May 13, 2012 - Dool & East Ridge

There were 11 crew members this month and with these numbers we were able to split up.  Dale P. took one crew and they went up the trail from headquarters to Sequoia Group Camp and did not find the reported tree down on the trail.  They then went across Opal creek near the amphitheater to Skyline to the Sea Trail.  They followed that to Dool Trail and did some brushing along the way and went up Dool to Middleridge and did a little brushing along the way. 

They came back down Dool to Creeping Forest Trail and followed it back to Skyline to the Sea back to Headquarters.  There was not much to do on these trails.  There was one tree across Creeping Forest less than a quarter of a mile up from Skyline to the Sea.  It was only about 8 to 10 inches in diameter and was laying on the ground and was easy to step over.  They did not take the hand saw on this portion of our expedition so we could not take it out.

I took the other crew on what I thought would be a lazy walk through the park.  There were two areas that was worked on over the last few months so it was time to take care of them.  One area was on East Ridge on the other side of Hwy 236 and the other was the 115 foot section along Blooms Creek.

I had a bright idea to take East Ridge from the bridge on the road leading to Hihn Hammond road.  It was long when we found the first of what would turn out to be 8 areas with trees from 1/2" to 24".  Plus we only had hand saws.  The first area was an oak, which was covering about 30-40 feet of the trail.

 

 The next section was a tree that fell all over the trail.

 

 Bill did a great job tackling it in quick time and it could be hear "He's so strong.  He's our hero" :-)

The next one blocked the trail completely and it was so dense that you couldn't see through the mess.

 We could see through the mess at lunch time

 and at the end of the day you could at least walk over the trees.  This will be for next month.

 I would like to thanks Dale P., Bill, Janie, Tom, Herman, Gene, Janette, Francis, Peter, and Michelle.  We put in 7 hours for a total 77 volunteer hours.  Hope to see you next month.

See you on the trails

Jeff and Dale P.

Bird Count

1 Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma)
3 Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
1 Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
1 Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
5 Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
1 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
1 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
5 Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)
1 American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
4 Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
1 Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)
1 Hermit Warbler Setophaga occidentalis)
1 Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
3 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) (Junco hyemalis [oreganus Group])
2 Black-headed Grosbeak )Pheucticus melanocephalus)

April 14, 2012 - 2 Crews, 2 Big Trees

Another day in the park brought out Dale S., Bill, Janie, Gene, Fran, Norm, Peter, and me.  We split up into 2 crews to take care of large blockages on the STS trail.

The first crew of Janie, Bill, Norm, and Dale^2 headed back to Skyline to the Sea and the remaining 4 ft redwood tree on the STS trail near the Sunset Connector Trail. They took the large Stihl saw and the basic hand tools.  They started off with cool overcast skies…

 Norm was determined and not ready to give up to the saw

 OK, he’s tired.

 Now it’s the saws turn

 oops saw stuck, Mr. Stickum trying to un-stickum.  So it was time for a short walk to the tool bin and another saw.

 As the gap got larger

 everything else did too.

 Victory was finally achieved.

and we finished in beautiful sunshine.

The second crew went out to take care of a 3ft Fir down on the STS trail between HQ and Middle Ridge fire road.

This was actually 2 trees this one, a fir, that blocked two ends of the trail.

This was the second , which was the root ball and a 3 foot fir on the trail.

The first fir was under tension along the entire length.  It took a few cuts to open the one end and it ended with help from a few hiking volunteers to roll the section off the trail.

The other end required taking the tension off the trunk by taking sections out using the Pulaski.

 The Fir was over 200 years years old and it didn't go down without a fight.

We bent the hoe end of the tool

 We finally opened up the end next to the root ball but ran out of time and energy to take on the second tree.  We routed the trail around the root ball by putting in a few steps.


We put in 64 hours and was able to open one section and made the other safer for the park visitors.  Thanks to Dale for the crew #1 report and well as the photos.


See you on the trails


Jeff


Birding update:

1 Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

1 Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata

4 Pacific Wren Troglodytes pacificus

2 Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus

1 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

2 Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

1 Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni

1 Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri

1 Pygmy Nuthatch Sitta pygmaea

2 American Robin Turdus migratorius

3 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) Junco hyemalis [oreganus Group]

March 10 2012 - Pine Mountain

It was a cool morning with a lot of visitors in the park.  Ranger Karsten informed us of blockages on Gazos, Pine Mountain, and behind Blooms Creek campground.  It sounded like a plan.  I took Gene and Janette to clear Gazos and there was a small tree on the road before Middleridge.  We wondered if that was the blockage but the report was that the blockage past Middleridge.

We did find an 18" fir down between Middleridge and the San Mateo County Line.  We opened the road but the root ball was rolling down with each cut so we left it but it was still off the road.

