Greg Zadow, Tim Clasen, Gary Oldham and a few people from Bend including Chris Kratsch. Two years later, the group applied more of the bentonite; making the trail usable year round.

The Forest Service had been noticing John's success and grew more confident about his group's ability to care for a trail system. Later, the Forest Service helped John and his group with trail modifications.

"By 2004 I had just about given up, when someone from the Forest Service called and wanted to talk about the trail proposal," Rahm said.

Rahm was told that the Forest Service had no budget for existing trails or new ones. The Forest Service couldn't put in a new trail unless they took the same amount out somewhere else.

The Forest Service told Rahm if they could teach him about trail maintenance and get the original trail in maintenance-free condition they would be willing to go ahead with his proposal.

Although Rahm's core group of volunteers began flagging the future trail system in 2004, they didn't get the go-ahead from the Forest Service until 2007, after the Sisters Trails Committee adopted the trail system as their top priority and funded an environmental study.

"We got the final approval in April of 2008," said Rahm.

The bulk of the preliminary work was done in 2007, allowing a swift turnaround when they were able to start putting in the trails. Twenty miles have gone in this year, five of them for horses.

Rahm and his Sisters Trails colleagues spent many hours at numerous meetings last fall talking to concerned equestrians, assuring them primarily that there would still be plenty of trails for all kinds of users to enjoy. Initially, there was a lot of conflict with horse people.

"They didn't understand what we were trying to do with the new bike trails," said Rahm. "Since then we've worked out a compromise and have created eight miles of bridle paths within the system for them, along with access to viewpoints and picnic tables. We now have four equestrian people on our committee, a great addition."

The efforts to include everyone in the process ultimately proved highly successful. Oregon Equestrian Trails eventually donated money to help Sisters Trails Committee complete the system, and over time everyone came to agree that it's much better to separate the user groups to minimize danger and conflict.

"In the end, it turned out really well, there's an atmosphere of mutual respect and support between the two groups," said Rahm

The Peterson Ridge Trail System that Rahm helped create will reach over 30 miles when it's completed. The trail system style is known as a "stacked loop" system, considered by the International Mountain Bike Association as the optimal trail design configuration, minimizing the system's footprint.

"It's like a ladder; riders go up one side and down the other with rungs or crossings connecting them. Loops of different lengths are available using the various crossings. There are map boxes at the trailheads that show all kinds of options from a short dog walk to an epic ride," Rahm explained.

Jeff Wilder is making an Eagle Scout project of the permanent signposts, which should be in by next summer. There are two trailheads, one off Tyee & Elm Street and the other on the FivePine campus.

Rahm is the new chairman of the Sisters Trails Committee. They began fund-raising to complete the project late this summer, offering $7,000 in matching funds.

"When the word got out that we needed money for the trail, we raised $11,000 in 10 days," said Rahm.

This paid for a crew that built seven miles of trail, doubling this year's volunteer effort. To learn more about the group, go to http://www.sisterstrails.com. Their efforts include non-motorized trails systems connecting downtown Sisters, local schools, neighborhoods and the regional trails within the Deschutes National Forest.

The signature and last segment of trail runs along the edge of Peterson Ridge, an escarpment about a mile and a half long that looks northwest over the town and Sisters Country. This segment of trail, not yet completely built, flirts with the edge of the ridge and its spectacular views while dipping in and out of the forest. The ultimate destination of both legs of the trail is the spectacular overlook at the end of the ridge.

"The trail is seeing a big increase in use since completion of this year's work," says Rahm. "I hope this proves to be a great recreational amenity for the community and even a draw for visitors. The Peterson Ridge Trail is becoming a destination system."

Access the Peterson Ridge Trail off Elm Street just south of the Whychus Creek bridge.