The New Face of WPM: Zach Rabeler

Zach Rabeler in action. (Courtesy photo)

[Note: This is the full version of Josh Clevenstine’s interview with new WPM Trails owner, Zach Rabeler. The abridged version ran in the 2026/27 edition of RideOn!]

Anyone who knows me knows I have a heart for seeing good things passed on to the next generation. Steve Ovitt founded and ran Wilderness Property Management (WPM) and ran it well—for a long time. For more than a decade, his right-hand man was Zach Rabeler, who has proven what hard work and a love for the craft can do.

As of March 2025, Zach has gone from intern to the new head of WPM. I’ve ridden his work—from the downhill trails at Brant Lake to the network at Mt. Sabattis in Long Lake—and I’m a big fan. I’ve caught up with him here and there over the years, so when Ride On! asked me to do this interview, I was all in. 

JC: For those who don’t know you—who is Zach Rabeler?

ZR: I grew up in Oneonta, NY, where I developed a fondness for mountain biking and trails due to the large network of volunteer-built trails. Upon moving to the Adirondacks to attend SUNY Adirondack in 2013, I had a hard time believing how few purpose-built mountain bike trails existed in the area. At the time, I would either drive from Queensbury down to Daniels Road or to Rutland, VT, to ride at Pine Hill. While both were great locations, it was still hard to believe that I was living at the foothills of the Adirondack Park, and the only places to mountain bike were old logging roads and hiking trails while getting angry looks from the local walkers. This all started to change when Queensbury committed to building singletrack trails at Gurney Lane the same year that I happened to start an internship through WPM Trails. 

JC: How did you first get your foot in the door with WPM?

ZR: I first got involved with WPM through the SUNY Adirondack Adventure Sports program. Part of the two-year course required an internship, which Steve Ovitt was nice enough to accept me for. During this four-week internship, I assisted with the construction of the trail “Alternative” at the Ski Bowl in North Creek. The name came about because I kept on pestering Steve to add additional B lines along the main path of the trail. The following winter while skiing at Gore, Steve offered me a job for the next season. That was over 10 years ago now. 

Zach putting the hammer down. (Courtesy photo)

JC: What was one of the more unexpected challenges of building/maintaining trails in the beginning? Would the answer be different now or the same?

ZR: At first, the unexpected challenge for me with building and maintaining trails was the physicality of the job. Digging and shaping dirt eight hours a day, four days a week, can really test your drive to pursue your dream job. After adjusting to the physical aspect, the new challenge developed from how much thought, time, and expertise go into designing and building sustainable trails that are also fun and approachable to your average rider. A “Master’s” in trail building isn’t acquired at a college but through many years of sweat and intention, growing an understanding of how the trails you built many years before have aged and worn over time. When running the business, the challenges are not so much with the dirt or rock work but with the time and energy that go into the design and layout. Trail building begins before any soil is moved. Working with clients to ensure their vision can become a reality will forever be a learning experience. 

JC: Of all the public trails you’ve worked on, which one stands out as a favorite?

ZR: The Long Trail at the Ski Bowl in North Creek. Built over a period of four years in one- to two-month segments, the effort and time that went into building an easy-to-climb trail to the summit was a challenge that formed fond memories that I get to relive every time I ride the trail. 

JC: When did it go from “this is a job” to “I might run this company”?

ZR: Early on in my career as a trail builder, I had a difficult time thinking of doing anything else for work. This was put to the test when Steve approached me about taking over ownership of the company. What had started as a seasonal job that I simply showed up to became a year-round career with more time involved and additional stress.

JC: What’s been the biggest shift going from employee to owner?

ZR: The transition honestly was a bit of a whirlwind that I am still processing and learning from. As an employee, you simply show up for a project. As the head of a trail construction company, you deal firsthand with everything that leads up to that first day of construction. Some projects can take up to a year or longer from concept to construction. Along with this, you have full ownership of the end product, something that is much more rewarding while also being more stressful. Your name is directly tied to a product that every rider is experiencing and often critiquing.

A WPM machine-built trail (Courtesy photo)

JC: Let’s stir it up—machine-built vs. hand-built trails?

