This Trail Crew's workday brought back memories of last summer's work in the Fall Creek section of Henry Cowell with its hot working conditions. Despite the predicted warm weather, 23 people turned out further blurring the line between the Trail Crew's well earned reputation of hard working dedication and a touch of craziness.
It was our first Big Basin workday away from the headquarters area as we headed out to work on the lower section of Sunset Trail between Dool and Middle Ridge fire road. Or should I say, 'where Sunset Trail used to be' since with two years of understory regrowth since the 2020 fires it was hard to discern where the trail was supposed to go. Fortunately the District crew had flagged the route using old reinforced trail edges and hillside contours to confirm they were on the right track since the new vegetation covered everything.
The end goal was the same as earlier work on the Redwood Loop and Skyline-to-Sea trails - remove burned debris from the trail and trail edges and place it in burn piles. But before we could even think of doing the usual trail work we had to clear the regrowth, Ceanothus for the most part, from the trail and trail edge.
State Parks purchased a long reach hedge trimmer and weed eater with a brush blade for us which made the work easier but still tedious. Most of the workday was spent clearing the area with the new equipment, or simply using loppers, so we could see what actual trail work needed to be done. We were able to start four burn piles that we left in process, but dealing with the understory brush we encountered adds another layer of complexity to the work. With temperatures reaching into the low 90's by early afternoon and several work areas in full sun, we decided to wrap things up early and headed back to the vehicles.
The crew put in 168 hours and thanks to Arnold Arcolio, Daryn Bieri, Nan Bowman, John Collins, Denis DeCeuster, Peter Gelblum, Mimi Guiney, Tommy Ha, Janie Leifhelm, John Martin, Janette Mello, Sean Miller, Chris Newport, Amit Patil, Mike Peasland, Devdutt Sheth, Cassie Sprenger, Pooja Upganlawar, Bruce Washburn, Chris Young and newcomers John Bodley, David Li and Joe Mitchell, for difficult work on a hot day.
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Mike, Bruce, David, and Joe