Author: John Harch

Fourteen MSTA volunteers met yesterday morning to fix the washed-out drainage in Cascade Gulch. We were joined by Carolyn Napper (USFS District Ranger) and Forrest Coots (the new trail coordinator for the USFS)!!

In less than two hours, our ant colony hauled rocks and boulders to the drainage site, dug them in place, and prepared the gully for the deluge we are all hoping for. Carolyn, Rick Chitwood, and Scott Anderson acted as engineers for the rock placement (along with others). This should stabilize the trail crossing for a while. Thanks to all who helped.

REMINDER:

We’re meeting at 9 am this Saturday just across from McBride Springs Campground on Everitt Memorial Hwy to repair the drainage in Cascade Gulch before more rain comes. It will be like creating a big rock puzzle just below the culvert, and will stabilize the Muir’s Ascension Trail.

Also, for those who don’t want to move or place rocks, Mike Hupp will be leading a group of bicyclists from the McBride meeting site up to the Ten Gallon Trailhead where you can park your car, jump on your bike, and ride down the Bear Springs Trail to cover slash piles with new plastic. You’ll get a workout and do some important trail work.

Don’t miss the fun!

We’ve posted the first in a series of updates describing Gateway Trail construction. The first blog can be found on the dedicated Gateway website, here. Maps of which trails have been completed will follow, and you can find a high-resolution map of all the planned trails with names on the site.

OK. The date is chosen. Let’s meet to fix the eroded crossing of Muir’s Ascension in Cascade Gulch just above McBride Springs on Saturday, Oct. 29. This is the segment of trail between McBride Springs and Ten Gallon that got partially washed out about 6 weeks ago.

We’ll need to fetch rocks and boulders nearby (there are lot of them, fortunately) and fit them into the drainage like a puzzle. It will be a fun project, and we’ll actually have people with knowledge to guide us on technique.

Let’s meet on Everitt Memorial Hwy just across from McBride Springs Campground at 9 am. If we pull the cars forward about 100 yards, we’ll be about 50 ft. from the worksite.

We hope to make this a group effort between MSTA, BikeShasta, and SORA. See you there!

It is obvious that US Forest Service fire crews have been working tirelessly to help stop these terrible fires that are threatening all of us. But it’s important to also give them credit for other work that has moved the Gateway Trail Project forward. Several weeks ago, USFS fire crews from Missouri and Colorado joined our local crew from McCloud to engage in fire training. As part of that, they were assigned to consolidate and cover existing slash piles on some newly constructed Gateway Trails, and then remove brush on another new trail (Community Zone segment 6). This work is slow, hot, and very difficult, but it’s essential to prepare the trail corridor for Trail Labs to begin the excavation. Without it, there are no new trails through the heavily overgrown forest sections. In addition, every hour of this work done by the USFS saves MSTA on construction costs. Shown are Nick and Orion as they chop up a brush pile so it can be covered and burned this winter. The second photo shows the wide corridor and huge piles in preparation for the next phase of construction.

Below is a link to the press release that announces SORA’s (Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance’s) receipt of a $1.1 mil grant to dramatically increase the facilities at the Nordic Center and to build 5 miles of new trail in the Gateway Trail System. While this is an amazing benefit for all the back-country skiers and snowshoers, it also means that MSTA now has an additional five miles of trail construction funded.

The press release also shows the map of planned trails and how they fit together. Note that SORA’s grant will fund the key connector trails currently identified as BMZ-8, 9, 13, and 14 (seen in orange on the map, with arrows and labels). MSTA will soon be posting updates on other trails recently constructed in the system and those will be available on the Gateway Trail website, gatewaytrail.org

This is a big deal.

https://siskiyououtdooralliance.org/news/sora-awarded-11m-rpp-grant

If you’d like to have a say in the naming of the new Gateway Trails, go to this website created by Bike Shasta and vote. There are several options for each trail.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNT77H3sUYOP1KvYFHxTiorZHvdWmeyVusMyiibfKLRXGpUw/viewform?usp=sf_link

We’re having one more trail work day before a little break. We need to clear the St. Barnabas Trail using weed whackers and brush hogs. We’ll plan to start at 8 am and finish before 10. We have six, powered weed-eating machines. We’ll need some raking done too.

Meet in the St. Barnabas parking lot around 8 (although you can come anytime afterward and leave when you wish). That’s tomorrow, Thursday, July 21.

This is what you’ve all been waiting for! The annual Spring Hill Trailhead cleanup with Boy Scout Troop 97!

To avoid the heat, we’ll start at 6 pm. It usually takes an hour or two. Bring weed whackers and rakes, although we’ll have a number of them, as well as two, walk-behind string trimmers. This is a fun event and an opportunity to see the Boy Scouts show off their work ethic.

Come to help or come to harass.

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Trail Center crew from the Bay Area worked with our local volunteers to greatly improve the upper portion of Sisson’s Trail near McBride Springs. A short reroute was created to avoid a ditch, brushing and trail widening was accomplished, and professional-grade water bars were created in some areas where erosion problems demanded them. Everyone worked their tails off. Many thanks to this group of visitors, as well as our local volunteers, some of whom assisted Glenn Harvey with food, drink, and dishes at the KOA campground all weekend.