Author: Karl Mosgofian

Project: Sugarloaf Mountain Open Space - City of San Mateo

Photo Album: 1801-06 Sugarloaf Mtn 

The Trail Center started 2018 with a bang at Sugarloaf park (Laurelwood Park) in San Mateo.. We had about 40 volunteers show up on a beautiful winter day to continue constructing the new “Segment 3” trail at Sugarloaf. This new trail will connect the Amphitheater Trail that we built a couple years ago with a major trail junction on the south-central side of the park. This was our third workday here, following a poison oak removal day and regular workday both in September. We split into 4 crews to handle the large number of volunteers. We had a few crewleader trainees on hand to continue their apprenticeship towards becoming full-fledged crew leaders. Big thanks goes to the crew leading pairings of Lisa and George, Aaron and Karl, Hank and Eva, and Judd and Lianna. The trainees all did a wonderful job guiding their crews to create magnificent new trail.

Lianna and Judd tackled the most involved section that included about 100 feet of trail construction from scratch over fairly difficult conditions. The enthusiastic crew was able to nearly finish their section with the help of a few folks from other crews at the end of the day. This crew worked the uppermost section of the new trail that is within 100 feet of the existing Amphitheater Trail. Steep banks and clay were among just a few issues they had to deal with.

The crew just below was expertly led by Eva and Hank. Their crew not only finished the section of trail between the two switchbacks and built the lower switchback (including retaining structures), but they were also able to build—unexpectedly—the upper switchback and approaches. With just a few finishing touches, this whole section will be complete.

Karl and Aaron led the crews just below. This crew worked quickly to finish the trail all the way from the lower switchback to the crossing of the illegal bike trail. Impressively, they also built 3 drain dips along the way. A combination of Eva’s and Karl’s crews also started the process of closing off the illegal bike trail. They hauled large logs and a lot of cut brush to block the route, as well as building a few drainage structures on the old trail to help keep it from eroding even more severely than it already is.

Last but not least, the lowest crew led by George and Lisa expertly completed the trail from the illegal bike trail into the gully and all the way out to the proposed retaining wall. Not only that, but they also had time to start widening another 75 foot section of trail beyond the retaining wall.

As usual, the day concluded with fine refreshments delivered by Larry and a lively social hour. Thanks also goes to Judd who towed the tool trailer to the event. We were also able to award Trail Center shirts to 3 more volunteers: Tim, Lucy, and Melissa. The long-sleeved wicking shirts are only awarded to volunteers that attend at least 8 trail events, so these folks should be commended on their continued commitment to local trails and the Trail Center. The next time you see them, make sure you congratulate them on their accomplishment.

With a decent turn out of volunteers in April, we should have no problem cutting a ribbon to signify opening the new trail officially to hikers. I encourage you all to come out on April 21 to join the celebration and fun.

Dave Croker
January 22, 2018

Project: Hidden Villa - Los Altos 

Photo Albums: Long Bunny Loop

On Saturday, December 2, Trail Center completed its first work day at Hidden Villa open space and farm on a portion of the Long Bunny Loop Trail as it parallels an Adobe Creek tributary. We were lucky to have a very strong turnout of about 28 volunteers, including many teenagers.

We had a cool, overcast day for pleasant working conditions. The area of the Long Bunny Loop we worked on weaves among bays and oaks, with occasional openings for more shrubby vegetation. Fortunately, there was only a small portion of poison oak.

The key goals for this work were to replace deteriorated retaining and step structures, improve switchbacks, general tread widening, and brushing. This was also an opportunity for several crew leader trainees to put their recent training to work.

Bill Farrell’s crew focused on replacing two retaining walls totalling 24 feet at the first switchback in the project area. Members Dave K., Frank H., and Lucy made short work of the first wall and did a great job installing and filling in the tread at the second one, before moving on to other tread improvement tasks a bit downhill on the other side of the creek. Bill noted a couple additional places in this stretch that could use more retaining walls.

Crew leader trainee Helen Shaughnessy, backed up by Larry Stites, worked with a very enthusiastic group of high schoolers and one parent to tackle the next two switchbacks. They needed to restore the width of the landings and tread throughout. This involved a lot of dirt hauling to avoid sending the soil onto Bill’s area below. They also trimmed back some downed logs and removed debris that had narrowed the trail.

Hank Magnuski oversaw the next section, joined by Woody Collins and several other experienced volunteers. They did lots of brushing and cleaning of the inside edge to bring the corridor back to a more comfortable width.

