Do you ever feel bad about yourself for not ever pitching in to help with trail work? Well this wind storm has given you a golden opportunity to get out of the wagon and help push! There's an enormous amount of windfall and debris on the trails all over the Puget Sound area. It's gonna take a village to fix this mess. Even if you just pick up a few branches you would be infinitely more useful than most. This big task is totally doable if lots of hikers pitch in.
I was very pleased to see the King Co maintenance crews out on a Saturday using a chain saw to clear some large windfall. Thank you to them!
The lower portion of the Surprise Creek trail is not officially recognized by King Co. The trail dates back to the early days of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. It used to cross private property but this was purchased by King Co last year. The trail was in very poor condition due to erosion from bad drainage and lack of maintenance. This was all recently beautifully fixed by an anonymous trail angle. It's now a beautiful trail with excellent tread.
There were two major impassable windfall on this trail that I cleared with a hand saw. It's in great shape now. It makes a great loop with the Shangri La Trail.
4mi, 800ft.
Comments
mtnlou on Surprise Creek, Shangri La
Thank you for your work!
Posted by:
mtnlou on Nov 23, 2024 04:27 PM
Ups n Downs on Surprise Creek, Shangri La
Nice work, thanks!
Posted by:
Ups n Downs on Nov 24, 2024 08:32 AM
Bob and Barb on Surprise Creek, Shangri La
Thank you for your time and work which are much appreciated!
Posted by:
Bob and Barb on Nov 24, 2024 11:20 AM
scottsemans on Surprise Creek, Shangri La
Thanks for all you do on this and so many other trails. The brushing on this wet trail prior to the blowdown was excellent and kept down the nettles and other fast-growing stuff. I hope others will be inspired and carry saws from now on. I'll post a "tutorial" separately.
Posted by:
scottsemans on Dec 02, 2024 12:38 PM
scottsemans on Surprise Creek, Shangri La
I’m trying to spread the word for fellow helpful hikers: Heave-It-or-Leave-It! HEAVE IT: Cut forked branches for easier handling. Toss, drag, or roll branches or logs WELL AWAY, downhill, or: LEAVE IT: Kick or drop cut limbs parallel with and ON the downside of trail, short of vegetation and not in a ditch. Wood tossed uphill migrates back down. Wood piled on trailside plants kills wanted vegetation, gives root shelter to trail invading species, fouls brushing equipment, clogs drainage ditches, and looks unnatural. Wood aligned cleanly ON the tread can be heaved by others, or rot with minimal blockage or trail damage.
Posted by:
scottsemans on Dec 02, 2024 12:39 PM