Project: Memorial Park
Photo Album: Memorial Park Trail Photos
San Mateo Memorial Park - Pomponio Trail
Work Day Report
August 24, 2019
Prepared by Bill Farrell/Trail Center
On Saturday, August 24, we returned to San Mateo County’s Memorial Park’s recently reopened Pomponio Trail to complete the work begun on October 13, 2018. The Trail Center was thrilled to participate in this important work, and its crews brought this enthusiasm to Saturday’s workday. The SMCP rangers were delighted for the trail to receive much needed TLC just before Labor Day, the park’s peak busiest weekend.
The weather was clear, with unexpectedly warm temperatures in the low 80’s by workday’s end. The trail tread is a mix of organic, sandy, sandstone soil, nicely workable after last season’s rains. That same rain brought significant overgrowth onto the trail, poison oak flowering everywhere, and even a rattlesnake! While mostly shaded by Douglas fir trees, the work area was occasionally exposed to full sun. Our 18 volunteers, plus 6 staff and crew, were a nice mix of veterans and dedicated new team members.
As before, we staged the trailer and volunteers in the pull-out area immediately before the park entrance kiosk. Bill Farrell got a head start on the group Wednesday afternoon and Tom Morris continued the work early Saturday morning. Both wielded the Shindaiwa weed-whackers like skilled samurai warriors to clear a path through the underbrush. In their wake, the volunteers hiked in one and a half miles (and several hundred feet elevation gain) via the Mt Ellen trail network.
All crews focused on brushing the uphill trailside and restoring trail width, with an eye to minimizing the need for SMCP rangers to return annually to weed-whack this sunlit, well fertilized, and rain drenched slope. Dave C’s crew did a superb job of brushing ceonothus, Douglas fir, coffee berry, coyote brush, and chinquapin while adding a much needed switchback drain. Eva and Karl’s crew made easy work of the worst portion of the trail, re-establishing its tread width in-hill and bypassing that badly eroded stretch. Aaron’s team bravely battled a belligerent ant colony even while rooting and removing an 8’ by 4’ patch of pampas grass that had all but obscured the trail (an all-day yet no insignificant effort).
Addendum: Bill Farrell returned to the worksite on Thursday 8/29/2019 to complete the work through Flag 102, re-establishing trail width for the last and needed 100 yards.
Thank you to all for completing the restoration of Pomponio Trail and making it ready for Labor Day, Memorial Park’s busiest weekend of the year. Visitors to this gem of San Mateo’s park system can now enjoy its hiking for years to come.
Bill Farrell
8/29/19