The Bridges of Mt. Revelstoke Forest

Behind our home in Revelstoke there are miles and miles of bike trails through the woods. This in itself is not unusual, but there is a bit of magic that seems to take place that has kept us puzzled for many years now.  Each morning and often again in the afternoon, we walk on the trails with Chester and notice repairs on  rickety crossings,  the addition of a new bridge where a trail seem to be turning to mud,  a new tressel where the steep bank of a gulch has become too difficult to negotiate.  Each new bridge is uniquely designed, usually consisting of two stripped logs placed length-wise, joined by planks making up the bridge platform itself. Yet, in all these years we have never seen anyone at work.  These shy creatures of the woods seem to work in  'time out of time',  the evidence of their handiwork appearing only after they themselves are long gone.   Not only do these wood gnomes  build bridges, but they also clear the trails of debris, clean up deadfall after storms, add guide rails to sections of trail that are treacherous, and grade the trail in places where the slope is steep.  If anyone ever sees them, be sure to tell them how much we appreciate their hard work.