We were back in the park in the HQ area. There was a report of a down tree on Shadow Brook Trail about 200 m east of the Schultz bridge at the Kirsch Trail. It was there and not much of a problem.
See you on the trails
Jeff
Saturday, November 12, 2011
November 12 2011 - Shadow Brook
We were back in the park in the HQ area. There was a report of a down tree on Shadow Brook Trail about 200 m east of the Schultz bridge at the Kirsch Trail. It was there and not much of a problem.
See you on the trails
Jeff
Sunday, October 9, 2011
October 8 2011 - RDO
We were back out to the coast at RDO. There was some brushing on the trails, which was taken care of by a crew of three and the rest of the 12 were sent to the Nature Center. There was 3 jobs here and they were to remove a Myrtle to make room for a birding scope (yeah), planting a large board, and securing self guided trail sign posts.
Start with the holes
Measure up the posts
Plant the sign
After lunch we headed out STS to a slide area about a mile past the Twin Redwood Campground. We had opened this section a last October. We attacked this like the beams for the Schulz bridge: make it wider than you need.
Slide narrowed the area to a foot path.
We all know what this reminds us of
Mean while, the real work is being done by.
We left this root last time.
It almost got the better of one member.
This was one of our longest days, which ended around 5. It was a little longer for a couple of us but we did put in 110 hours, which put us within 160 hours to the magical 1000 mark. I would like to thank everyone that showed up, which were Tom, Dale1, Sara, Josh, Dale2, Gene, Janette, Francis, Janie, Bill, Michelle, and me. So most by now know that I'm an avid birder so for the bird count there were 35 species identified with the most notable being an Osprey, Kingfisher, and Rail.
Hope to see you soon on the trails.
Jeff
Start with the holes
Measure up the posts
Plant the signAfter lunch we headed out STS to a slide area about a mile past the Twin Redwood Campground. We had opened this section a last October. We attacked this like the beams for the Schulz bridge: make it wider than you need.
Slide narrowed the area to a foot path.
We all know what this reminds us of
Mean while, the real work is being done by.
We left this root last time.
It almost got the better of one member.This was one of our longest days, which ended around 5. It was a little longer for a couple of us but we did put in 110 hours, which put us within 160 hours to the magical 1000 mark. I would like to thank everyone that showed up, which were Tom, Dale1, Sara, Josh, Dale2, Gene, Janette, Francis, Janie, Bill, Michelle, and me. So most by now know that I'm an avid birder so for the bird count there were 35 species identified with the most notable being an Osprey, Kingfisher, and Rail.
Hope to see you soon on the trails.
Jeff
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 2011 - STS - Timm's - Sunset Loop
We were back at the park HQ this month with a plan to brush Pine Mountain trail but the big board had 5 trees down on the Skyline to the Sea (STS), Alternate, and Timm's Creek trails. We split up to take care of a couple of things, one to open up the burnt out redwood on the Redwood Loop.
A second crew took care of fir that had fallen across Dool trail very near STS. The tree had fallen from the picnic area off of Gazos Creek fire road across the ravine landing on the trail (close to 100 feet at least).
It took about a half hour to clear the trail but it looked great after the work was done.
The two crews came together at the regular spot at Middle Ridge and Sunset intersection. The Loop crew first took care of a fire pit off Middle Ridge and then we headed down Sunset to the Connector then up STS towards the first obstruction - 2 Tan Oaks.
It took 3 cuts to clear the trail then we were off to the second area on the Alternate trail that parallels STS.
This was an easy clear but there was also some brushing required since we haven't been on this trail for a number of years. As we headed toward the last report on Timm's Creek trail we came across these bright blue berries.
Red Clintonia (Clintonia andrewsiana) Family liliaceae (lily), Common Name: bead lily
The board said that the tree down on Timm's Creek was 2-3 feet but we figured it was probably 1-2 feet and the small 14" bar saw would do the trick, plus it's a lot lighter than my Husqvarna 55.
On a redwood, we came across this Wood Wasp Urocerus gigas, which was about 3 inches long.
It turned out that the tree was close to 4 feet and that would require a bigger saw. We cleaned up around the tree to make it easier to climb over and then started back up Timm's Creek and then along Sunset. It's been years since we did this loop in this direction and I now know why. Going back STS is a gradual stead climb out but Timm's has a steep section up to Sunset and then Sunset has 3 steep sections over 2.5 miles, which seems to take forever.
We hiked close to 6 miles making for a long day, plus it was humid from the remanence of a monsoon from Arizona. There was 10 members out and I would like to thank Dale P., Dale S., Fran, Herman, Gene, Norm, Tom, Bill, and Janie for all the hard work. We put in 85 hours on our way to maybe another 1000+ hour year. We have put in 731 hours so far with 269 to reach 1000 hours.
See you on the trail
Jeff
A second crew took care of fir that had fallen across Dool trail very near STS. The tree had fallen from the picnic area off of Gazos Creek fire road across the ravine landing on the trail (close to 100 feet at least).
