Dig stoke, who else likes to play in the dirt???

[evdog]

Erosion is killing it from idiots riding it wet and ebike mania. That is one thing man, ebikes can hammer punchy tight Ups. There's virtually no rock in SC to build sustainable tight lines. Soil turns bulletproof when dry, but we're in the wet season.

I hear you. We've done a ton of work this year and last to install drains to help the trails dry out faster. But people still won't stay off them when wet. And the bad spots have water that seeps out of the hillside for weeks once saturated, so the trails are "fine," except where they're not.

This is one of the seeps onto a switchback. I've already dug out goopy mud here twice and people keep riding it and leaving ruts. But apparently a couple handfulls of grass makes it ok to ride.




When in doubt, just cut the corner. This trail is mostly a climbing trail so I'm guessing it is ebikes doing this on the climb.




Our biggest problem is riders who go off trail to try and avoid muddy spots. Never seems to work but they keep going wider and wider.

We are using a new access point this winter due to sewer line replacement at the usual spot. The two photos below were both narrow singletrack before this wet season. It gets wider every time I'm out.

What I don't get is people get covered in mud while they rail the DH's in this network but then they act like entitled princesses every time they get to slow, flat sections like these.

[Abies]

I hope it’s ok to post this here but let me know if not. We are starting to build a beginner skills area at our local system here in NorCal and are looking for donations to keep hiring an operator to build tread. All of the other trails are hand-built and pretty steep/rugged so the hope is this machine built addition will be more friendly to newcomers including the new middle/high school NICA team. Link: https://wactrails.wixsite.com/ride

And if anyone happens to be driving 101 through Mendocino county, come check out Brooktrails! It’s a small system but there are cool trails worth riding.


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[jackstraw]

Yeah Evdog, I think people assume they shouldn't ride thru the mud because it will make the trail worse...idk. I'm headed up soon to do some water mitigation on an eroded section before this next bout of rain.

[LeeLau]

Nice day to wander around, rake the trails great again, forest-bathe and decorate berms with moss

[skinipenem]

Yeah Evdog, I think people assume they shouldn't ride thru the mud because it will make the trail worse...idk. I'm headed up soon to do some water mitigation on an eroded section before this next bout of rain.

I think most people don't know that they should ride through the center of a puddle instead of around it even though it is common sense. This is assuming the trail isn't too wet to ride in the first place.

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[jackstraw]

This trail is one of the few primary Ups, so it sees a ton of traffic. Just beyond this underpass it opens up into dbl tracks and single tracks of the big network. I didn't take a before pic, but this was multiple puddles. The little pitch up was two levels with the primary being left side as the right was like riding a skinny. There was a big gully and puddle at the base of this and just a mess. It's a choke point, so expected.

I put in over 2hrs clearing and rerouting the stream away from the trail and then shaving the wall to make the right line an easier option, and then tried to make the left line the same level so it's all one level. The problem is it needs to dry and set up. Otherwise this is and will be 6-8" of a muddy mess. I blocked it with sticks...we shall see.

Then it poured...


Checked on it yesterday and a bit messy. Will need some clean up after the rain.

[evdog]

I think most people don't know that they should ride through the center of a puddle instead of around it even though it is common sense. This is assuming the trail isn't too wet to ride in the first place.

I think the idiots down here are just trying to keep their bikes clean. When there are already a dozen ruts going wide from people going around a puddle it should be obvious you're doing damage by doing the same

[Abies]

We started on our beginner hill and have already made huge progress. Really cool to watch these small excavators operate. This machine built area will be a nice alternative to the steeper spicier lines in the system and ultimately will have short descent options with features newer riders can session and use to progress


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[jackstraw]

I built a beginner/intermediate area just based on the terrain available and it truly has become my favorite build because of all the little kids, moms, and dads that use it. Some of those little groms will be rippin' in the years to come

[Abies]

Yeah I’m really excited about this project. It’s so important in these small towns for kids to have access to open space/stuff to do.


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[evdog]

I opened up the new trail at the top a few days ago and a few people have found and ridden it. I forgot my go-pro that day but brought it out today when I went out to do some touch-ups.

It's short but action packed and pretty fun.

[LeeLau]

In an effort to reverse a trend to decomission sick skinnies & jank; presented here are 2 verdant log rides cos green means grip.

The play is to bunny hop onto the first one, then either wheelie drop off the side & ride the forest floor to the second sick log or, the pro Jerry Willows move would be to gap transfer from the first to the second log ride.

Raked the surroundings for safety. Left strategic punji sticks at ride- arounds to keep people honest.

[jackstraw]

.

Then it poured...


