|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jul 20, 2007
The Mt. St. Mary’s Trail is now being realigned and has been renamed the “Nancy & Dick Riordan Trail.” The trail will be completed in, approximately, November 2008. Until then, the Trail will be closed to the public due to construction hazards. The Riordan Trail, however, has already been officially dedicated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and half of the new trail has been constructed. For more information go to www.canyonback.org
On Thursday, in preparation for the annual Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days held every year in Pt Mugu State Park, I drove my now very dusty car down the main Sycamore Canyon trail and parked at the bottom of the Wood Canyon Vista Trail, a segment of the Backbone Trail. I hiked up the trail and flagged 59 spots where drains were needed – mostly to clean out existing drains that had become clogged with silt from the winter rains, but also some new drains about 2/3 of the way up the trail.
Saturday, CORBA volunteers and few others install drains and repair ruts on the Wood Canyon Vista Trail, a segment of the backbone trail.
Saturday morning, the State and National park services drove 17 of us, including 2 youngsters, and our work tools to the bottom of the trail. After grabbing our tools, we hiked 1.5 miles up to the work area, about 2/3 of the way to the top, and proceeded to work down. Altogether, we put installed or cleaned 26 drains.
The area of greatest concern was at the start of our work area where the trail passes through a grassy area and is solid clay. Most of the rest of the trail is very rocky. This clay section is pliable, quickly becomes depressed in the middle where a rut erodes when it rains. This section of the trail was completely restored during trailwork in February 2015, yet it was as rutted as ever after just two years. A narrow but deep rut had developed in the middle of the trail, just wide enough for a mountain bike tire to slip in and get jammed.
We learned that leveling the trail doesn’t last here, so instead we cut a drain in about every 50 feet. That involved cutting through the berm (the dirt that builds up on the outside edge of the trail and keeps the water from running off), the first few inches was as hard as concrete, despite having been rain-soaked a few weeks earlier. The drains were 3 to 5 feet wide. We used the dirt we dug out of the drains to fill in the rut on the trail. Now we have a section with frequent drains to keep the water from running all the way down the trail, and the rut is filled with dirt. Hopefully this restoration will last longer than two years!
Overall, we dug out 26 drains over 2100′ of trail and filled in about 500′ of rut! Well done, everyone!
Saturday restoration on the Upper Sycamore Trail.
While the CORBA crew was working on the Wood Canyon Vista Trail, the other volunteers (about 60 of them) worked to restore the Upper Sycamore Trail where Sycamore Creek crosses it a number of times. By all accounts, this trail was decimated by the stream. This is a very shaded trail in a deep canyon and popular with hikers, but it’s in the Wilderness Area and so closed to mountain biking.
Everyone was back to the staging area by about 2:30 so we spent the afternoon relaxing and chatting with friends until the barbecue dinner. As usual, we had chicken, hot dogs, veggie burgers, baked beans (regular and veggie), salad and garlic toast. It was up to us to bring our own beverages. As dinner was winding down, the prize give-away started. There were so many prizes that everyone must have gotten one.
Saturday barbecue dinner.
The work continued on Sunday morning with a much smaller force of about 30 total. We all shuttled up to Upper Sycamore Trail, then split into two crews. One hiked up to the top of the trail to work on tread issues while the other worked on clearing overgrowing brush from the bottom. Sunday is always a smaller and shorter event; we were back to the staging area by noon to enjoy left-overs from Saturday’s barbecue.
CORBA would like to thank all the volunteers who came out to help fix up our trails in Pt Mugu State Park. Everyone did a great job! And a special thanks goes to the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council that organizes this event every year.
You can see all the photos from this weekend in CORBA’s photo gallery, or photos from Steve Messer and Xander Tenai . Take a look to see what we accomplished.
A few dozen volunteers gathered at Malibu Creek State Park on Saturday Morning, Earth Day, to help spruce it up. There were three main projects: to pick litter out of the creek, to paint over graffiti, and to build an extension to the Grasslands Trail. CORBA and other mountain bikers worked on the new trail.