Lianna Jewett, a trainee buddied with Hank, and assisted by Jerel, led another crew of teens. They carefully brushed back a section that included some poison oak and performed a lot of tread improvement in their initially assigned area and then further up the trail. Later Hank’s and Lianna’s teams decommissioned a steep shortcut across a gully by scarifying the trail and adding logs to discourage further use of that path.

Karl Mosgofian, in his first outing as a crew leader trainee, focussed on rebuilding a set of steps that had been overtaking by slough filling them in on one side and erosion on the other. Crew member Tom Morse, who knows a thing or two about step construction, and another volunteer not only replaced the planned 9 steps, they also built them with returns that will better hold the soil and then had time to replace an additional 3 steps to finish out the whole course. We were grateful that Jesse, a Hidden Villa staff member, was willing to run up additional materials to this crew and others throughout the day.

Finally, Scott Farnworth, a crew leader trainee and Hidden Villa staffer, led the third group of teenagers (who were out for their second TC project) and a parent, along with experienced volunteer Melissa. Their team was able to construct about another 32 feet of retaining walls at the uppermost section of the site along with doing some tread work. In this area, Woody ended up trimming back some rock and doing a bit of stone work to make a gully crossing more easily navigable.

This was a really satisfying start to working with Hidden Villa to help maintain their trails. We appreciate all that the property management team of Wes Mills, Jesse Dolan and Scott Farnworth did in getting the materials purchased and staged close to the site to allow the crews to get working quickly. We also acknowledge March Sidel, who did a walk-through with Judd to help prioritize projects and get agreement on the work with the stakeholders at Hidden Villa. We look forward to returning in the coming years to giving more love to the Bunny Loops and other trails that Hidden Villa identifies.

Judd Volino
1/14/18

Project: Djerassi Artists Residence Program 

Photo Albums: Djerassi Work Day

On Saturday, October 21st, twenty one volunteers improved the trails at the Djerassi Art Property. This was day two of a crew leader training that began on October 14th, and took place at a unique property located on the west side of Skyline Blvd off of Bear Gulch Road West. It was a beautiful cloudless day, with cool temperatures and sunshine throughout. A recent rain on Thursday considerably improved the workability of the soil from the previous Saturday. Staging was accomplished at the “Old Barn,” which is a picturesque building in the middle of the property, located down a long steep hill.

Four areas, each a spur trail to various art objects created by resident artists over the years, were targeted. The Trail Boss for the day was Dave Taylor.

In site A, the “Roots to Crown” area, Dave Croker was the Crew Leader mentor and he was assisted by Crew Leader Trainees, Lisa Jewett, Eva Franko, and Karl Mosgofian. Volunteers included Claudia Jones and Duc Le. This particular project combined the laying out of an alternative trail, the cutting of the trail, and all the associated tasks with creating a finished product, including brushing and tread work. The decommissioning of the old trail was also required. The result was a considerably safer and more user friendly trail that led one down to a piece of art (a covered stump), an albino redwood, and a spectacular redwood burl on a fallen tree. Before it was completed, this project required the additional assistance of a number of other volunteers so that it could be completed the same day. Their efforts at the end of the day after hiking back to the trailer were much appreciated and enabled closure to this specific trail project.

Site B was the “Nash Charred Sculptures,” “the City of Salt,” and the deconstructed redwood bench area. Larry Stites and Aaron Hieber acted as the Crew Leader Mentors for the sole trainee, Tim Moore. This effort required the construction of two new entrance ramps that provided more inviting and safer entrances to the art work located above and below the road. This required benching and tread work and the removal of a large number of dead redwood spires. One volunteer, Gerard Shuba, assisted in his effort. Particularly noteworthy was that today’s efforts earned Gerard his “green hat” for participating in four Trail Center work days.

Site C was the brushing leading to the “Pixilated Redwood” site and the “Nettle Meadow.” Helen Shaughnessy took the lead in this effort under the mentorship of Hank Magnuski. Frank Hubinsky provided volunteer support. This project involved debris removal, brushing, and the straightening of the trail to make it more visible and walkable. The result was a more inviting and aesthetically pleasing approach to the pixelated redwood area art piece, the trail along the stream, and the trail leading up to the observation bench.

