Advice on building a trail

Lungs94

Hi, I've got permission to build on roughly 150metres by 30 metres wide land, I have already started and have so far cleared a 30metre length 3foot wide trail, but the problem is, it's in the wilderness and it's a 2 mile hike to the site from the car, so my only options are a spade and a wire brush, the problem is the soil it's loamy/compost type, and it's very soggy the trail i've cleared I can hardly ride it because it's so soggy I've tried to build a little kicker but no matter how much I pack it it always sinks, I've dug a trench about 3ft deep and 5ft wide, and all the soil I've used is in that kicker and it's still small, it wont pack down it still sinks no matter how much soil I put there, and because of the soggy soil there is no "flow". There's 30ft high banks on each side of the site which could be used as a run-in but the problem is because I've only got 30 metres width it's impossible to use those, creating a berm is nigh impossible because the soil just gives in, the site is also flat so it's pedal all the way. Is this a lost cause? will it dry out? is there even a point in building a trail on flat ground? what could I build on flat terrain?, I originally was going for a jump trail to help me practice my whips, but that seems like a mission because the soil is so soggy it's just pointless, Should I give up? Wooden features are also out of the equation because I cannot get wood to the side, as it's a 2 mile hike through the forest, I only have the soil a spade a bucket and a wire brush and some dead wood from the floor. I'm not allowed to chop down trees.

The Rookie

Probably a lost cause, loamy soil won't hold together dry or wet, you need some clay, you could dig down and see if there is some underneath.

Lungs94

The Rookie wrote:

Probably a lost cause, loamy soil won't hold together dry or wet, you need some clay, you could dig down and see if there is some underneath.

Yes there is clay, but the problem with that it's not mouldable, it's rock hard, and it for me to get enough to cover the entire trail I'd need to dig 5ft under the whole site. Should I leave it as it is, and come back in the summer to see if it has dried out?

The Rookie

Clay is never easy to dig, that's why it works well, it's like concrete when it's dry, you just have to break your back when it's wet, taking it off in slices is the best way.

rockmonkeysc

Digging is best done in winter, when the ground is softer.
You need to dig through the loam and use the soil underneath.

Lungs94

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Digging is best done in winter, when the ground is softer.
You need to dig through the loam and use the soil underneath.

I dont see how using the clay will make a difference considering the run up is still soggy and no momentum whatsoever, I will try diging about 10 inches out of the trail to see if that will be better, but wouldnt it be even soggier? the trench I dug 3 feet deep, is even soggier than the top soil? It's almost swamp like. The site would be amazing for wooden trail but I can't get wood to the site, and I don't really want to spend hundreds on wood.

rockmonkeysc

It sounds like it's not a good site fir jumps. Either you need to clear the loam to make the trail fast enough or you need to forget jumps and make a twisty, loamy trail and accept that after a few months riding the loam will be gone and you'll have to do something different.
Clay will be pretty much unreadable in the wet, especially for jumps.

Lungs94

RockmonkeySC wrote:

It sounds like it's not a good site fir jumps. Either you need to clear the loam to make the trail fast enough or you need to forget jumps and make a twisty, loamy trail and accept that after a few months riding the loam will be gone and you'll have to do something different.
Clay will be pretty much unreadable in the wet, especially for jumps.

I've got rid of the loam and underneath is soggy soil, Im thinking about going for the twisty type but it's so soggy theres no traction and constant wheel spin

rockmonkeysc

Sounds like crappy ground for trail building.