The weather forecast for the first workday of 2024 called for rain, but despite the prediction 23 crew members showed up to kick off the new year. And for the first time since we resumed post-fire work in Big Basin in late 2021, we were on the 'other' (old HQ) side of Hwy 236.
To date, all trail work had been focused on connecting the Basin floor to Middle Ridge Fire Rd, but to start the new year we were beginning work on a trail that when completed will open a new area to visitors - the Sequoia Trail.
The work was the usual clearing Ceanothus and building burn piles, but the regrowth on the east side of 236 seemed to be even more pronounced as we hiked in from Jay Camp to find vegetation that was over 8-ft in height. With no visible trail, and only flagging tape to mark where the trail should be, it looked like a daunting task.
Fortunately, with a big crew and a coordinated attack plan, things went more smoothly than anticipated. Using the orange flagging tape the District crew had placed earlier in the week as guides to where the trail should go, two crew members with chainsaws made the initial attack cutting the Ceanothus down in size followed by a tri-blade brush cutter that made the final cut to ground level.
Clogged Chainsaw
This work was quickly followed by a large crew that grabbed the cut debris and moved it back to burn pile locations where others constructed the actual piles.
The entire process proved so efficient that within 90 minutes the entire length of flagged trail had been rough cut, burn piles were in process, and others had doubled back along the trail to remove trip hazards, roots, and other cleanup work.
Despite the large crew and good progress, we ran out of flagged trail to work on by noon, so we moved all the tools back to the tool room, cleaned things up, and enjoyed a group lunch before calling it a day.
The crew put in 122 hours and thanks to Fremont Bainbridge, Daryn Bieri, Jim Brooks, Rory Brooks, Alex Clines, Jacob Corbin, Dale Elliott, Michele Gelblum, Peter Gelblum, Mim Guiney, Tommy Ha, Andrea Lee, Janie Leifhelm, Janette Mello, Joe Mitchell, Whitney Mitchell, Mike Peasland, Evan Rebesque, Devdutt Sheth, Brian Washburn, Bruce Washburn, Chris Young and newcomer Kevin Flammer, for getting 2024 off to a promising start!
Redwood Loop
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Bruce, Joe, Mimi, Mike, and Whitney