One of the objectives in rebuilding the Big Basin trail system after the 2020 fires has been to move sections that were in low lying areas or otherwise subject to high waterflow volumes during winter storms and relocate them to adjacent areas that were not as wet or muddy and easier to maintain.

With the initial stretch of the 1.2 mile Creeping Forest Trail finished and reopened to the public on Sept. 1st (map below), the Trail Crew has been a holding pattern as we wait for the park staff to finish flagging the next section of Creeping Forest to be worked.

The past several months we've had sub-20 turnouts for Trail Crew workdays because of vacation plans for many of our regulars along with a lull in recruitment of newcomers, but the promise of a short workday and a mid-summer group lunch after our August 12th outing quickly resolved the issue!

Our work on the Creeping Forest Trail since late March has largely revolved around making rough cut trails through the understory vegetation that has grown in over the past three years since the CZU fires. While the effort to this point has provided a sense of accomplishment, we still had a ways to go before things started looking like a real hiking trail. This would require 'tread work' or simply digging in the dirt.

Bull thistles are one of the most recognized weeds in Big Basin and last summer the BBVTC worked with the park's resource management group to remove the fast spreading plant from the Redwood Loop Trail. When we asked about plans for this summer, staff said the work still needed to be done but they wouldn't be able to get to it due to staffing, so the BBVTC stepped forward.

A couple of key numbers from our July 1st workday are 17 and 103.

17 - Despite weather forecasts and news stories beforehand of a heat wave with temps into the 90's-100's, 17 Trail Crew folks were out for the July 1st workday.

103 - Was the temperature at the Saddle Mountain station at 1:30 as we began wrapping up work for the day. And the south facing Creeping Forest hillside we were on may have been even warmer. 

Heading into our June 17th workday the forecast called for temperatures in the low 70's which would have been nice for mid-June, but by lunch the Saddle Mountain weather station said it was already 82, and headed towards 85, while we worked in direct sunlight on a south facing hillside with little shade before deciding to call it a day at mid-afternoon.

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. 

After almost three years of regrowth since the CZU fires in 2020, even working along an existing trail corridor can be challenge and it becomes even more difficult when doing a trail reroute like the May 20th work on Creeping Forest. Park staff is taking the opportunity to improve the trails by moving sections out of low lying areas that can become wet and muddy in the winter and our challenge was to move a 400 ft section of Creeping Forest.

Spring is always a season of transition, with one foot edging towards summer while the other is still firmly planted in winter. After the April 22nd workday in the mid-80's that we were definitely not ready for, our May 6th outing was much more suited to trail work with the Saddle Mtn weather station topping out at perfect 60 degree conditions.