Don't forget I need to be on the other side of the gate :-)

We caught up with the other group at an oak down along 40 ft of the trail about 10 minutes past the Pine Mountain fire road.  This report was found in the dark while the range was searching for a couple of hikers that headed out a 5:30 pm or about 30 minutes before the on set of darkness.

A lot of limbing was required.

Fran with her trusty saw.

 Still clearing after about an hour.

One last push.

After 8 cuts with the chainsaw, lunch, and the final clearing the trail was open.  About 15 hikers past us and they did express their appreciation. 

I had hiked back down to get fuel and bar oil and drove back to the intersection of the fire road and trail earlier.  This allowed Gene, Norm, and me to get back to the parking area before the rest of the crew.  I asked Norm about the blockage at the campground and he said that the first thing they encountered was on Pine Mountain.  Base on the description, I knew that there was something else on the trail.  We headed out and about 50 feet from the foot bridge we ran into this.

At first we thought that it was a short section that was blocked but it turned out to be a 22" oak and 2 smaller oaks that it took out and about 115ft of the trail was blocked.  It was impassable and had turned hikers around as we reached it. 

This took 2 saws working and the entire crew to hide the cuttings but after about 2-1/2 hours we had the trail opened.  There is still work to be done since the oak was so wet that we were cutting pulp so we left it and another 20" oak for next month.

It was a short day turned into a long day with the final blockage.  Someone suggested a brew at the pub and that was all that needed to be said.

Another great turn out with 10 members putting in 75 hours.  I would like to thank Janie, Bill, Michelle, Peter, Fran, Mike, Gene, Janette, and Norm.  Hope to see you next month.

See you on the trails.

Jeff

Photos by Jeff and Janette

For the birders

At HQ: Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon), Acorn Woodpecker, Steller's Jay, Pileated Woodpecker, and Robin
Gazos: Hutton's Vireo, and Pacific Wren
Pine Mt: Band-tail Pigeon, Varied Thrush, Acorn Woodpecker, Pigmy Nuthatch, Chestnut-back Chickadee,  Spotted Towhee, Hermit Thrush, Pacific Wren, and Raven

February 11, 2012 - 3 Crews

On the way into the park there was light rain falling but it didn’t deter 11 regular crew members and 3 new guys from showing up.  One of the new crew members was Jordan, who is an ultra marathoner.  He regularly runs 20+ miles through the park so he supplied the crew with a very good report of trail blockages.  We were able to split up into 3 crews with Dale P. leading one with Michelle, Peter, Janie, and Bill to take care of Hollow Tree Trail in the Lane Camp area.  Dale S. took Mike, Fran, Gene, and Michael to continue the work on the 2 4ft redwoods that fell across the STS just above the STS-Sunset connector.  I took the new guys of John, Josh, and Jordan on the trek around the Sunset>Timm’s>STS Loop.

Dale P’s crew headed to their work area via China Grade, with Dale S’s and my crew heading to the parking area where Middle Ridge, Sunset Trail, and Gazos Creek Rd meet.  I decided to take my Husky just in case and I asked if anyone had a hand saw (need to get the crew’s 24” saws sharpened) and Mike offered his up and it would turn out to be fortuitous.  We did light brushing and cleared 4 small trees across the trail with 2 being taken care of by the hand saw and 2 were around 10” and were quickly taken care of with the Husky.  We were moving at a good clip and we reached the blockage on Timm’s Creek in about an hour.

This was an 18” oak that had fallen on the trail and blocked about 25 to 30 feet of the trail.  This is at the same spot where a 36” Fir came down on the trail and covered about 60 to 80 feet of the trail.  We could see the tree across from where we were working.

The oak had fallen hard and was buried about 6-8”, which placed the truck in tension.  I was making the first cut and I was about 2/3rds the way through when the tree cracked and caught my saw.  We tried levers, releasing some the weight by trimming the top off with Mikes 9” folding saw, and after 3 or 4 cuts at different points over about an hour and a big push we were able to move the tree freeing the saw. 

After that we had lunch and when we started back up in less than 30 minutes we had the trail completely opened.