ZR: Both styles, if designed and built properly, can be sustainable options that create fun riding experiences. As a professional company, the pros of machine building are compelling. There is less strain on the body, meaning more trails can be built within a season, and we are controlling the experience from the start. This differs from hand-built trails, where the trail will change sometimes fairly dramatically within the first year or two of being open to the public. This is due to the fact that as the path gets beaten in, the organic duff layer gets packed in, exposing more rocks and roots, which can alter the riding experience and difficulty of the trail. Over time, as users avoid these obstacles, the entire alignment of the trail can alter and also widen (a level of impact known as braiding or threading), both changing the difficulty and increasing the trail’s impact. Generally, with machine-built trails, you can ensure that the difficulty remains the same by removing these obstacles at the time of construction, and if done properly, riders will stay within the intended flow line. 

JC: Do you aim for each network to feel unique—or for riders to recognize a WPM style?

ZR: I would say a combination of the two. Each trail network should have its own unique feel that attracts riders to each trail system. This is dictated both by the design of the system and the area's topography and geology. There are some pieces of ground that simply are not best suited for novice-level trails (think The Hub) and some that are perfect for them (Rush Pond). WPM Trails has certainly established a characteristic style over the years, which comes from one of our primary goals: we want people to finish their ride and feel good about the experience, not defeated by it. 

JC: Bikes are getting bigger and more slacked out. Has this changed the way you build at all?

ZR: The styles of the trails that we build are less dictated by the size and slackness of bikes and more by the needs of the community that we are building for. The initial goal is to build a trail that is approachable by as many riders as possible. Once this has been accomplished, you can push towards a more difficult trail with more advanced-level riding features built into it. 

Zach at work (Courtesy photo)

JC: What do you want WPM to be known for?

ZR: I want WPM’s reputation to be one that we’ve been pursuing for years, one that the previous owner, Steve Ovitt, was always committed to and that I still believe in. Local communities deserve to have trail systems that inspire both kids and adults to get out into nature and enjoy themselves. To put smiles on their faces and separate themselves from the difficulties of everyday life. To continue to build trails that make people feel positive about their riding and hopefully get people to communicate without a screen in the way. By targeting the majority of riders and not just advanced to expert-level users, we can continue to get the next generation of riders involved in the sport. Nothing will ever beat seeing parents out with their kids on their balance bikes, having a great time on a trail that I had a part in building. 

JC: Who else around here is doing work that pushes or inspires you?

ZR: The Adirondacks are lucky to have many professional builders and great volunteer trail organizations. For the most part, we have settled into the regions that we primarily operate in, and at least for WPM, we haven’t yet had the opportunity to collaborate as much as we would like to. To name some, you have Backslope Trails, primarily operating in the high peaks region, builder of the UCI World Cup XC and downhill tracks, along with incredibly fun flow jump lines like Green Jacket at Craig Wood. Blue Line Trail Design, builders of trails at McCauley Mtn in Old Forge and Wheelerville in Caroga. Tahawus Trails, which constructs beautiful stone steps that I hope every hiker has the opportunity of walking on. Along with these companies, you have great volunteer organizations in the area that both build and maintain local trail networks like Upper Hudson Trails Alliance (UHTA) in the North Creek and Chestertown areas, Barkeater Trails (BETA) in the High Peaks area, and Saratoga Mountain Bike Association (SMBA) in the Saratoga area. As a reminder, these organizations are all sustained by donations and volunteer hours, both of which they can always use more of. They are incredible assets to our trail communities. If anyone wants to get involved, spend a day volunteering with these groups. You will learn so much and have a great time doing it. 

JC: You’ve got over a decade of trails out there now—what have you learned?

ZR: There is honestly nothing that I would say that I dislike, more so, things that we have learned while looking at our older trails. Over the last 10 years, trail styles have changed a bit, from more old-school style trails with tighter corners to more machine-built flow trails that let you maintain your speed and get into a flow state. This is due to progress in trail-building techniques and the development of mountain bike technology, as we learn how to manage more people than ever participating in the sport. 

JC: Which downhill do you like best: Long Trail, Rabbit Pond, or Stairway To Heaven?

