Cone Peak Trails Network Project Status Update 2010-02-06

[C M Heard]

Hello everybody,

My apologies for the long delay since the last project status update. Work on the Cone Peak Trails Network Project resumed in 2010 with five-day work trip on 2010-01-10 through 2010-01-15 devoted to clearing small trees on the North Coast Ridge and Gamboa Trails and to additional route refinement and brushing work on the portion of the Stone Ridge Trail below the Ojito Saddle. Persistent El Niño storm activity and resultant damage to the Cone Peak Road prevented further work until 2010-01-28, when a survey of the Middle Fork area was conducted with ACE Trail Crew supervisor Josh Shapiro. As a consequence of the adverse conditions we were to log only 87 volunteer hours for the month of January.

In the previous project status update (dated 2009-12-11) I stated that I planned “to devote the entire winter (to the extent that the weather permits)” to the task of opening up the Stone Ridge Trail from the Ojito Saddle toward Goat Camp and then to the Twitchell Flat overlook. Changed circumstances have caused me to rethink that plan.

First, storm damage has rendered the Cone Peak Road temporarily impassable to vehicle traffic — see http://www.ventanawild.org/forum08/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=404#p1668 for details — and it is now a nine-mile hike to get to Trail Spring Camp and an eleven-mile hike to get to the Ojito Saddle, owing to six miles on the road. That greatly increases the difficulty of working in that area.

Second, due to crew availability, we have moved up the tentative date for first ACE crew hitch this year to 2010-02-24 through 2010-03-03. The purpose of this hitch will be to fix storm damage to the previously rehabilitated section of the Stone Ridge Trail and to continue the rehabilitation work in the Middle Fork drainage. Since the crew is to be based as Vicente Flat Camp, it is highly desirable to have the Vicente Flat Trail stock passable from the Cone Peak Road to Vicente Flat Camp. The same storms that damaged the Cone Peak Road also brought numerous trees down on the Vicente Flat Trail — see http://www.ventanawild.org/forum08/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=246#p1675 for details — that need to be cleared in order for that to happen.

For these reasons I’ve decided to devote whatever work days are available between now and 2010-02-24 to getting the Vicente Flat Trail back into stock-passable condition (with a small allowance made for other required preparatory work). The hike to Vicente Flat Camp is manageable if a bit long (six miles from the entrance to the Cone Peak Road) and most of the necessary work can be done solo (the one exception is the 3’ redwood tree near the first stream crossing).

A day trip on 2010-02-03 has already been devoted to this effort, and the next work period scheduled for 2010-02-07 through 2010-02-11 will carry on with that work. I will also be doing another survey of the Middle Fork area with newly hired MRD trail specialist Adam Leavy, with the objective of determining whether the original trail route near the stream crossing can be rebuilt (Josh Shapiro thought so based on what he saw on 2010-01-28).

Besides the ACE crew hitch scheduled for 2010-02-24 through 2010-03-03, we have another two hitches scheduled for 2010-03-24 through 2010-03-31 and 2010-04-07 through 2010-04-14. The current plan — assuming that the Cone Peak Road is repaired between now and then — is to devote the March and April ACE crew hitches to fixing tread on the lower Gamboa Trail and the Stone Ridge Trail so that it’s possible to get to Goat Camp with a heavy pack. That will allow the route finding work in the West Fork drainage to proceed later in the season.

I would like to note that the three ACE crew hitches that we have planned for winter/spring 2010 are being funded by a $25000 grant in honor of the late Jeff Norman to the Ventana Trails Forever Campaign 2008 Fire Fund.

Thanks and regards,

Mike Heard