Hartshorne Trail maintenance info
- Thread starter knobbyhead
- Start date
SmooveP
Well-Known Member
Right back at ya, man. My mantra has always been "Climbing builds character." Still waiting for the character part to kick in, though.
SAM
Well-Known Member
Blocking the old trail? Yes.
On the new section, there was a tree down waist high about half way down. New section ended right on the worst washed out part of the old trail, so it was clear more re-routing is needed.
knobbyhead
Next off the Island.
don
Well-Known Member
Yes - hiked with the dogs there tonight and all the logs are still on trail. At this point I'd see if you can get a saw for Monday's TM.
don
Well-Known Member
It's been a while since the last update but the Monday morning TM's have been going on all summer long. The re-routes at Huber are done and bedding in nicely. @porriggy had us back to Hartshorne last monday and we did a couple TM's on this one short section. It is by Laurel Ridge not far from the alligator. This pic is from the previous TM. It doesn't look like much but there are 5 barrow loads of rock that filled in on the other side of the root/shovel. Further down the team put in a couple of dips to shed water and closed a B line that was developing. The dips were tested this past Friday as a ton of rain came in over night and the dips had new material in them while the main tread kept it's shape.
This is from this past Monday. The dead tree in the previous pic was taken out as was the berm on the outslope side that was catching water and keeping it on trail. The dead tree has a smaller growth off of it so we took the extra time to plant it in an area that was open so hopefully it will grow again and the root system will keep the side hill stable.
Brian mentioned we needed another dip but I didn't want to change the look and feel of that section of trail and another dip seemed forced and would make things too tight. We went farming for a few decent sized rocks to create a slight bump and help with diverting water but once the rock gets exposed from use and weather it should give an interesting look and feel. It took Brian and me about an hour just to get one of the rocks out but it is such a pretty stone and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it beds in with the rest of the trail.
I'm usually not one to take out natural wood parts but roots are one thing and 8" stumps in the middle of the tread are another. I took this one out on the way back to the parking lot last week. Would have been easier with an axe or Polaski but the hand saw and shovels got it done.
@pooriggy has some nice plans for the blown out steep slope further into this trail in the upcoming TM's. The plan is to put a couple more dips in (Iggy and some people did a few on Monday) to shed water coming down and to do a slight re-route at the bottom to bypass the choppy corner and ultra deep sand pit. That part of trail is a little too fall-line and it is certainly banged up from erosion but it is one of Hartshorne's well known sections of trail and it will be a cool to keep it's feel but make a few fixes to improve it and make it more sustainable.
don
Well-Known Member
Forgot the volunteer list :smackshead:
@smann
@knobbyhead
UK Steve
Ronin
Beachboy Brian
and the 2-3 other guys that their names are escaping me right now.
@smann
@knobbyhead
UK Steve
Ronin
Beachboy Brian
and the 2-3 other guys that their names are escaping me right now.
knobbyhead
Next off the Island.
We've been working on the downhill on Laurel Ridge before the sandy turn. This section has gotten a lot worse in the last 5yrs.
We are keeping the same feel of the trail, with adding some grade dips and a reroute will go in near the bottom, which will make the trail a lot more fun and sustainable.
Getting these grade dips in means a lot of digging. Luckily I got some heavy hitters coming out to volunteer. Thanks to @don @knobbyhead , Andrew and Roland.
f you've been enjoying the work at Hartshorne and Huber, please come out and support our efforts, we are always in need of help.
Trails sessions are Mondays 9am-12pm and Thursdays 10-12pm. Please reach out to me if you can make it.Thx!
Chris.brawley@monmouthcountyparks.com
We are keeping the same feel of the trail, with adding some grade dips and a reroute will go in near the bottom, which will make the trail a lot more fun and sustainable.
Getting these grade dips in means a lot of digging. Luckily I got some heavy hitters coming out to volunteer. Thanks to @don @knobbyhead , Andrew and Roland.
f you've been enjoying the work at Hartshorne and Huber, please come out and support our efforts, we are always in need of help.
Trails sessions are Mondays 9am-12pm and Thursdays 10-12pm. Please reach out to me if you can make it.Thx!
Chris.brawley@monmouthcountyparks.com
don
Well-Known Member
Before pic of the main area we worked on yesterday. Like Iggy said the trail has been getting much worse in some areas over the last few years. For the most part the trail has held up decently considering the fall line route and material but this section has gotten "V" out due to the root systems on either side.
We took a half dozen good sized rocks and created a hold point. (BTW - thank goodness we have Roland on the crew - I don't think we would have moved that rock on the right side up the hill without him!) Smaller rocks will filled into the backside and material on top of all that. It's pretty smooth now but with some time, weather and use the rocks will be exposed and it will still have some flavor to it. We also have to remember this trail is marked as a blue so smoothing some of it up brings it closer to that level.
The spot looking down trail. We kept the roots and rock on the inside for someone that wants more chunk.
To keep the water from gaining speed and carrying material down hill we made another drain. With the crew we had yesterday we moved a ton of dirt. Crazy what 5 people can do that can work. It doesn't look like much but where marked on the pic it was 2-3 ft of cutting out with a width of 10ft at the throat. It's a lot of work to do but it's the best way to get lots of water off trail.
We got short timed due to a ground wasp nest so we will finish and tidy up the drain exit next TM. There is a nice fall line drop right after the crossed logs so water will have plenty of area to go.
knobbyhead
Next off the Island.
don
Well-Known Member
We need a space portal between the trails! I'd love to give you guys TM help but the damn drive time is a bitch. I'll get out to one of your spots at some point!
We finished up the last grade dip we left off with and added another into a turn and created some inslope to help you take it at speed. This flows much better then the flat turn and keeps water off the trail.
Given the steepness of this area and potential for water to come off the hillside, you can't have enough grade dips on this section.
We started prepping the next turn with a grade reversal but ran out of time, this turn will then lead into a reroute and we'll close down the straight run into the sandy turn.
Another view looking up.
Another solid session moving a lot of dirt. Thanks @knobbyhead, Brian, Andrew and Roland.
Given the steepness of this area and potential for water to come off the hillside, you can't have enough grade dips on this section.
We started prepping the next turn with a grade reversal but ran out of time, this turn will then lead into a reroute and we'll close down the straight run into the sandy turn.
Another view looking up.
Another solid session moving a lot of dirt. Thanks @knobbyhead, Brian, Andrew and Roland.