It was a cool morning but that didn’t stop 17 BBVTC members from showing up. With a strong showing, we split into 2 crews one heading to Sequoia trail then Shadowbrook and the other crew headed to Blooms Creek area. We collected tools at the shed and we were off.
Gathering the tools
Mike’s Crew on Blooms Creek Area
After splitting into two crews after the morning gathering, the Blooms Creek Crew set off to prove that sometimes even a wrong turn can provide useful information. Our destination was a Tan Oak that we first spotted during the November workday when we took a wrong turn and discovered the tree blocking the Blooms Creek Trail behind the campground, but didn't have time to remove it.
Upon arrival, Chris climbed to the top of a bench created by the large root ball of an adjacent Doug Fir and started removing the top section of the Tan Oak in order to make it easier to cut and remove the lower portion that actually blocked the trial. After the top cuts were completed, Dale S. made the initial cut on the lower portion of the tree when we received the surprise of the day. Dale got the bar wedged in the cut and as he rocked it back and forth to release the trunk suddenly lurched forward and dropped to the ground. What we were not aware of was the tree was rotted on the inside, so it may have been fortunate the saw wedged itself to slow things down.
After the initial cuts, things proceeded quickly with the hardest part being finding places to hide the debris since the creek was immediately below the work area.
As the tree was being removed, part of the crew headed off to brush the entire length of the trail behind the campground as it required a lot of ducking and weaving to navigate. After everything was completed, we split into two smaller crews with one group heading out to check on a reported problem on Dool Trail just above Skyline-to -Sea while the others replanted a 'You Are Here' trail map signpost at the juncture of Buzzards Roost Trail and Eastridge Trail.
Jeff’s Crew on Sequoia and Shadowbrook
We hit the road and headed up Lodge Road and parked across from the Kirsch Trail. There was a report of a mess on the trail between the Schultz Bridge and Sempervirens Campground. We did pass a Tan Oak with about 10 branches having been cut a foot or so from the edge of the trail. We continued on passing the campground and then onto the Shadowbrook Tail. We came across 2 tan oaks one having been up rooted. It took about an hour and we were able to push the root ball off the trail.
The next tan oak was at the end of the Shadowbrook near the Eastridge trail. A couple of cuts later the trail was cleared.
The next report was along the upper section of Shadowbrook Trail above the Sempervirens Falls. We parked along Lodge Road where the trail crosses the road and it was a short hike to a messy fir. This took longer than the other downed trees but what a difference after we were done.
We all got back to the tool shed with perfect timing to head to Boulder Creek for our annual Holiday Party. The crew put in 124 hours and we ended the year with 1245 hours and a big thanks to Norm Beeson, Jeff Bleam, David Bryan, John Collins, Alicia Clark, Michele Gelblum, Peter Gelblum, Jan Hill, Shyamal Kapadia, Janie Leifhelm, John Martin, Mike Peasland, David Philleo, Aaron Poulos, Dale Stadelman, Devdutt Sheth, and Chris Young.
Cheers to the close of BBVTC 49th year working on the Big Basin SP trails
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Aaron, Janie, Jan, Mike, and Jeff
Birds of the Day
Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)