Author: Karl Mosgofian

Project: Purisima Open Space 

North Ridge, Harkins & Craig Britton Trails - Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
Trail Center Work Day Report
November 3, 2018

Saturday, November 3rd, was the annual Bay Area Ridge Trail service day and the Trail Center partnered with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to run a trail maintenance event at the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space District preserve.

A total of 32 volunteers showed up for this event plus 4 staff from MROSD and representatives from the Bay Area Ridge Trail and REI.

Our task was to do needed maintenance on the North Ridge Trail, the Harkins Ridge Trail and the Craig Britton Trail, all part of the Ridge Trail running through this park. There was a lot of erosion, drainage and gulleys to repair or refurbish along with some tread rework. Five crews were organized led by Lisa Jewett, Judd Volino, Dave Croker, Bill Farrell and Karl Mosgofian. One crew worked the North Ridge, two on the Harkins and two on Craig Britton. Hank Magnuski was supervisor for the day.

For the assigned worksite tasks there was a completion rate of about 105%. All crews managed to get their original assignments done and a number of crews found some bonus projects to do on their sections. Only about two or three flagged sites were deferred as these were really horrible sections of trail that probably needed a backhoe and a dump truck full of base rock to fix. The North Ridge and Harkins Ridge segments are done, and about half of the Craig Britton is waiting for another trail day.

Many thanks go to Brendan Dolan of MROSD for proposing this project and helping to survey it. He also helped coordinate the transfer of tools to the worksite, provision for sanitation, and reservation of the parking lot where we staged our event. We also deeply thank REI for their support, cash contribution and raffle items. For a project with so many people dispersed over a wide area and with so many moving parts, the day went about as flawlessly as could be expected.

Hank Magnuski

Project: San Mateo Memorial Park 

Pomponio Trail - Memorial Park
Trail Center Work Day Report
October 13, 2018

On Saturday, October 13, we returned to San Mateo County’s Memorial Park to work on the long anticipated and recently reopened Pomponio Trail. The trail had been closed for years due to washed out piers under the footbridge at the park’s northwest corner west of Mt Ellen. SMCP recently replaced the damaged bridge with a 36” culvert, and the park rangers were eager to restore the long neglected trail and welcome visitors to this scenic stretch. The Trail Center was thrilled to participate in this important work, and its crews brought this enthusiasm to Saturday’s workday.
The weather was clear, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the high 80’s by workday’s end. The trail tread is a mix of organic, sandy, sandstone soil, mostly workable after last month’s rain. The work area was partially under Douglas fir tree shade and partially under full sun. Our 20 volunteers included a nice mix of experienced and first time volunteers.
As on previous workdays, we staged the trailer and volunteers in the pull-out area immediately before the park entrance kiosk. Ranger Matt Auda-Capel transported our tools to the trailhead in the SMCP pick-up, and he and Dave C helped shuttle volunteers up the hill to the worksite.
Hank’s, Karl’s, and Tim’s crew began at the new culvert, brushing, restoring tread width, and outsloping nearly a quarter mile of trail. Judd’s and George’s crew did similar work for the next quarter mile, including the addition of one drain and the reattachment of existing retaining wall lumber to hat channels. Special kudos to Dave C, the Grim Reaper, for preceding all crews; luckily for all, neither he nor the Shindaiwa ran out of gas.
The Trail Center looks forward to returning to Pomponio Trail, possibly later this spring, to complete the portion between Flag 24 and the Mt Ellen trail network. The Trail Center Projects Committee will coordinate with the Memorial Park rangers to plan this next phase.
Thanks to Dave C for driving the trailer, to Kathy for coordinating our glorious volunteers, and to Larry signing in the volunteers at the beginning of the day and for catering the snacks and beverages at the end of the day.

Project: Quarry Park Half Moon Bay 

On a beautiful Saturday day, 25 volunteers assembled at Quarry Park to complete the re-route started three weeks earlier. As with the previous project, Dave Taylor was the Trail Boss. Crew Leaders included Judd Volino, Eva Franko, and Hank Magnuski paired with George Willis. The Coastside Mountain Bikers contributed several people under the leadership of Ric Barker. Judd, Eva, and Ric helped bring folks from the lower parking area to the Dolphine Road gate that leads to the trail.

Even though only three weeks had passed since the previous projects, vegetation was already sprouting from roots not removed in the previous effort, especially in the upper area. Eva’s crew worked on removing the sprouts as well as remaining coyote brush stumps. She also had to narrow the trail in some places where overly exuberant workers had made it too wide. Hank and Judd’s crews worked on widening the lower trail, as appropriate, removing spoils from the edge, and better defining the trail. Hank’s crew also got the honor of removing a small eucalyptus tree from the middle of the entrance to the trail. The nature of the soil made creating a smooth uniform surface challenging, but all three teams tackled this task with reasonable success. A final smoothing will have to wait until fall/winter rains permit a better, less friable soil to work with. At one point, Ric took another mountain biker, Noel, to brush the upper part of the old trail, which he said would still be used by some bikers as a downhill challenge. It is a part of the trail unsuitable for hiking in either direction (hence the re-route).

Work proceeded quickly, and by 1:30-2, the trail was in sufficiently good shape to call it a day. As in the previous project three weeks earlier, the weather was fantastic, if not hot, and the views were postcard like in their beauty. The ocean was about a blue as it gets and crew leaders had to keep reminding volunteers to drink fluids to avoid dehydration.

Larry Stites again capably handled refreshments, and this time ensured that there was sufficient beer, although there was also less demand due to the smaller workforce. We awarded a green Trail Steward shirt to Julio, for his commitment to attending 8 work days. Julio was very happy to be so honored, and promised he'd wear it on an upcoming hike on the PCT. We also raffled swag from National Trails Day, mainly tee shirts and patches, via a raffle.

Dave Taylor