This BBVTC workday included several things of note - it happened to be Earth Day, we had a warm (too warm) spring like workday after four months of cold, wet, windy weather, and the District trail crew dropped off a new piece of equipment.
The day started with Kile from the District crew dropping off a brand new battery powered pole saw for our use. With the current work it won't be needed for a while, but once we transition to any horse trails requiring higher vertical clearance it will be appreciated.
Kile, John M. and Rory with New Pole Saw
For the work itself, the nice weather allowed Rory to stay back at Jay Camp and start long planned remodel work on our temporary tool storage area (aka an old rest room and shower area) while the rest of the crew headed back to the Creeping Forest Trail where progress is going much slower than other trails we've worked since the 2020 fires.
Several sections of the existing trail bed pass through low areas prone to wet and muddy conditions during the winter, so the park is taking the opportunity to reroute these segments to higher, dryer locations. This means a heavy workload and slow progress.
Most of the crew did the usual clearing and burn pile work we are accustomed to but only made a couple of hundred feet of progress because of the heavy vegetation.
Meanwhile the sawyers moved further up the trail and starting dropping trees for safety reasons, leaving an even bigger mess for a future workdays.
Fallen Trees - Lack of Cover - Sawyers Work
After the prolonged winter weather, it was nice to have a more springlike day, but it was a little too warm with the Saddle Mountain weather station saying the high for the day was 85. Our previous workday had been a more mild 71 and the March 25th workday was a crisp 45, so we hadn't had much of an opportunity to acclimate to the changing seasons. With much of the forest canopy gone because of the fire, most of the work areas were in the sun and by 1:30 most everyone was drained and ready to call it a day.
Lunch along the Creeping Forest Trail
Returning to the vehicles, we headed back to Jay Camp to check on the tool stall upgrades. Rory had finished the framing insert that will allow us to hang tools from the walls and we helped move this into place and then called it a day. There is still several hours of finishing work to shed required before we can store the tools the way we want to.
The crew put in 133 hours and thanks to Fremont Bainbridge, Daryn Bieri, Jim Brooks, Rory Brooks, John Collins, Denis DeCeuster, Mimi Guiney, Marc Koenig, Janie Leifhelm, John Martin, Janette Mello, Mike Peasland, Devdutt Sheth, Bruce Washburn, Chris Young, and first timers Allison Rice, Mihir Sathe and Brian Washburn (Bruce's identical twin brother), for hanging in there on a hot day.
APR 24 - Burn Day
John Collins headed back to Big Basin to help out the CCC and State Trail Crew with torching the burn pile that had been created over the last few months.
Here are a few photos found during the workday. Old soda can, an early Cicada, Pacific Starflower (Trientalis latifolia), and Redwood Violets (Viola sempervirens)
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Bruce, Daryn, Fremont, John C., Mike, and Mimi