Sat 8/7: Cardigan West Ridge Trail \ Cliff’s Bridge

by Scott MacFaden

We had a good day on the trail. Conditions were somewhat muggy but not oppressive, and many folks were out enjoying a fine August day on mighty Mt. Cardigan. Numerous hikers expressed their thanks to the crew for its decades of service to the trails on Cardigan, and it is gratifying to know that the hiking community supports our efforts.

A brief summary of our activities follows below.

• We re-dug seven "drains", starting with the one just below the Skyland Trail and then working downhill. In trailwork parlance, drains are features we build into the trail to divert rainwater and snowmelt off to the side of the trail instead of running straight down the trailbed. Well-constructed and placed drains help to minimize erosion and retain soil, and are essential for the long-term viability of any trail that includes appreciable topography.Almost all of the drains we attended to were choked full of debris, including organic matter and mineral soils. All were failing to various degrees, with this failure exacerbated by July’s record rains.

• The drain we spent the most time on is profiled in the photos accompanying this report. In addition to completely re-digging and expanding the drain, we also installed two new rock steps on either side of where the drain crosses the trail, built a rock scree wall, and installed a thick wall of "veggie" scree barricade to curtail hikers from continuing to expand the trail width. For the uninitiated, veggie scree is not some exotic type of vegetarian dish, but a barricade constructed of any downed trees and branches we can find within reasonable proximity to a work area.

• We installed similar barricades at several other locations, including at (of all places) Cliff’s Bridge. For those unfamilar with the West Ridge Trail, Cliff's Bridge crosses a small gorge and associated streambed just above the junction with the Skyland Trail. It was evident that hikers are dropping down into the brook bed and avoiding the bridge, behavior that is especially puzzling given the safe and easy passage the bridge provides. The barricade should help encourage hikers to stay out of the brook bed and make use of the bridge. It was built in 1986 and rebuilt in 1999 by CHVTC. It is named in honor of Trailmaster Craig Sanborn's late father Clifford, 1913-1986, 153rd Co. C.C.C. 1933-1935.

• Two of today's crew have many years' experience at this work. Those stalwarts greatly benefited from the participation of a new volunteer, whose good humor and hard work were a real plus. Like most of us, he has multiple commitments that consume his time, but we hope he can periodically turn out with the crew when his schedule permits.

Trailmaster's parenthetical note: I wish to add that this work was done by just three people, one a volunteer on his first day with this crew. They did everything we can to stabilize this bit of trail against erosion, from boots and from runoff water. Boots are by far the more destructive of the two, because the rain cannot do much on intact forest soil. When it is trampled into a muddy mess... this is why the public thanks the trail crews they meet, and why so much of our work is building barricades.