Completed trail at the top of the switchbacks
Sunday, January 24, 2016 we had another successful day of trail restoration. Anyone driving up the Angeles Crest Highway today, who happened to glance across the Arroyo Seco canyon towards Brown Mountain would have seen ten volunteers spread out along the switchbacks, the upper half of which are now clearly visible once again.
Clearing Brush has been a major component of this project
Scouting the work ahead
Today we concentrated on brushing the next .25 miles of the trail, which included six switchbacks. Most of this section has held up extremely well, and only a few places will require rock-armoring and/or drainage restoration. We took the opportunity to scout and flag the next half mile of trail beyond that, identifying the original trail in places where animals and unauthorized trail users–it is still a closed trail–had created unsustainably steep bypasses around heavy brush and a some rock slides.
Our next trailwork days, tentatively scheduled for February 7, and February 21 (with MWBA) we’ll concentrate on tread work for the section we cleared of brush today. There are no major problem spots along this section. We’ll also continue brushing the trail beyond there to re-establish the trail corridor and better see the condition of the tread. In some sections we scouted, the brush was so thick that there was no way through, forcing us either up the slope or down the slope to get around the brush and back on the remnants of trail tread.
Failed switchback #16 will need extensive work
The biggest problem section will be at the 16th switchback. Here the switchback itself has been washed away, and we’ll need to do extensive rock work to make the section sustainable and rideable. Much of the area is soft, loose dirt, and the trail is completely filled with brush, slough and debris. Nothing our dedicated volunteers can’t handle!
All in a day’s work. The hike/ride back out
After today’s work, those volunteers who still had time were treated to lunch at a local restaurant. It is the dedication of these volunteers, many of whom have come out every trailwork day we’ve scheduled, that allows us to keep pushing forward to complete the trail. Major kudos to all of you who have contributed!
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Tags: Ken Burton Trail