It took about a half hour to clear the trail but it looked great after the work was done.
The two crews came together at the regular spot at Middle Ridge and Sunset intersection. The Loop crew first took care of a fire pit off Middle Ridge and then we headed down Sunset to the Connector then up STS towards the first obstruction - 2 Tan Oaks.
It took 3 cuts to clear the trail then we were off to the second area on the Alternate trail that parallels STS.
This was an easy clear but there was also some brushing required since we haven't been on this trail for a number of years. As we headed toward the last report on Timm's Creek trail we came across these bright blue berries.
Red Clintonia (Clintonia andrewsiana) Family liliaceae (lily), Common Name: bead lily 
The board said that the tree down on Timm's Creek was 2-3 feet but we figured it was probably 1-2 feet and the small 14" bar saw would do the trick, plus it's a lot lighter than my Husqvarna 55. 
On a redwood, we came across this Wood Wasp Urocerus gigas, which was about 3 inches long.
It turned out that the tree was close to 4 feet and that would require a bigger saw. We cleaned up around the tree to make it easier to climb over and then started back up Timm's Creek and then along Sunset. It's been years since we did this loop in this direction and I now know why. Going back STS is a gradual stead climb out but Timm's has a steep section up to Sunset and then Sunset has 3 steep sections over 2.5 miles, which seems to take forever.We hiked close to 6 miles making for a long day, plus it was humid from the remanence of a monsoon from Arizona. There was 10 members out and I would like to thank Dale P., Dale S., Fran, Herman, Gene, Norm, Tom, Bill, and Janie for all the hard work. We put in 85 hours on our way to maybe another 1000+ hour year. We have put in 731 hours so far with 269 to reach 1000 hours.
See you on the trail
Jeff
Sunday, August 14, 2011
August 2011 - Myer's Loop
Our friend from the Sempervirens Fund, Linda was is need of the BBVTC support in clearing Myer's Loop. We haven't been out to Myer's Loop (also know as Micheal's Loop) in the most southern part of Castle Rock State Park since May 2009. This is a beautiful section of mixed forest from chaparral to oak to redwoods.
There were 13 crew members out so we decided to split up with one group starting from the bottom and a second starting from the top. The top section started out in a Tan Oak forest.
We reached the top and started the decent and slowly the forest turned into redwoods.
In the upper section there was some brushing and we had to reroute a section of the trail around a oak that had fallen on the trail.
There were numerous fallen trees but an interest one was this one.
A number of oaks fell across the trail with the largest falling through two trees and across the trail.
It took one cut and when it was cut through the 30 foot section slowing swung across the trail and ended up 5 feet off the trail.
Every few meters there was another tree across the trail and when we met up with the crew coming up from the bottom we reached a Madrone that was very interesting. Take a look at the video.
The two crews cleared 31 trees from the loop with the bottom crew clearing 15 with the largest being 24" and the top crew clearing 16 with the largest being the 20" Madrone.
It was a great work day with the addition of a new volunteer. I would like to thank everyone for a record day on clear trail blockages. Thanks to Dale S., Janie, Bill, Francis, Gene, Janette, Josh, Tom, Peter, Michelle, Fran, Tim, and me. We put in 91 hours and year to date we have accumulated 646 volunteer hours.
See you on the trails
Jeff
There were 13 crew members out so we decided to split up with one group starting from the bottom and a second starting from the top. The top section started out in a Tan Oak forest.
We reached the top and started the decent and slowly the forest turned into redwoods.
In the upper section there was some brushing and we had to reroute a section of the trail around a oak that had fallen on the trail.
There were numerous fallen trees but an interest one was this one.
A number of oaks fell across the trail with the largest falling through two trees and across the trail.
It took one cut and when it was cut through the 30 foot section slowing swung across the trail and ended up 5 feet off the trail.
Every few meters there was another tree across the trail and when we met up with the crew coming up from the bottom we reached a Madrone that was very interesting. Take a look at the video.The two crews cleared 31 trees from the loop with the bottom crew clearing 15 with the largest being 24" and the top crew clearing 16 with the largest being the 20" Madrone.
It was a great work day with the addition of a new volunteer. I would like to thank everyone for a record day on clear trail blockages. Thanks to Dale S., Janie, Bill, Francis, Gene, Janette, Josh, Tom, Peter, Michelle, Fran, Tim, and me. We put in 91 hours and year to date we have accumulated 646 volunteer hours.
See you on the trails
Jeff
Sunday, July 10, 2011
July 2011 - Back to HQ
After spending 2 months on the coast we were back in our normal turf. However, if you need the BBVTC to work offer up food. Last month Marti offered up a BBQ after finishing a couple of jobs at RDO.
Linda had reported a large Fir and Tan Oak down on the STS trail near the junction where Hollow Tree trail makes a left.
