Archive for the ‘Trail Crew’ Category

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Report from CORBA Trail Crew – Santa Monica Mountains Trail Day 4/24/2010

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

By Danusia Bennett-Taber

Over twenty mountain bikers joined the CORBA Trail Crew for Santa Monica Trails Days on April 24th in Point Mugu State Park. They came to give something back to the trails they love to ride.

Drain placement is very important. This looks like the right spot?

CORBA crew leader Hans Keifer shuttled a few people and carried all the tools, while most of the group rode their bikes to the work location. The CORBA crew worked mostly on the upper section of  Wood Vista (aka “Backbone”) trail to add drains to eliminate channeling of water down the middle of the trail, forming a rut.

This section of the trail was really overgrown!

Volunteers also cut back brush. Not an easy task considering that a few sections of the trail were overgrown with a poison oak!

No work day could be complete without a quick ride on a newly maintained trail.

Special thanks to the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days organizers for preparing the BBQ and for the prizes that were raffled off at the conclusion of trail work. Also thanks to IMBA/Clif for donating trail crew snacks.

Last but not least, thanks to all the CORBA crew volunteers that came to support trails. Trail work provides many benefits like creating and maintaining riding opportunities, preserving habitat, burning extra calories, interacting with fellow mountain bikers and making friends with other trail users. Now let’s go and ride! We earned it.

Rut is gone!

I pledge to come to every CORBA trail work day!

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Posted in CORBA News, Default, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Santa Monica Mountains Trails Days 4/23-25 – Join us!

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Join CORBA and several other trail user groups for a weekend of camping, riding and trail maintenance or just come out for the day!

The CORBA crew will be riding in to work on the Guadalasca and Wood Canyon Vista section of the Backbone Trail. Driving to the trailhead and hiking in is an option too. We will work on adding drainage to the trail as well as brush work!

There is a lot to do after this winter’s heavy rains so come on out and lend a hand!

See this PDF flier and registration form.

For more information contact Hans at trailcrew@corbamtb.com

Posted in CORBA News, Default, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Crew | 3 Comments »

State Trail Day in the Angeles Forest 4/17/10

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Hans, an OTB rider and the CORBA trail maintenance coordinator, sits on the CORBA trailwork trailer, loaded with tools

Join the CORBA Trail Crew and other trail user groups for a day of trail maintenance.

Meet at 8:00 am at the Wildwood Picnic area.  Bring your own lunch and water.  Sturdy shoes and long pants are required.

Work will be on the Stone Canyon Trail.  This trail goes up to Mount Lukins.

Take Big Tujunga Canyon Road approximately 5 miles north of Ora Vista Street to the Wildwood Picnic area.

For more information contact Hans at trailcrew@corbamtb.com

Posted in Advocacy, Angeles National Forest, CORBA News, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

State Trail Day in the Angeles Forest 4/17/10

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Join the CORBA Trail Crew and other trail user groups for a day of trail maintenance.

Hans, an OTB rider and the CORBA trail maintenance coordinator, sits on the CORBA trailwork trailer, loaded with tools

Meet at 8:00 am at the Wildwood Picnic area.  Bring your own lunch and water.  Sturdy shoes and long pants are required.

Work will be on the Stone Canyon Trail.  This trail goes up to Mount Lukins.

Take Big Tujunga Canyon Road approximately 5 miles north of Ora Vista Street to the Wildwood Picnic area.

For more information contact Hans at trailcrew@corbamtb.com

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Posted in Angeles National Forest, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Santa Monica Mountains Trails Days 4/23-25

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Join CORBA and several other trail user groups for a weekend of camping, riding and trail maintenance or just come out for the day!

The CORBA crew will be riding in to work on the Guadalasca and Wood Canyon Vista section of the Backbone Trail. Driving to the trailhead and hiking in is an option too. We will work on adding drainage to the trail as well as brush work!

There is a lot to do after this winter’s heavy rains so come on out and lend a hand!

See this PDF flier and registration form for more information or contact Hans at trailcrew@corbamtb.com

Posted in Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

COSCA Spring Trailwork Report

Monday, March 29th, 2010
Clearing out overgrown brush

On Saturday, March 27, about two dozen volunteers took part in the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency’s (COSCA) Spring Trailwork Day. There were a few CORBA volunteers including Board of Directors member Danusia Bennet-Taber as well as volunteers from COSCA and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council (SMMTC). The largest contingent were Disney volunteers, who get a free pass to Disneyland for volunteering to help the community for a day. What a great way to encourage and reward volunteerism – our thanks to Disney Corp!     

We worked on the Mountain Creek Trail in Newbury Park. This trail was built last October during the Annual COSCA Trailwork Day by a much larger group of volunteers (see photo gallery). On Saturday, we widened much of the top section, fixed the drainage around a switchback and cleared out a lot of overgrowing brush on the Reino / Potrero Ridge Trail it connects to.     

Mountain bikers are quick to ride the reworked trail

 

On our way back down at the end of the workday, we passed a pair of mountain bikers on their way up. In the few months that this trail has been in existance, it has already become a popular trail to access the multiple singletrack trails in Dos Vientos!     

You can view the photo gallery of Saturday’s work. Many thanks to all the volunteers who came out to help!

Posted in Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Crew | 2 Comments »

Angeles National Forest Update

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Tonight CORBA volunteers attended a meeting with ANF Volunteer Coordinator Howard Okamoto. We received some encouraging news from Howard. While the theme of the news is good, nothing is definite, and planned dates may change if we get another round of storms or inclement weather.

Right now the forest closure remains in effect, unchanged since it was first imposed after the fires.  However, the FS hopes to open much of the forest to the public in mid to late April. The area that will definitely remain closed is the Arroyo Seco Canyon, roughly the area from Switzers to JPL, between Brown Mountain and Mt. Lukens.

Highway 2 through that canyon, between Clear Creek and La Canada will likely remain closed for some time as repairs in some of the larger slide areas will entail major construction. However, the Forest is currently accessible via Big Tujunga Canyon. Angeles Forest Highway is open from Big Tujunga to Palmdale; Upper Big Tujunga is open to Shortcut Saddle, and Highway 2 is open between RedBox and Mt. Waterman. The RedBox-Mt. Wilson road is also open.  The roads will be closed any time there is a significant weather event, as the hillsides above the highways are still subject to major slides.

As early as April 1st many picnic and day-use areas may be opened. Trails will most likely be marked as “unmaintained, use at your own risk” before the closure is lifted. Some may be signed as closed if there is significant damage.  In any case, by May we expect to be able to begin surveying damage to trails, and start doing trailwork in the ANF.

We’re looking forward to getting back to our beloved forest. Many trails will have changed significantly and may not be viable without extensive repairs.  CORBA is not alone, and many other groups have an interest in seeing trails restored.

Trailwork has been proceeding on many trails under FS supervision, including the Sam Merrill Trail and Sunset Ridge Trails.  The AC100 crew will start surveying and repairs on El Prieto on April 24. Outward Bound are currently working on the Condor Peak trail and the Stone Canyon trail.

So while this may change depending on the progress of Caltrans road repairs, weather, and other factors, it is encouraging news to say the least. Keep an eye on the CORBA calendar for upcoming trailwork days in the ANF and more announcements.

Posted in Angeles National Forest, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Trailwork Report – Backbone Trail

Monday, February 1st, 2010

On Saturday, January 30, CORBA volunteers had a very productive day out in the Santa Monica Mountains. Ten riders met us at the Reseda trailhead, four of us loaded up BOB trailers full of tools, and headed for Rogers Road in Topanga State Park. Trailers and bicycles allow us to travel further down the trail in a given amount of time and get more done in the same time as the other two groups who hiked in and worked on the first mile of the trail.

It was a cooperative trailwork day with the Sierra Club and Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.  These other groups stayed closer to the beginning of the trail.

We rode to the Oak tree several miles in on the Backbone trail. Another five volunteers rode in from the south side and met us there. We hiked down about 3/4 of mile and went to work on this steeper and badly eroded section of trail. Most of what we did was erosion prevention, putting in new water diversions, and clearing out some older filled and blocked off ones.

After several hours of work, we had built and/or restored 40 water diversions, reinforced one section of trail that was eroding away completely, as well as some brush clearance. It was a productive day.  Towing a trailer full of tools on the ride out adds an extra challenge, but can also be a lot of fun. CORBA’s BOB trailers have earned their keep over the years.

CORBA treated the volunteers to lunch at Sharkey’s afterwards, everyone feeling good about what was accomplished. When working with Sierra club and other groups on shared-use trails, it is always helpful to have a strong mountain bike contingency showing that we care for our trails as much as any other trail user group.

Posted in Default, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Sam Merrill Trailwork – January 2010

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

CORBA’s intrepid trail crew took part in a joint trail maintenance day on one of the most beloved trails in the Angeles front country. Seventy people came out to give back to the trails, a measure of just how popular this trail is.

The Sam Merrill Trail from Inspiration Point to Echo Mountain has been closed since the Station Fire last year. The first half-mile of the trail was the burn area, but the remainder of the trail was in need of water diversion and erosion control work. Even though it was closed, there was a need to ensure that what remains was prepared for the coming rains, with the hope of getting this trail opened again as soon as possible after the rainy season passes.
CORBA had approximately 50 mountain bikers come out for the trailwork day, including about 15 student racers from the Interscholastic Mountain Bike League. Hiking groups were there with about 20 people. We were introduced to Andrew Fish who is now managing the trail system for the Angeles National Forest. Since we were working on a closed trail, we had to have NFS Rangers accompany the work crews.
Much was accomplished. The mountain biking contingent did brush and tread work all the way up to the burn zone. The Bear Canyon Hiking club and others worked in the burn areas up near the top of the trail, recovering as much of the trail as they could.
CORBA supplied lunch for all of the volunteers. It was a great day and everyone came away from the work day feeling good about what they’d done to help preserve this trail, even though it is expected to be closed at least until this coming spring.

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Mt Lowe Truck Trail Closure

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Due to a recent rock slide, the section of the Mt. Lowe Truck Trail (Forset Trail No. 2N50) is closed from its intersection with Eaton Saddle, continuing west 1/2 mile to its intersection with Markham Saddle as shown in the picture. The trail was closed starting on June 9th and the closure is in effect until June 8, 2010.

A 150 foot portion of the Mt. Lowe Truck Trail collapsed during a rock slide making it dangerous for public access. The rock slide has created a narrow section requiring trail users to traverse on a narrow section with loose gravel and soil. The remainder of the trail will remain open with signs posted at the beginning and end of the trail in addition to signs at the actual slide area.

Posted in Angeles National Forest, Trail Access, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

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