A number of years ago, a steep fall-line trail that connected the Grasslands Trail to High Road was closed because it was not sustainable. At the time, it was planned that a new, contour trail would replace it. After many delays caused by, among other things, fires and floods in other parks, the first phase of the new trail was completed this past Saturday!
This trail is going to have a great view!
The trail had been roughed in by a SWECO trail bulldozer in the past couple of weeks, so the job of the volunteers was to put on the finishing touches – removing rocks, smoothing out bumps, ensuring an even outslope so next winter’s rainwater will run off the edge rather than down the middle, and completing the uphill edge.
There were enough volunteers that we got the work completed well before the expected time of noon, meaning that we had a bit of a wait until the Subway sandwiches were delivered for lunch. That gave us more time to sit and chat.
The second phase will be to build a 16′ bridge across an intermittent stream. Once that’s done, the remainder of the trail can be built to finish the connection to the High Road trail that leads to Crags Road, Century Lake and the MASH site.
Thanks to all the volunteers who dedicated their Saturday morning to help with one of their local parks!
You can see some of the activities in our photo gallery of the Grasslands Trail extension.
There was a baker’s dozen at this month’s Skills Clinic, an appropriate number for April Fools Day.
The Basic Skills Clinic is always held the first Saturday of the month at Malibu Creek State Park.
You can see the photos in our April photo gallery.
There was a large group of 18 at March’s Skills Clinic, most of whom were new MBU recruits. With such a large group, there wasn’t time to ride down to the stream crossing so we skipped that.
The Basic Skills Clinic is always held the first Saturday of the month at Malibu Creek State Park.
You can see the photos in our March photo gallery.
To help celebrate Earth Day (April 22, 2017), there will be a major trail building and restoration event in Malibu Creek State Park. CORBA and a number of other groups are combining their efforts to, among other things, build a new trail to replace the segment of the Grasslands Trail that was closed several years ago, shown in the photo below.
The new trail will replace the closed, ecologically damaging fall-line trail with a longer one that descends more gently to the bottom of the hill.
The work will mostly involve finishing the roughed-in trail that will have been plowed out by a SWECO trail bulldozer.
All tools will be provided, as well as instructions on how to use them safely and effectively, by experienced trail crew leaders. No experience needed – everyone works at a rate they’re comfortable with and takes lots of breaks. Bring a snack to eat on the trail; lunch will be provided.
Wear sturdy hiking boots with good lugs, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sunglasses, sunblock and a hat, and bring water, snacks. Bring work gloves if you have them. We have a few pairs we can loan to people without.
This is a combined project between the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, CORBA and others.
Help us prepare for the event by registering online at https://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/237532161/ Full details are available on the registration page.
Once a year we have an opportunity to work on the trails and then BBQ and camp at Danielson Ranch in Pt Mugu State Park. It is opened annually for the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days! This is a unique opportunity to work on the trails that we enjoy so much in Sycamore Canyon, and the Saturday workday is followed by a BBQ dinner and prizes, with free camping available on Friday and/or Saturday night. This is hands down the best day to get in some trail maintenance work! Camping is optional; you may leave with the escort after the BBQ. There will be trailwork projects on both Saturday and Sunday. Sign up for one or both!
Some of the trails were severely damaged by the winter rains so we’ll need lots of help to repair them this year.
Pre-registration is requested by April 25th so we’ll know how many people to prepare for.
Schedule at a glance
Friday night April 28 – arrive for overnight camping (optional). Bagels and hot beverages supplied Saturday morning for campers.
Saturday April 29 – Trailwork, barbecue dinner, prize give-away. Bring your own lunch. Optional overnight camping. Bagels and hot beverages supplied Sunday morning for campers.
Sunday April 30 – Trailwork, prize give-away. Bring your own lunch.
You can volunteer to help out on Saturday, Sunday, or both.
BRING: LUNCHES, BEVERAGES, SNACKS AND WATER. Tools and instruction on using them are provided.
