Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship announces its first 5 Bucks a Foot fundraising campaign of 2024, featuring a gravel-adventure prize package. Each $5 donation made through Tuesday, June 4, gives supporters another chance to win a brand-new Cervélo Áspero-5 gravel bike, along with two nights’ accommodation at the new Beckwourth High Camp off-grid glamping cabins near Portola.
The fundraiser is open to donors worldwide, and all dollars donated benefit SBTS and its Connected Communities project, part of which includes the creation of a 550-mile multiuse singletrack trail connecting 15 rural Lost Sierra towns, with the overall goal of economic stimulation. Once completed, these sections of singletrack can be linked with a larger network of existing paved and gravel doubletrack to create a range of gravel-bike-friendly bikepacking routes in the Lost Sierra that dip in and out of local towns for resupply, restaurant and lodging options. Several existing routes have already been published on bikepacking.com and bikepackingroots.com. “This avenue for adventure is only going to get better with Connected Communities!” said SBTS.
Progress on Connected Communities includes a newly completed trails master plan, and multiple trail projects throughout the proposed footprint that are in the environmental review process or under construction. However, SBTS points out that linking all 550 miles by the 2030 target date is going to require “heavy lifting” from volunteers, as well as donations. Campaigns like 5 Bucks a Foot raise unrestricted dollars, which go much farther than other types of funding because they don’t require costly matches or staff resources to administer.
This campaign is the first of three 5 Bucks a Foot fundraisers planned for 2024, with proceeds from all three benefiting Connected Communities. For more information, visit https://sierratrails.org/.
Information provided by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship