I get a lot of pleasure from hiking. There's nowhere else in the world that soothes my soul like an open space and a trail to wander on. That's why I work with three different trail maintenance and repairs groups, and am on the Board of Directors for one of them. It's my way of caring for the places that are dear to me.
The latest walk was trail maintenance in the hills above Newbury Park in Southern California. Our trail work efforts are coordinated with local and state agencies. The majority of trails get maintained at least once every five years. We'd love to do it more often, but the volunteer population keeps getting smaller and smaller. Some of it is the time commitment of six hours on a Saturday. Some is assuming it's hard work (it's not usually), and then there are those who assume other people's responsibility. Pity, because the total body workout you can get is better than any gym if you want to do that level of work. There's also loads of work that requires little effort beyond just being there.
Today's effort focused on the Upper Cabin trail. This trail is 3 1/2 miles from the starting point to the end, with no other access points along the way. Crews work a stretch, then hide the tools until the next work day.
The types of use (hiker, runner, mountain bike, and/or horseback) affects how wide and tall the trail needs to be cleared. This trail is used by all but bikers, and mostly needed brush and trees widened to its constructed size of 6 feet wide and 12 feet high.
The day started with a short hike to the work site along the Upper Cabin Trail. We are able to service between 1/4 and 1 mile of trail on any given day, depending on the condition, the types of tools required, and the crew size. In this case, we were able to cover the remaining mile to a monument at the end.
We gathered our stashed tools and began the effort. Weed wackers, Mattocks (they look like picks), McLeods and rakes were distributed to crew members.
Weed wackers clear the grasses and thin branches. Rakes followed to gather and dump the cuttings, and also allowed the wackers to perform another pass and catch anything they missed.
Behind them are people using hand tools, McLeods and Mattocks to remove shrub, bush, and small tree stumps. Before and after these groups are tree saws that cut away branches. The picture above shows the wacker in a "was" area that's barely a foot wide, followed by a raker. The crouched man is removing a shrub stump in the fully restored, six foot wide area.
This trail is within the Santa Monica Mountain Recreation area. With over 500 miles of trails, there's never a lack of trail to care for.
The Palisades Fire
The Palisades Fire recently burned 23,000 acres, or 15% of the 158,000 acre park. The trail damage is extensive, caused by:
Fire
Bulldozers creating firefighter camps and fire breaks up to 150 feet wide
Landslides
Soot and debris buildup, up to two feet deep
Some little-used trails will be abandoned. Some will be rerouted, due to the damage. And some will be reclaimed. Similar fire damage in the region implies that it will take ~5 years to return the burn area trails to safe and usable conditions.
If you live in the area, consider lending a hand.
