The Sept. 6th workday was another modest turnout of 15 but with BIG results as we finished most of the work on the section of Pine Mtn Trail (PMT) coming up from the old Blooms Creek campground and we were able to send two sawyers over to the Hihn Hammond trailhead to continue work from that side as well.
For most of the crew the work was a continuation of previous QC work as we widened the trail corridor by cutting back encroaching vegetation along the trail edge and carried or dragged the debris to numerous burn piles up and down the trail. By the end of the day we had completed work on about 90 percent of the trail between the campground and the junction with East Ridge Trail.
Meanwhile the two sawyers headed up East Ridge toward the junction with the Pine Mountain Trail with the goal of felling and clearing trees from the trail corridor so the area would be ready for final QC work on a future workday. There is still a lot of vegetation that needs to be cleared from the trail edge, but they were able to remove the larger things while the rest of the crew was on the other side.
The early guesstimate is it'll take two more workdays to complete QC work on the East Ridge Trail section while only a couple of hours work remain for the trail coming up from the campground area.
For both, the objective is to meet at the junction of Pine Mtn Trail (PMT) and East Ridge before moving on to the next section of PMT that leads up to the fire road.
The crew put in 115 hours and thanks to Daryn Bieri, Nan Bowman, Jim Brooks, Rory Brooks, John Collins, Tom Condy, Michele Gelblum, Tommy Ha, Andrea Lee, Janie Leifhelm, John Martin, Thanh Nguyen, Mike Peasland, Brian Washburn and Chris Young, for a very productive workday.
As the Crew began wrapping up work at the end of the day and began gathering tools for the hike out, one crew member decided the top of a burn pile was a good place for a quick rest in the sun!
Park staff has completed redecking the vehicle bridge over Opal Creek that was damaged in the 2020 fires, so we'll be able to drive closer to the work area once we move further up the trail. The bridge will also allow rangers, and if needed Cal Fire, to access the upper Pine Mtn area more quickly if there is an emergency.
by Mike and Jeff
photos by Mike, Tom, and Tommy