Left a cooler of ice and sodas, and a Rubbermaid bin full of treats at the trailhead while I went out for a run yeaterday. Enjoyed by many passing thru hikers.
Chatted with people from Ireland, Germany, Canada, Scotland, Holland, England, and all over the US.
Sunday long run up Pacifico mountain. PCT south from Mill Creek to Fountainhead spring then off trail back over the summit with a nap up top. The higher, eastern San Gabriel mountains still have lots of snow, but it’s getting hot and the sun feels intense again.
@jerzone yeah I saw that the other day. I’ve seen heli pickups close up doing trail maintenance. It’s amazing how fast and precise they can be. Cool to see the view from above.
Trail work weekend, day one. Lots of tread work, mostly digging water bars. Pretty happy with this huge one I made to start the day. Took about 4 hours. Ground is perfect after recent rains for digging and shaping.
@ai6yr yeah, accounting for trail animals is a lot. It’s interesting. We always have to look up, imagine someone riding on a horse, and cut branches a lot higher than expected.
@jds Ah, good point on that one! The trails behind my house are rarely maintained (I think it's on a 10 year cycle) so I frequently do "unsanctioned" trail maintenance to keep things from going overgrown. There's a horse owner that uses the trails too who I notice takes out some trimmers EXACTLY for that reason--very high branches riders will hit but us hikers never get close to.
Spontaneous PCT yo-yo up Mt Gleason from home this weekend. Camped at Messenger flats and came down Sunday (nice to get two big days). Chatted with Ranger Todd at the North Fork station. He said he hasn’t seen anyone in two weeks. That’ll change in a month. #PacificCrestTrail#FastPacking#TrailRunning#Hiking
Significantly more climbing day one (going up the mountain after all) but unrolling that elevation gain day two is always the greater strain.
Big 20 degree f temp fluctuations in the afternoons going in and out of canyon shade. Forecast was low of 28 but it only went to 40. We’ve got 12 hours of usable light now also, pretty much 6-6.
@jds It sounds like fun. In fact, the hikers who hit the trails multiple times per month in the White Mountains do just that. There is a website-- New England Trail Conditions-- where hikers report blowdowns, etc... which the people who do the maintenance use. https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/
I don't go frequently enough to be very useful on maintenance, but I do donate money to the cause.
Day one on a PCT trail work project for the long weekend. Rain forecast for Monday so we’ll likely cut short.
Lots of brushing with the brush saws. Loud but satisfying. We’re back where I ran
through last weekend. Clearing south from Pine cyn rd up Liebre mtn to Horse camp.
Got 9 people out today. Nice views north across the desert.
Day 3 of trail maintenance last week wrapped the water control by the new gabion net, then loads of tread work. Photos never show the magnitude of tread work but it was a lot of mudslide relocation (tons of dirt).
Tread work is my favorite, but it’s for sure the most back breaking. Takes a full week off from running to recover. Looks like a new project just posted for next week a little further up trail.
@pkufeldt@jds Oooh, I always wondered how that kind of damage is fixed. I have done a lot of trail maintenance (and even took a trail boss class), but haven't had to deal with anything as major.
We've added cellular voice coverage to our trail maps! You can now see in great detail where along the trail you may or may not have service. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & USCellular. Verizon below along the #PacificCrestTrail.