On November 9th, twelve CORBA volunteers teamed up with six from the SMMTC to work on the Backbone Trail east of Latigo Canyon Road, on the steep climb up towards Newton Motorway (AKA “The Saddle”).
Cleaning out a drainage so the water will flow off the trail. Note the rut and loose rocks on the trail at the left
It has been several years since any treadwork has been done on this section of the trail, and it showed. The drainages had filled in with silt so that rainwater was running down the trail, creating a rut in the middle and scattering small loose rocks over it. Combined, these made it a real challenge to climb, and the trail was getting wider as people hiked and rode the edges to avoid the rut and loose rocks.
CORBA volunteers repaired and installed about 15 drainage nicks that together will keep the ruts from getting worse. Meanwhile, two SMMTC volunteers repaired an armoring wall and rebuilt the trail above it. (An armoring wall protects the downslope hillside from developing a deep rut from the water that runs off the trail, eventually undermining the trail.) Four other SMMTC volunteers worked closer to the Latigo Cyn Rd parking area to clear brush from the trail edges.
Overall, the drains were fixed over 0.36 miles, and brush cleared from about 1000′ of trail.
Afterwards, CORBA volunteers were treated to a prize drawing and lunch at the Urbane Cafe to thank them for their help. Job well done, everybody!
To get a better idea of the happenings, you can view the photo gallery of this trailwork.