Tan Oak just before Fir
Fir that was difficult to climb over
First cut on the Fir
Second cut and both the first and second section had to be removed using a level with the fulcrum being the Tan Oak section. The Fir had made a depression about 2 feet deep.
Nearly cleared
Job well done. It is amazing how much can get done with the right tools (Big Bertha) and the volunteer powering the effort.
Lunch was at the Kiosk and the mosquitoes were attacking all of us. With a scarf the attack was abated.
The rest of the day was in the search of a small tree down on Sunset or Dool. As often happens there was no tree but we did pass this impressive Redwood that has be burned out in the middle.
So if you have the bandwidth, here is a short video of how much a log can be.
Thanks to Dale, Josh, Bill, Janie, Gene, Janette, Michele, Peter, and Tom for a great job on clearing the STS trail. With half the year over we are at 555 volunteer hours and on the way to reaching 1000 hours and maybe more than last years 1015 hours.
See you on the trails
Jeff
Linda had reported a large Fir and Tan Oak down on the STS trail near the junction where Hollow Tree trail makes a left.
Tan Oak just before Fir
Fir that was difficult to climb over
First cut on the Fir
Second cut and both the first and second section had to be removed using a level with the fulcrum being the Tan Oak section. The Fir had made a depression about 2 feet deep.
Nearly cleared
Job well done. It is amazing how much can get done with the right tools (Big Bertha) and the volunteer powering the effort.
Lunch was at the Kiosk and the mosquitoes were attacking all of us. With a scarf the attack was abated.The rest of the day was in the search of a small tree down on Sunset or Dool. As often happens there was no tree but we did pass this impressive Redwood that has be burned out in the middle.
So if you have the bandwidth, here is a short video of how much a log can be.Thanks to Dale, Josh, Bill, Janie, Gene, Janette, Michele, Peter, and Tom for a great job on clearing the STS trail. With half the year over we are at 555 volunteer hours and on the way to reaching 1000 hours and maybe more than last years 1015 hours.
See you on the trails
Jeff
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 2011: RDO
First I would like to pass on an appreciation from Kevin Williams from last month.
This month we headed to the coast this time out. Rain was in the forecast but all we had were clouds.
We met at the RDO HQ and Marti set us to work. A Scrub Jay welcomed us as well as a number of other birds.
Our first project was Twin Redwood camp grounds. There was a large 3 foot diameter oak down through campsites 5 and 6. I worked on the trail while Peter tackle the top of the tree.
There was a lot of work done on bring the sites up to standard. But the biggest effort was finding a place for all the limbs and stuff from the limbing of the oak.
We put in posts for campsite location markers and directions. Once again it amazes me what volunteers in number can do.
We moved the larger sections to the campsite to make a comfortable place to sit for the visitors.
The next job was to clean up Alder campsite. This job was to create a campsite and to take down the grass. We planned a few post and ended the day.
We had 9 members out and a special thanks to Roger, Gene, Janette, Fran, Tim, Peter, Mike, and Tom. Next month the plan is to head back out to RDO since Marti has offer up a BBQ. We should respond in kind with an offering of a pot luck dish.
Here's another thanks to the trail crew.
Jeff
Hi Jeff and crew,
As always, the volunteer crew amazes me with the spirit and work accomplished each month in the Santa Cruz Mountain parks. It has been a real help so that others can enjoy the trails and sights safely! Kudos again for all the winter storm repairs removing tree falls, repairing smashed bridges, and rerouting trails around thousand year old trees that fell down!!
Thank you on behalf of the people of California, the park staff, and California State Parks!
Let me know if there is anything we can do to help.
Kevin
This month we headed to the coast this time out. Rain was in the forecast but all we had were clouds.
We met at the RDO HQ and Marti set us to work. A Scrub Jay welcomed us as well as a number of other birds.
Our first project was Twin Redwood camp grounds. There was a large 3 foot diameter oak down through campsites 5 and 6. I worked on the trail while Peter tackle the top of the tree.
There was a lot of work done on bring the sites up to standard. But the biggest effort was finding a place for all the limbs and stuff from the limbing of the oak.
We put in posts for campsite location markers and directions. Once again it amazes me what volunteers in number can do.
We moved the larger sections to the campsite to make a comfortable place to sit for the visitors.
The next job was to clean up Alder campsite. This job was to create a campsite and to take down the grass. We planned a few post and ended the day.
We had 9 members out and a special thanks to Roger, Gene, Janette, Fran, Tim, Peter, Mike, and Tom. Next month the plan is to head back out to RDO since Marti has offer up a BBQ. We should respond in kind with an offering of a pot luck dish.Here's another thanks to the trail crew.
HEY MIKE,
WANTED TO THANK YOU AND THE CREW FOR A GREAT JOB TODAY. YOU GUYS ROCK! i AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTHS BAR-b-QUE.
THANKS AGAIN. MARTI
See you on the trailsJeff
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