Save the date for a hike and trail celebration on Little Black Mountain, a Sonoma Land Trust property near Cazadero. Be one of the first to explore the trail (recently upgraded by SCTC) to the “Lone Antler Lookout” and experience the unfolding panoramic vista of Sonoma County’s beyond. Bring a bag lunch and day pack for a picnic along the way. Additional refreshments provided.
This is the trail project SCTC worked on last year (under contract).This is our chance to get out there and see the product of all that hard work. It’ll also be a good time to catch-up with each other and meet some SLT folks. This is special event open to SCTC and SLT members — a perk since this property is generally not open to the public. For more information or to sign-up, please email Sonoma Land Trust
Completed causeway
Thanks to the great efforts of Tim Mayer and the State Parks staff, we successfully repaired a portion of the Spring Creek Trail located about one half mile up from the Spring Creek/Canyon trail intersection. For this project, completed the weekend of Oct. 31/Nov. 1, we built two sections of causeway to elevate the trail through particularly muddy spots. Over the course of the two days, a dozen volunteers prepared the trail bed with McLeods and mattocks, laid down geotextile to prevent materials from sinking into the muck, and moved rock and tread mix in wheelbarrows to create the raised surface before a final compaction.
A few large boulders hid under the tread with only a small portion cropping out — a few volunteers valiantly excavated and moved them out of the way. The other challenge was the amount of traffic on the trail while we worked, which had the benefit of forcing the crew to take frequent breaks.
Check out the rest of Tim’s photos from the project, then take a ride, hike or run to see the finished project. The causeways are located about 1/2 mi. south of the intersection of Spring Creek and Canyon trails; they are roughly 100 yards north of the Ilsanjo spillway drainage.
Now that we have had some rain and the soil is workable we want to begin the long-awaited Spring Creek Trail project. The site, which is about half a mile up the trail from the intersection of the Spring Creek and Canyon trails, is a wet muddy mess in the winter, and we hope to build a long-lasting repair with short sections of causeways.
This summer we hauled rock and tread mix up to the project site, so some of the heavy work has already been done. Now we would like to get together a crew of 6 or 8 to actually build the project. The work will consist of preparing the trail bed with McLeods and mattocks, moving rock and tread mix in wheelbarrows for a short distance (50 to 100 feet, generally downhill), placing materials (fabric, border rocks, drain rock, and tread mix), and finally compacting the surface. We plan to begin work on Saturday, October 31. This trail is gets a lot of use, and we don’t want to leave the project unfinished, so those who can will work on Sunday, Nov 1 as well.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate for the 31st or 1st, we’ll try again the following weekend, Nov. 7th and/or 8th.
Leader for this project is Tim Mayer. Please contact Tim directly to sign up for either (or both) days.
Equestrian, Hiking & Running, Mountain Biking, News, Trail Crew, Trails & Parks
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Annadel, parks, Spring Creek Trail, Trail Crew, trail work, trails
The Trails Council completed our second contract job with the Sonoma Land Trust. We cleared a temporary two mile trail system at the Glen Oaks Ranch in Glen Ellen. The two trails wind through oak woodland above Glen Ellen and offer a great view of the east slopes of Sonoma Mountain. Although it was hot on Glen Oaks Ranch in late August, the small crew blazed through the project. Surprisingly enough, we only found one rattlesnake…
A special thanks to Rob Helms and especially Tim Mayer for a fair amount of legwork both before and after the workday.
Our small contract jobs raise money for our stewardship efforts on more popular public lands. For more information about this property or go on a hike, please visit the SLT website.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the 1st annual Tool & Pool Party. We sharpened and spiffed up our tool collection, cleaned out our tool trailer and had a great time by the pool, thanks to Council VP Ken Wells. If you didn’t make it this time, we hope to see you next year!
All our good trail work means it’s time for a little TLC for our tools…and for ourselves. Join us for an afternoon of tool care, followed by poolside grilling and relaxing at Board VP Ken Well’s house from 1:30-5:30 on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20. No experience necessary — just a willingness to learn the finer points of tool sharpening and tuning up. We’ll provide drinks, in part thanks to Lagunitas and a grill, so bring your suits and something to throw on the barbie. RSVP for directions and details
Tim Mayer led the way in moving several tons of materials to the site of our causeway project on Spring Creek Trail at Annadel State Park We’re now entering the design phase and expect to construct the causeway in October and early November, though the planned State Park closures may affect the schedule. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities for this much needed project.
After 3 years Rob has stepped down from his position as executive director to take on new challenges. He is now employed as a Technical Sales Engineer for West Coast Solar Energy and will be providing clean solar energy at local community events.
From Tim Mayer, crew leader — I know the Trails Council Board will miss the services of Rob Helms when he steps down as Executive Director. We in the field will also miss him. Rob’s extensive knowledge of trail work has been invaluable, and many of us have learned a great deal while working with him. Rob also brings a wonderful enthusiasm and a great sense of humor to the work parties, and that is really important in keeping a crew of volunteers motivated. Rob not only motivates, but has volunteers eager to come back for more. So, best of luck to Rob in his new career, and here’s hoping we’ll see him on the trails.
From Geoffrey Skinner, President, Board of Directors — Rob has been a great asset to the Council, bring to the organization his great energy for organizing events, working on new initiatives, rallying volunteers and more. During his tenure, we have hit the dirt to complete an impressive number of stewardship projects and built up a dedicated and well-trained cadre of volunteers. I am one of those volunteers motivated to come back by Rob’s enthusiasm and I not only joined the organization, but joined the Board as well. I speak for the Board in saying we’ll miss him as our Director, we wish him great success in the future. Thanks for everything, Rob!
We had another successful weekend of trail work at Salt Point State Park for National Trails Day. A big thanks to parks employee Beth Robinson for coordinating the project with the Trails Council and her excellent leadership. Parks employee Karen Broderick for preparing all the excellent food. And of course, our volunteers and crew leaders who repaired steps, brushed and cleared 15 miles of trail, and repaired 30 hike and bike campsites!
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