The Mount Hillyer Project The CORBA Trail Crew is very pleased to announce the U.S. Forest Service approved our proposal for a new multi-use trail near Mount Hillyer, located in the Angeles National Forest. The proposed route will be approximately one-mile, and will include many technical trail features and enhanced natural technical trail features. Some examples will include log rides log crossings rock drops teeter-totters skinnies slickrock granite Funding Progress Major Contributors The proposal also allows for additional features to be added along part of the existing Mount Hillyer Trail. These will not affect the existing primary line of the trail, but will be added along the side of the existing trail. This will allow hikers and less adventurous riders to stay on the existing primary line of the trail if they choose. The Mount Hillyer area is prefect for this style of trail. The natural terrain lends itself to the creation of new challenging lines, and the addition of features will make this already excellent trail system even better. A new Kiosk will be installed at the trailhead with a map of the area and other trail user information. CORBA has committed $6500 from our general fund for this project. We are also seeking grants and donations, as significant funding is needed for equipment and supplies. If you would like to donate, please donate now! We will also be seeking volunteer assistance! The CORBA Trail Crew hopes to begin construction sometime in the fall of 2008. Once the groundbreaking date is set, it will be announced here and on our e-newsletter. With the expected success of this project, we are hopeful that this will open the door for similar projects with the Forest Service and other land management agencies. Sign up for the e-newsletter here to receive updates on this project via e mail. More on the new "Rock & Rail Trail" Hans Keifer, Steve Messer and some other dedicated CORBA volunteers have been working with the Angeles National Forest Service (ANF) over the past year on this new project. Last year we submitted a proposal to the ANF to build not only a new trail, but a new type of trail for the Forest. We're happy to announce that the proposal was approved in January. The Chilao/Mt. Hillyer area is already a popular destination for mountain bikers, hikers, and rock-climbers. The Forest Service and CORBA see this trail as helping meet a growing demand within the community of trail users, and especially the increasing needs of mountain bikers. The "Rock & Rail Trail", as the new trail will be officially known, will be approximately 1 mile long, running from near the summit of Mt. Hillyer northward to near the junction of the Santa Clara Divide Trail and the existing Mt. Hillyer Trail. This will make it easy to do loops of the trail and to "session" it's features. Overview of the area for the new trail Click the map to open a detailed PDF map (1.9 MB) illustrating the proposed route, shown by the yellow rectangle above. The new trail is a 30 minute drive from the 210 and Angeles Crest Highway in La  Canada. There are several campgrounds in the area making this an ideal place for a weekend get-a-way.   CORBA's new trail proposal included mountain bike specific features such as log rides, bermed turns, boulder gardens, granite slick-rock, teeter-totters, log bridges, drops and jumps. While it will be designated as a multi-use trail, the trail has been designed by mountain bikers as a technical skill-building trail. Trail features will be optional and graded in difficulty, allowing riders to gradually build up their skills. Signs will indicate advanced or difficult lines, intermediate options, and alternative bypasses for beginners and other trail users. Hans and Steve have spent many hours hiking around Mount Hillyer looking for rocks, logs and other natural objects to be incorporated into the trail. The Forest Service has been very helpful and cooperative throughout the process. The existing Mt. Hillyer Trail will also benefit from the proposal. We asked for and received permission to enhance the existing trail by adding features and more challenging lines. These will not significantly change the existing main trail, but will provide alternative lines and routes, some easier, some more difficult. For the construction we will only use naturally occurring materials from the forest. This means ladders and wooden structures will only be built from existing downed trees and logs, which we have permission to utilize. We will be able to use fasteners such as screws, bolts and nails, etc. as needed. We anticipate a lot of rock armoring and chainsaw work to shape the fallen trees. CORBA will need to raise approximately $82,000 in grants and donations to fund the project. Several grant applications have already been submitted and are being considered, and CORBA has committed $6500 from our general fund, an additional $1000 has been received in private donations, plus substantial help from major contributors. The funds will be used to purchase tools, materials, machinery, fuel, signage, a kiosk and for other expenses involved in the construction. We hope to break ground on the trail in fall 2008, and be riding it next spring and summer. CORBA has a good working relationship with the Angeles National Forest Service and many other land managers, having put in many thousands of person-hours of trail maintenance. We're excited to go one step further, into trail-building within the ANF. It is our hope that with this ongoing partnership between the Angeles National Forest Service and the mountain biking community, we'll be able to get permission to build more legal multi-use trails with mountain bike specific features and mountain biker's needs in mind. We hope to thereby show other land managers our capabilities and what is possible when we all work together. This is a small first step, but an important one. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Mount Hillyer Project on our donations page, or by mailing a check to CORBA, P.O. Box 57576, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413 (Note Mt. Hillyer Project in the memo). You can also register CORBA as a designated charity for your Ralph's card. CORBA will then receive a small donation from Ralphs for every purchase you make. We also invite everyone to come out and contribute a few hours of your time once construction is underway.   Major contributors to the project The following organizations have made substantial contributions to this project, for which we thank you!

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