Since Big Basin reopened to visitors on July 22nd, park staff has received numerous concerns about all the thistle sprouting on the Redwood Loop Trail, so the Trail Crew decided to continue its earlier work and spend another day 'weeding' before all the thistles disbursed their seeds and there was an even more widespread problem next year.

The old growth forest area of Big Basin, near the old HQ site, has experienced many changes from the 2020 fires. One of the most obvious this summer being the encroachment of invasive plants along the Redwood Loop Trail. Prior to the fire this area was heavily shaded by the tree canopy and there was over a foot of organic material on the ground and that combination of shade and mulch made it difficult for non-native plants to get a foothold.

The Trail Crew's July 23rd workday included something we haven't encountered in the past eight months, an actual hike to the worksite! Since returning to Big Basin last November our work areas have been at most 5 minutes from the parking area, but the latest workday took us about two miles out North Escape Rd from the core HQ's area to just short of the Barnes Kiosk, which was located at the end of the paved section of No. Escape and the trailhead of the Hollow Tree Trail.

The rush is on! The various park crews were energetically working before the park opens on July 22nd. We bumped into all the Trail and Road staff throughout the day and it is unanimous, everyone in a rush to get things finished before all the people show up.

When the BBVTC returned to it's Big Basin work last November the goal was to have the Redwood Loop Trail and a short stretch of the Skyline-to-Sea Trail (STS) ready by the time the park reopened. With the work largely completed and only small, 'punch list' details left to be done, we tackled two of them on our workday - Two STS reroutes on both sides of the Gazos Creek fire road at the new bridge.

The turnout for the June 11th workday was not the 20+ we have become accustomed to, but still a very respectable 17 showed up on a warm day. The forecasted high for Boulder Creek was 88, but up in the park only 82 and with work in the sunnier areas completed by lunchtime the weather was manageable.

Our last workday on May 14th was the first warm one of the season with temperatures of about 80F and we felt it as the day wore on (Current forecast for the May 28th workday was for 70F).

We were back working on the Redwood Loop Trail, but with the loss of the tree canopy from the 2020 CZU Complex Fire the usually cool redwood forest is warmer than before. Not as sunny or warm as a summer day up on the Basin or Eagle Rock Trails, but enough to wear you down.

The May 14th workday turned out to be the first warm one of the season with temperatures reaching about 80 as we continued work on the Redwood Loop Trail. With the loss of tree canopy in much of Big Basin during the CZU fire, the usually cool redwood forest is now warmer than before the fire. Not as sunny as the ridgetop chaparral, but still warm and we began to feel the effects as the day wore on.

The fire that burned through Big Basin in August 2020 was not only the largest natural disaster in the park's 120 year history, but it's recovery effort is the largest and most complex in the almost 160 year history of California State Parks. That complexity was highlighted on the Trail Crew's April 30th workday.

There is sometimes a fine line between dedication and craziness and the Crew exhibited a little of both on the April 16th workday when 18 turned out despite the forecast of a wet morning in what has otherwise been an historically dry winter.