WEAR: Gloves, hat, long pants, protective clothing, and work boots or sturdy shoes.
REGISTRATION: Advance registration is required for the activities shown below, and appreciated by April 18th!
Saturday Registration: https://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/238094221/
Sunday Registration: https://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/238094287/
TRAILWORK: Saturday and/or Sunday. Help out with one or both! There are also opportunities to help out in the camp instead of trailwork.
CAMPING: Free camping Friday and/or Saturday nights for volunteers at the Danielson Multi-use Area located under the sycamores and oaks in the heart of Point Mugu State Park. Bring your own gear.
DINNER: Sat. Night Barbecue Free FOR VOLUNTEERS. Bring appetizers and beverages.
PRIZES: Thank-you prize give-aways will be held Saturday after dinner and Sunday after trailwork.
VEHICLE ACCESS: You will be able to caravan into and out of the park by vehicle only at these few designated times:
ARRIVE: Friday – 5 pm and 7 pm. Saturday – 7:30 am and 4:30 pm Sunday – 7:30 am
DEPART: Saturday – 4 pm and about 9 pm. Sunday – 8 am and 2:30 pm
Full details and camping/dining details are also provided on the registration pages.
There was a surprisingly large group at February’s Skills Clinic considering that it was raining in Newbury Park when I left to take photos of the event. However, it was clearing and dry when I arrived at the Basic Skills Clinic at Malibu Creek State Park. 17 people took part, including about a half dozen new MBU recruits. The sun came and went, but we didn’t have any more rain. Nevertheless, the trails were too muddy to ride so we skipped the ride across the creek, even though it would have been thrilling with water in the stream after so many years of just dry rocks.
The clinic is always held the first Saturday of the month. You can see the photos in our February photo gallery.
2016 is behind us, and what a year it was for CORBA and mountain bikers! We were extremely busy last year, cutting trails, cutting trees, and working on behalf of the mountain bike community to ensure continued and improved access to mountain biking in the greater Los Angeles and Eastern Ventura County areas.
Opening of Ken Burton Trail
In 2016, the Gabrielino Trail Restoration project, with REI, Bellfree Contractors, and Los Angeles Conservation Corps, was completed. Ken Burton Trail restoration with MWBA was completed, opening the Ken Burton trail and a popular loop after seven years of closure, thousands of volunteer hours, and nearly three years of planning.
MOUNTAIN BIKE UNIT (MBU)
www.mountainbikeunit.com
The Mountain Bike Unit, sponsored by the National (NPS) and State (CDPR) Park Services and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), is looking for mountain bikers who might be interested in joining the unit.
Here’s what it’s all about:
The MBU assists in providing park visitors with a quality outdoor experience and preserving natural resources while patrolling over 60 thousand acres of public parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Orientation Day will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2017, 9:00AM at the King Gillette Ranch Auditorium. Orientation Day is an indoor meeting to learn more about patrolling with the MBU and is an opportunity for you to ask questions. Bring your bike and helmet, and if the weather is good, we’ll go on an optional fun ride after the presentation. There is no commitment to join the MBU if you attend Orientation Day.
All degrees of riding experience are welcome!
Patrol areas include National Park Service locations (Cheeseboro/ Palo Comado and Zuma/Trancas Canyons, Rancho Sierra Vista, and Circle X Ranch) and State Park locations (Malibu Creek, Will Rogers, Point Mugu, and Topanga). In addition, we patrol MRCA areas near metropolitan Los Angeles.
You patrol with an MBU partner, self-scheduled on the MBU website. Eight hours per month average is what we ask.
Other activities in which the MBU participates include the Youth Adventures Program which offers disadvantaged youth an opportunity to enjoy mountain bike experiences in the parks, plus assisting in such events as Wheels to the Sea, the Los Angeles Marathon, and the Ventura County Fair.
Still have questions?
For more information and to be added to our mailing list, contact our Contact Administrator on the MBU website.
Copyright 1987-2020 CORBA. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
