The fallen logs, steep inclines, water-filled trenches, and both natural and manmade obstacles make the mountainous terrain a biker’s paradise. Construction workers expose golden earth, pull out rocks and throw branches to the side as they commence building a trail.
A call, announcing the arrival of a biker, halts conversation. Seconds later a mountain biker zooms by. All watch as his bike effortlessly climbs the thin three-foot platform known as a skinny, then lands back on the ground and continues down the trail.
Summer is right around the corner, which means Whatcom County bicyclists are emerging from their winter hibernation to ride the trails of Galbraith Mountain. The popularity of Galbraith is the product of a unique partnership between two agencies: Trillium Corp. and non-profit organization Whatcom Independent Mountain Peddlers (WHIMPS).
According to their web site, Trillium is both a Pacific Northwest real estate company and a global investment firm that deals primarily in real estate and forestry interests in the United States and South America.
As owner of Galbraith, Trillium sets rules for what is allowed on the mountain. Trillium’s partnership with WHIMPS allows the community to give input about what they would like to see at Galbraith.
"It’s always been our policy to let the public recreate on our timberland, with a few rules — no motorized vehicles, no open fires, no camping and no hunting," said Jon Syre, president and CEO of Trillium Corp.
Galbraith has been a known hotspot for local mountain bikers since the 1980s, and due to a growing interest in mountain biking during the last decade, Galbraith has become popular for riders all over the Pacific Northwest. Galbraith’s 40 trails offer a variety of terrain for bikers, complete with manmade obstacles and woodwork.
"It’s almost like a Disneyland up there," said John Hauter, owner of Fairhaven Bike and Ski.
Land and timber developer, Trillium, has owned parts of Galbraith since 1991, but Bloedel Timberland Developers used to own the majority of the property. In 2002, Trillium signed a land-swap agreement with Bloedel —trading 2,379 acres outside Galbraith for Bloedel’s 2,054 acres of Galbraith. As part of the land-swap agreement, Bloedel logged three blocks of the mountain, according to a 2002 Bellingham Herald article.
After logging, Bloedel left a lot of debris and brush, which barred access to many of the trails, said Bill Hawk, WHIMPS trail crew leader. So WHIMPS came along and started to clear out the debris and re-open the trails.
WHIMPS had been maintaining Galbraith’s trails on an unofficial basis when Galbraith was still under Bloedel’s ownership. When Trillium took total ownership of Galbraith in 2002, Mark Peterson, the President of WHIMPS, and Syre, signed an agreement that made WHIMPS the legal stewards of Galbraith.
"[WHIMPS has] been a proactive group not working against Trillium Corporation but with them in a cohesive and positive way," Hauter said.
WHIMPS has helped Trillium keep track of the trails and communicate which trails are being constructed so there is no interference between them and Trillium’s logging, Syre said.
Syre attends most of WHIMPS` meetings and takes an active part in deciding and regulating what types of trails and obstacles are built on Galbraith, to ensure they meet International Mountain Bicycling Association standards.
WHIMPS and Trillium decide the types of trails built on Galbraith, but as far as building them goes — the community is welcome to come and lend a hand. "Trail days" are put on by WHIMPS once every month and are usually sponsored by a local store that provides breakfast and lunch for any community members who come.
Since the ownership of Galbraith transferred to Trillium in 2002, Trillium has looked at the possibility of developing the mountain twice. According to Syre, plans for any development of Galbraith in the near future have been shelved.
Looking down the road fifteen years from now, there may or may not be development — fifteen years is a long time, Syre said.
"Trails will still exist up [at Galbraith]," Syre said. "In what shape or form, I don’t know."