We finished up with a tan oak that had fallen next to the STS portion of the loop where a few small branches hung over the trail.  This was about ½ mile from the connector and as we approached the connector we could hear Dale S’s group working on the redwoods

We hiked up to the work area and got some video of log rolling. It took Dale S’s crew until 1 pm to finish the first cut because it was lying against the standing redwood and Mike said that it was a bear to make the cut and it took some time to find out what was still holding the round in place. It seemed loose and they could move it a little, but it just wouldn't break loose so they could roll it out of the way. What a pain! But after that cut larger sections were able to be cut. Dale eventually put us to work to finish off the first redwood that had the lowest clearance making it very difficult for hikers to crawl under. With that redwood cleared, the number of people climbing up and down a steep slippery route to bypass the blockage should be reduced

Dale P’s group cleared the tree on Eastridge Trail near Roger’s Rd and about 4 or 5 on the Hollow Tree Trail. They started from the Lane trail camp and went as far as the Johansen Shingle Mill. The last one was cleared and it was about 100 yards past the shingle mill. The upper part of Hollow Tree needed a lot of brushing and they did quite a bit of it but it could still use some more.

It was a cool damp day with a light rain coming and going. Every time we brushed something the water on the branches would add to the rain. With that said, we put in a solid 8.5 hour day for 119 volunteer hours. I would like to thank Mike, Michelle, Peter, Janie, Bill, Michael, Gene, Dale P., Dale S., Fran, and the 3 new additions to the crew Josh, John, and Jordan. Hope to see you all out next month.

See you on the trails.

Jeff

Thanks to Mike and Dale P. for helping in the writing of this month’s trail report.
STS = Skyline-To-Sea

January 14, 2012 - STS & Pine Mt.

It was a very cool morning with the temperature varying base on where we were.  It was very cool at HQ but it warmed noticeably at higher elevations.  There were some hikers in shorts at 9am with the temperature around 34F.  Figure that one.

STS Crew

We'll there were 13 members out so we split up into 2 crews with Dale P. heading up one to take care of at least 3 reported trees down with the largest being 14" and I took one crew back out to the 2 4ft redwoods on STS between the slide and the Sunset connector.

We had the 48" saw and with Dale S. saw we were able to work on two areas.  The crew was 5 strong and was made of Dale S., Norm, Michelle, Peter, and me.

There was a 30" redwood with splintered ends and the upper section was being supported by a small Tan oak.  We decided to cut off the sharp ends and bring down the section above the trail.

The other area was the 2 4ft redwoods, which Dale worked on with Norm spotting.  Here you can see these were long sections.

 There were two ways around, which were crawling under the two trees or

off to the left there was a steep way down.  This look ok when it is dry but could be a problem when the rain starts.

Dale working on one of the 4 footers.

Because of the position of the 30" redwood and having a 24" bar we had to use a Pulaski to notch out a section so the saw could cut through the entire diameter.  This required 3 cuts for each section.  Luckily, we only needed to make 2 section for 6 total cuts.  The upper section was cut above the oak and with a lever and pushing hard with feet the entire section was cleared off the trail in one section cut and in one shot. 

The 48" saw started giving us problems so we weren't able to clear the 4 footers but we did open the section by the 30" redwood.

Pine Mountain Crew

Here's the report from the second crew thanks to Mike.

While Jeff's team dragged the Howard King saw out on the Sunset trail to take care of the large trees from last month, Dale P., Janie, Bill, Janette, Tom, Fran and Mike set out on the 4+ mile, 1,100 foot, hike to Buzzard Roost to check on three reported small-medium size trees on the trial.

The first tree was about an 18-inch tan oak that we found on the East Ridge Trail between the Pine Mtn fire road and where East Ridge meets up with the Buzzard Roost Trail. Although the tree was larger than expected, Dale Petersen made several cuts and we were able roll two large sections neatly off the trail. 

The second tree was a much smaller tan oak that was quickly taken care of. Afterwards, as we approached the turn just below where the trail recrosses the fire road, we saw that hikers had once again reopened the volunteer trail that when taken requires a scamper up a steep hillside to reach the fire road. We have closed this section several times in the past, but with no signage it keeps being reopened. We again blocked the trail entrance with logs and branches, brushed over the entire length of closed trail to make it less obvious, and hoped for the best.

There was supposed to be a third tree on the trail between the fire road and the top, but we never did find it.

After eating lunch on Buzzard Roost and enjoying the views, we broke into smaller groups with Dale and Tom hiking ahead to look for any down trees between East Ridge Trail where we started and the Blooms Creek Campground (they found and removed three) while the remainder of the group slowly brushed their way back down the trail. We finished at 3:30 after a long day and steep hike.

The crews put in 97.5 hours thanks to Tom, Dale S., Dale P., Janie, Bill, Janette, Norm, Fran, Francis, Michelle, Peter, Mike, and me.  Great start of a new year and on our way to another 1000+ hour year.

See you on the trails.

Jeff

Low bird count with 4 Wild Turkeys at the Sempervirens Lodge at Little Basin being spotted by locals coming in from Boulder Creek, 2 Robins, and about 10 Varied Thrush.

Reports by Mike and Jeff

Photos by Jeff and Michelle