Most of the Sunday, 11/22 crew after they arrived. Thanks guys and gals!
On Sunday, November 22nd, 2015, we had our third full trail restoration work day on Ken Burton trail with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association. 23 volunteers made the 7 mile, 2000′ climb to pitch in. Bob trailers were used once again to get needed tools and supplies to the work site.
We continued on from where we finished last time. The crews worked feverishly for a solid four hours, clearing an additional 1600′ of trail. We’re making rapid progress, thanks in part to the excellent original construction by the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association in the 1990’s.
Before: A group who poached the closed trail in 2013. The brush is only thicker and taller now.
After our crew had been through
After: looking the other direction
The before and after is quite dramatic. Where the trail was previously completely obscured by brush, it is now in better shape than before the fire. Our crews are getting it down to a fine art. We’re using power hedge trimmers for the initial brush clearance, followed by swampers (who remove and stash the cut brush), then loppers and hand saws to fine tune the brush and stump removal. The lead crew is followed by a tread crew, working to remove stumps and roots from the tread, and pull down slough to restore the original trail tread. We’re cutting the trail to its original 36 – 48″ tread width where possible, knowing that it will narrow down again with time.
Getting close to the memorial and the top of the switchbacks
Ken Burton Memorial. The plaque is long gone.
Our target for the day was to reach the Ken Burton Memorial, a plaque dedicated to USFS Battalion Chief Ken Burton, who was killed in a car crash in November 1985. For those who remember the trail, the memorial was just before the very first switchback descending into the Arroyo Seco canyon. We made it to the Memorial at about 1 p.m., leaving time for people to gather tools, load up trailers and ride back down for lunch at 2. Pat Phillips, a local Altadena resident and one of the original construction crew in the 1990’s, graciously hosted us for lunch afterwards.
Failed wire basket retaining wall
We’ve also reached the first failed retaining wall structure. In my survey of the trail, only two sections of retaining wall structure failed out of the dozens used, a testament to the work of the original MWBA crew. Those dozens of structures have survived three major El Nino winters and one Station Fire.
Project Status. Click for a larger view.
So far we’ve cleared approximately .7 miles of the trail, about 1/3 of the work. We have a couple more days of very similar work before it will get especially thick and tough near the bottom. At that time we’ll need to coordinate with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps who are working on the Gabrielino trail, near where it meets the bottom of Ken Burton trail.
Thanks again to all the volunteers who came out to help. Our next work day is December 13 (weather permitting). Our tentative dates starting next year are January 10 and January 24, to be confirmed soon. The more people who contribute, the better our chances of riding this trail next summer!
Tags: Ken Burton Trail, mount wilson bicycling association, MWBA, Station Fire, Trail Restoration, trailwork
[…] Within this upper area is the “Washburn Cut”, a long section of trail held by a solid retaining wall built with posts and heavy wire backing material. Ken Washburn surveyed that section of trail and MWBA figured out how to make it sustainable. The area is filled with heavy granite and the retaining wall helped create a trail tread. In the below article, Ken is quoted: “The Forest Service gave up on the area because there was a lot of granite that made cutting a trail difficult,but we got it through. We had to install and fill quite a few baskets. It was tough.” Over 20 years later, the retaining wall MWBA built is still in great condition. Only one spot in the “Washburn Cut” was blown through by heavy water runoff. CORBA and MWBA plan to repair that spot with increased support. […]