Site D included the switchbacks and trail improvements in the “Pixelated Redwood” area. Under the mentorship of Judd Volino, Xulia Suero, George Willis and Lianna Jewett supervised three volunteers from the Glenwood Correctional Camp and crew leader trainees not in a supervisory role. This effort primarily involved expanding a switchback to make it longer and hence more user friendly, and putting in drains to help protect the steep trail from erosion. The trail was cleaned up to make it more visible. The clay steps were left in place. The crew also brushed the imposing redwood branches under which a wood bench sits and evened out the platform to allow the bench to sit flat again.

A last effort involving Judd Volino and Aaron Hieber, included the removal of a large tree branch growing across the trail and some other brush near the Nash “Nest” area. This was done as volunteers were leaving the area. Of concern was the safety hazard presented by a significantly leaning redwood tree, but fortunately, it decided to fall another day.

The day’s efforts were helped by Kevin Kelsey of Djerassi and his wonder dog, Kuma. Kevin used his Off Road Vehicle to facilitate the transport of the Trail Boss and others and to carry tools up the hills to the trailer at the end of the day. He also provided interested volunteers with a map showing the location of some of the various art pieces on the property.

Special thanks to Eva Franko and Judd Volino for their coordination with Felicia Herron from Djerassi to make this training day a success and to ensure that things went smoothly. Judd and Eva also helped considerably in ferrying volunteers from the entrance gate to the Artists Barn. Aaron Hieber handled check in duties. Larry Stites performed his usual stellar job with snacks and drinks. Finally, a shout out thank you to Hank Magnuski and Dave Croker who received the initial contact from Djerassi, followed up with Felicia, and made two scouting trips to the property.

Submitted by Dave Taylor, Day Supervisor

Project: Djerassi Artists Residence Program 

Photo Albums: Crew Member Training

On Saturday, October 14th fourteen Crew Leader Trainees participated in classroom modules led by Crew Leader Trainers Judd Volino, Bill Farrell, Dave Taylor and Dave Croker, and outdoor training workstations overseen by Larry Stites, Judd Volino, Hank Magnuski and Dave Croker.
Of the fourteen trainees, nine were Trail Center members: Karl Mosgofian, George Willis, Helen Shaughnessy, Lianna Jewett, Kevin Moore, Tim Moore, Aaron Hieber and Lisa Jewett – the last two trainees having participated in training in prior years’ trainings. Hidden Villa had two participants: Ron Badger and Scott Farnworth. UCSF and Sutro Stewards each sent a person to participate: Xulia Suero and Mark Sullivan, respectively. Felicia Herron from our host venue, Djerassi Artists Residency Program participated as well.

Most participants were shuttled in larger vehicles from the Djerassi Bear Gulch parking area to the Artists Barn where the morning’s training took place.

After enjoying food and beverages organized by Larry Stites, trainees sat down to Judd Volino’s introduction to the Trail Center. The floor was then turned over to Felicia Herron to welcome everyone to Djerassi, and provide some history of the property and its mission.

Classroom training began with Judd Volino’s Crew Leader Basics, followed by Bill Farrell’s amusing and memorable “Wait, Wait. Don’t Trails Me!” safety presentation, then Dave Taylor’s Leadership presentation. There was helpful discussion during Dave Taylor’s presentation around challenging crew members. Opportunities for discussion hadn’t been factored well enough into timing; so shifting from the printed schedule, the group broke for lunch just prior to Dave Croker’s Structures presentation.

After Dave Croker’s presentation, the large group of trainees broke up into four smaller groups to hone skills at the four workstations mentioned above. The first crew at each station was responsible for carrying tools down to the site. The last (fourth) crew was responsible for carrying tools back to the trailer. Determination of which tools were needed for which worksites, as well as the hike down to the workstations ate into some of the training time, particularly for those with the longest hike from the tool trailer.

The workstations for the afternoon of training day were as follows: 1) Trail Layout with Dave Croker, 2) Tread with Larry Stites, 3) Drainage with Judd Volino as trainer, and 4) Brushing & Finishing with Hank Magnuski. Trainees spent approximately 45 minutes at each station, then rotated to the next workstation during a 10-15 minute transition time. By the time each trainee group had been through their 45 minute sessions at each station the day was drawing to a close.

During the hike back to the tool trailer, some participants took the opportunity to enjoy some of the sculpture installations as well as do some very light cleanup on the trail between the main road from the Old Barn and the Footnote Bridge

Tools were stowed, and the locked trailer was left parked at Djerassi until the follow week’s workday. Participants shuttled back up to the parking are at the Bear Gulch gate at the end of the day.

And a new crop of crew leaders is in the works!

Submitted by Eva Franko, Crew Leader Training Coordinator