ZR: Despite my favorite overall trail being The Long Trail, my favorite downhill will always be Stairway to Heaven. It’s an intense experience on a technical trail, and at the end, I somehow always find myself sitting at the bar at The Hub, enjoying a local beer and chatting about the ride with the owner, Drew Cappabianca. 

JC: Did you have any sense that Gurney Lane would take off the way it did?

ZR: Only in hindsight. Things sort of progressed organically over the years while working with the town of Queensbury, developing Gurney Lane and then Rush Pond trail systems. The intention from the beginning was to make user-friendly trails that could be accessed by the majority of riders. This, combined with building in features that made it so advanced riders could have as much fun as novice-level riders on the same trail, contributed to the network's success. Rogue Extension I feel is a good example of this. A novice rider can flow down the trail at moderate speed, gently going over the rollers, and have a good time. As that same rider's skill progresses, they find out that with more bike-handling skills, these gentle rollers turn into doubles that can be jumped, or rollers that they can try to manual between. Queensbury’s commitment to sustainable recreation and the community has been awesome. All of this, along with appropriate facilities and nearby access to the Northway and local communities, led to the trail system that Gurney Lane and Rush Pond ended up becoming. 

JC: What did Gurney teach you that carried into Rush Pond?

ZR: Rush Pond was the perfect opportunity to take what we learned while machine building trails like Rogue Ext, E20, and Tango and implement it into a brand-new trail system. A longer expanse of property allowed for longer and more contiguous trail experiences. It was also shortly after we started building at Rush Pond that both my co-worker (Frank Morehouse) and I started operating the mini excavator. This created even more diverse riding experiences while we collaborated on building out the trail system. 

Bridge work at Dynamite Hill in Chestertown. (Courtesy photo)

JC: What projects are you most excited about right now?

ZR: Dynamite Hill in Chestertown continues to get rehabilitated each year, with some exciting flow trail expansions planned for the coming years. We are hoping to expand Long Lake, NY’s mountain bike trail network over the next two years, which will include more advanced downhill riding experiences. Many more projects besides these are also anticipated. 

JC: You’ve got a free day—where are you riding?

ZR: I tend to ride the trail systems that we built weekly. I’m a short drive (and sometimes ride) away from most of the trails we have built. Alternating between Gurney/Rush Pond, Brant Lake Bike Park at The Hub, and the Ski Bowl in North Creek always keeps the riding exciting and diverse while allowing me to keep an eye on trail conditions.

JC: And if you’re heading somewhere you didn’t build?

ZR: This fully depends on which direction on the Northway I want to travel… North to great trail systems like Craig Wood, East Branch, and if I want more of a challenge, Otis. South brings the great options of Kalabus-Perry and Daniels Road.

JC: What question do you wish I asked?

ZR: Who do I owe the opportunity of running WPM to? Great people and mentors like Steve Ovitt the previous owner and a lifelong friend and mentor of mine, my parents for not being more adamant that a career in trail building is not a serious career path, my wife, Kate, for never ending mental support, Clint McCarthy for running the Adventure Sports Program at SUNY Adirondack and forcing me to get serious about life, my old co-worker Frank for making the job that much more fun for all of those years, Ed Orr for being the biggest critic yet somehow the biggest supporter of our trails, Drew Cappabianca for continually supporting future trail projects, Steve Lovering for knowing all of those years ago what mountain bike trails could bring to Queensbury Parks, Will Aldrich in believing and supporting my take over of WPM, WPM’s one employee: fellow trail builder and friend Jake Ganley, for sticking around through the transfer of the business, Saratoga Shredders for inspiring the next generation of young local riders, and many others that I know I will regret not mentioning, but have been major supporters of mine in one way or another.

JC: What question are you glad I didn’t ask?

ZR: The never-ending debate of whether or not to leaf blow trails… what a can of worms that would open up. 

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About the Author:

Josh Clevenstine is a truck-driving Adirondack folk musician and a trail/communications director for the Saratoga Mountain Bike Association. When he’s not ripping around on his bike on weekends, you’ll probably find him strumming his guitar in upstate NY. For his gig schedule, visit joshclevenstine.com.