June 3rd was not only a regularly scheduled Trail Crew workday, but also the annual National Trails Day that involves parks and open spaces across the country organizing one day volunteer trail maintenance and construction events.
The now nationwide event has its roots in California, specifically the Santa Cruz Mtns and more precisely where the Big Basin Volunteer Trail Crew had its beginning - the 1969 single weekend construction of the section of the Skyline-to-Sea Trail connecting Big Basin and Castle Rock State Parks.
BBVTC founder Bob Kirsch led several Scout trail work parties in Big Basin starting in the mid-1960's and in 1969 coordinated with the Sempervirens Fund, State Parks, various Scout groups and general volunteers, to organize a one weekend blitz in April 1969 to create a trail link between Castle Rock and Big Basin.
After the event, three trail groups (Big Basin, Castle Rock and the STS Trail segment between the parks) were organized with Bob leading the Big Basin Volunteer Trail Crew. So the Trail Crew has been around 54 years and perhaps a few years longer if you include the unofficial work from the mid-60's.
We're about 150 yards below where the CCC crew started working uphill towards the Dool end of Creeping Forest (see Map - yellow workday area covered. No idea at this point what we'll do when we reach the CCC starting point. Double back and widen/cleanup the rough cut trail we've done so far or perhaps jump ahead and work back down to the CCC job site? As for our June 3rd workday, we continued work on rough cutting a 400 ft trail reroute on the Creeping Forest Trail that will provide another link between the Basin floor and Middle Ridge Fire Rd.
It was more of the same of clearing downed trees and building burn piles. There was also a UCSC Film student on the worksite and she commented that she would never look at a hiking trail in the same way again after seeing all the work that goes into making even a rough cut trail.
The crew put in 126 hrs and thanks to Fremont Bainbridge, Roger Beaudoin, Daryn Bieri, Nan Bowman, Jim Brooks, Rory Brooks, Josh Dillen, Janie Leifhelm, John Martin, Janette Mello, Mike Peasland, Allison Rice, Brian Washburn, Chris Young, and first timers Victor Beaudoin, Leo Lopez and Craig Ramsey, for the work.
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Mike, Fremont, and Roger
Here are a few more photos taken by Roger of a plaque on the Park History and showing the steps to the gone HQ plus regrowth of the forest.