Checked on it yesterday and a bit messy. Will need some clean up after the rain.

Question - this is a hot mess. I think the soil has a good amount of clay. The stream has produced some gravel and I'm wondering if I should mix that in? Or would that just create ball bearings mixed with slippery clay doubling the junkshow?

[jackstraw]

I opened up the new trail at the top a few days ago and a few people have found and ridden it. I forgot my go-pro that day but brought it out today when I went out to do some touch-ups.

It's short but action packed and pretty fun.

Oh hell yeah! Dig those boulders! Nice!

[evdog]

Question - this is a hot mess. I think the soil has a good amount of clay. The stream has produced some gravel and I'm wondering if I should mix that in? Or would that just create ball bearings mixed with slippery clay doubling the junkshow?

I recently dealt with a section that looked a bit like that one. I had a small trench on one side that someone dug in an attempt to capture water seeping out of the hillside. The tread was flat-ish with low and muddy spots, made worse since people wouldn't stay off of it.

I dug the trench 6-8" deeper so that the water table (water flowing down it) is lower than the tread to hopefully avoid moisture seeping into the surface tread. And I did some excavating to outslope it more so any water that lands on the surface can run off into the trench. Plus a drain at the top where water was also seeping onto the flat spot. I thought I might have to bring in more dirt from a bit higher on the trail but the drainage work that I did really helped and the trail surface is a lot firmer now. At least, it survived the last two storms pretty well.

In your case it looks like you might have water flowing down onto the trail from the upslope in one spot? I'd try to dig the trench deeper to keep water further from the tread. And if I'm right about water draining onto the trail it needs to have a place right there to drain. Looks like there is a bit of a berm on the outside of the tread just below that? You'll either need a grade reversal or a drain below where the water drains on, or remove the berm and outslope the trail. Importing some better dirt might help too but won't be enough if water isn't getting off the trail.

Pics of the area I dealt with:




I put down some debris to keep people off the softer side and forgot to take a pic before that. But the water had flowed off it into the trench and it had already firmed up some in the couple hours I was there.

[jackstraw]

Yeah, the trail is in a natural little creek bed from what appears to be a natural spring. There are a million springs here which are nice for the dry season. So this section of trail is alongside a steep slope that drains right into the trail. No avoiding it. I was just trying to avoid the puddles forming by making the trail slope into the creek as well. I think once we get out of the wet pattern and it sets up it will be fine, but just getting to that point with the trail in a sustainable drainage angle will be the challenge. Just too much traffic when the soil is wet enough to be workable.

[evdog]

Could you do a French drain to get water across the trail? Just have a dump truck drop gravel off the bridge. : )

[jackstraw]

Ha! That road goes to a dead end parking lot at ucsc 100yds up. The water comes from everywhere, so drains won't really help. The trail needs to be built at an angle to drain naturally.

[evdog]

Put the finishing touch on the new trail tonite.

Had a visitor slither past in between coats. Might not have even noticed if it didn't hiss at me on the way past.

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[evdog]

Ha. So the only answer is a trench on both sides!

[Andeh]

We've had good success about an hour north of you dealing with water in similar soil by doing either:
1) a few sump holes about 6" dia drilled about 2' deep with a battery powered auger. Drill these on the low side of a trail (or inside of a corner) and all the water has a place to go.
2) slot trench along the side of the trail, coupled with a buried piece of 6" corrugated plastic pipe across the trail. You need the trench to get the water to the pipe. Don't use fabric covers on the end because they just silt up.

Both of those require seasonal maintenance, ideally in the fall before rains come. The sump holes need to be redrilled to get rid of silt & leaves, the pipe needs to be cleaned out and the entrance cleared.

[jackstraw]

I think it's just going to be slick in the rainy season. This is barely a "trail". It's just an access to the trails. You can bypass it by riding the road over that bridge, so I'm not going to spend too much time on it.

[jackstraw]

I'm done. This will be plenty fine for what it is.

Did a little drainage on this puddle too. Probably won't last too long, but should help.
I dig this ebike commuter for trail work.

[jackstraw]

Note to self. If someone wants to head down to Fort Ord to do a build kindly decline

"California park warns of illegal trails near 'unexploded' grenades"

https://www.sfgate.com/california-pa...s-19373922.php

[raisingarizona13]

Working on a fun feature.

Building the landing that will join two trails and share one landing.
Attachment 486900

Bomber is the left trail, blast-off is the right side. We should be able to put in the two wedges this weekend!!
Attachment 486901

This thing is like 20-22feet across!



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Blast Off? This trail is sick! I love the use of natural rock integrated into the big, jump features. I need to get there. Maybe this summer.