by Jessie Diermier
LL&TT Education Coordinator
Lassen Land and Trails Trust’s 22nd annual Rails to Trails Festival had a full head of steam on Saturday, October 11th. The festival is the Trust’s primary fundraiser to help support work done on our regional trails and to celebrate our rail trails—the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail and the Modoc Line Rail Trail. Well over 1,300 people, including visitors to the region, enjoyed an afternoon full of hand car races, a chili cook-off and salsa contest, great food, music and more.
Winners of the Rails to Trails Festival Chili Cook-Off included the Mallery’s Legal Eagles who swept the awards with the Judges’ 1st Place Chili, as well as People’s Choice for both chili and salsa, The Lassen Ladies took Judges 1st Place Salsa with the Rubio’s Salsa Mexicano taking Judges 2nd Place, US Bank’s Holy Moly Chili took the Judges 2nd Place Chili award and the Lassen County Cattlewomen took home the Best Decorated award.
Flying down the rails in this year’s handcar races were 1st Place winners, the Lassen Hot Shots, with a time of 20:97; 2nd Place winners, Jims Jammers, with a time of 21:97; 3rd Place winners, the Lassen High School Football Coaches, with a time of 22:39. Adam Bernard took 1st Place in the Men’s Pushers contest, shoving that handcar 109 feet down the track. Amy Holmen took 1st Place in the Women’s Pushers contest, sending the handcar 57’ feet down the track.
Special thanks to all of the volunteers, community groups including the Lassen County Historical Society and the National Wild Turkey Foundation, as well as the festival’s sponsors—JDX/KSUE, Sierra Pacific Industries, W.M. Beaty & Associates, Diamond Mountain Hotel & Casino, Lassen Banner Medical Center, C&S Waste, Lassen Ale Works at the Pioneer, Pregill Insurance Agency, Supreme Graphics, Plumas Bank, US Bank, Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Coop and Staub & Sons Petroleum.
