May 2-3: More brushing on Liebre Mountain

Palmdale Troop 555.  (Photo by Mark Larabee)

Our PCTA volunteers (Photo by Mark Larabee)

We spent the weekend on Liebre Mountain, where Palmdale Troop 555 joined us on this brushing project in mile 500.  In three days the crew fully brushed and cleared 1.12 miles!  Congrats to the scouts, our awesome volunteers, and to Section E Chief Jim Richter for leading the project. Mark Larabee from the PCTA even joined us, and shot many great photos. We even had a full moon.

April 25: Gorillas in the Mist

 

The Trail Gorillas cleared brush on Liebre Mtn (mile 505) today, with sun, whiteout, mist, rain, and sleet. We finished a little wet this time but brushed the worst of Section E.  We weren't the only ones out though, as we counted nine hikers.

April 19: Trail Gorillas clear the PCT through the Station Fire!

Before

After

As of today when Dave, Dan, Diane and I finished the last of the clearing above North Fork RS, the Station Fire area is cleared of brush and debris, and much of the trail retreaded.  Congratulations to Pete Fish, Dave, and all the Trail Gorilla volunteers who have worked in this heavily-affected segment through the burn. On to Section E now, where much work awaits.

New Projects in the Sawmill Mtn Area: Apr 25/26 and May 1-3

I hope you can join us for one of these projects to help clear the trail in Section E near Sawmill Mtn. These two projects will have us making progress from Atmore Meadows Road toward Liebre Mtn, and will be our new Section Chief Jim Richter's inaugural projects.  We'll overnight at Sawmill CG. I hope you can come out to meet Jim and show him how awesome the Section E volunteers are!  See full details at PCTA.org, and to sign up contact Jim Richter at richterj at vmcmail.com or phone 323-595-9499.
Section Chief Dave Fleischman, who served Section E for at least ten years, is taking on Section D, where the Station Fire burned in 2009.  Still lots of work to clear the trail for 2015 thruhikers. We'll be out there by Mt Gleason this weekend...

April 4 in the Pine Canyon area

If you have worked on any of the Pine Canyon projects after the 2004 Pine Fire and subsequent 2005 floods that wrecked the trail out there, the photo below may be of interest.

Same place: 2005, 2010, 2015

I also visited Horse Camp, above this spot, and since trail users have indicated trouble locating and accessing the spring back there after all the blowdowns of recent years, I flagged the route to the spring with pink tape.  While the recent rains have greened up the surface, the spring was pretty lethargic from three dry years.
Most of the burned trees around the camp have now fallen, but healthy new trees - some of them 15' high - are already replacing them. I even saw short some fir seedlings mixed in with the larger pines.

New trees below Horse Camp

Next Sec D project: April 18-19 near North Fork RS

No, that IS the trail.

The March 28-30 project was tremendously successful, but our friend John Shelton has returned from his latest inventory in the remaining Station Fire footprint, and it shows that we likely have three days of work left to clear the trail up there. We are planning another big push for April 18-19, camping overnight at the North Fork Ranger Station. Meals will be provided to those overnighting with us. To sign up for one day or both and get meetup specifics, contact Section D Chief Dave Fleischman at owldave57 at gmail.com.  See you there!

March 28-30 on Mt Gleason in Sec D

In three days, the Trail Gorillas brushed an epic 1.35 miles and treaded 2500' of the PCT in upper Moody Canyon northbound from Mt Gleason. This is in the 2009 Station Fire footprint, and represents the worst trail conditions in the area. More projects will be scheduled here, as this area has become the priority segment for clearing in 2015. 

An energetic crew

Treading it out after the brush is cut back

Final product

March 14 at Upper Shake Junction

Before

During

After

The Crew

 

 

Flowers are peaking in the western AV

We had a great crew of 11 for a day brushing the trail at Upper Shake Junction.  We cleared 2/10ths of a mile of PCT, the mile-long connector trail down to Upper Shake CG, and placed new signposts in the campground.  Our reward, in addition to the enjoyment of a day out working in the spring sunshine, was a view of fields of wildflowers on the valley floor. A good time was had by all.

February 28 Trail Project

Forecasts called for rain, but mostly it was sunny today for our treading project in the Soledad - Vasquez segment.  Thanks to our awesome volunteers, we treaded out 1150' of trail.

March 14 Trail Project

Join the Trail Gorillas on March 14 for a day of brushing and treading in the northwest corner of the Angeles NF.  Volunteers will meet west of Lake Hughes, HERE, in the large pullout on the south side of the road at 07:30.  There we'll combine into  high-clearance vehicles to caravan up the 2WD forest access road right to the work location, in Mile 495. 
Volunteers should bring leather work gloves, lunch, water, and sun protection. Long pants and shirtsleeves required.  Trail Gorillas will provide tools and hardhats.
To sign up for this project contact Section E Chief Dave Fleischman at  owldave57@gmail.com

Next Work Project: Treading in Section D

February 28  Section D Tread Work 

       Come work with the Trail Gorillas to rehab 0.7 miles of the PCT. Work area is 1.5 miles south of Hwy 14 near Vasquez Rocks County Park. Need 7 to 10 volunteers, maximum hike in of 2.5 miles. Meeting place to be determined. All tools and training provided. Please bring work gloves(if you have them), wear long pants and long sleeved shirts. Plan on bringing lunch and snacks. Refreshments will be provided at the end of the project. Contact Dave Fleischman at (310) 560-8299 or email at owldave57@gmail.com

Trail Gorilla Tool School

Region 1 held its 2015 Tool School this weekend, where PCTA Volunteer Leaders brought their tool expertise to share with the rest of us. If you live near the trail and are interested in helping maintain our hand and power tools, the trail crews can always use help! Feel free to contact me.

Jan 18 in Green Valley

They were a treading machine

Pete Fish and the Trail Gorillas were joined by the Dirt Divas Running Club for a day of brushing and treading in Green Valley. We worked the hill going up towards Dowd Canyon (southbound) and left the trail in great shape! Stay tuned for announcements on more spring projects.

December 15 Trail Update

• Angeles NF updated the Section E Powerhouse Fire closure to reopen the unburned Sawmill - Liebre segment, but they renewed the closure for 12 more months for the remaining area.  Our SoCal PCTA rep Anitra Kass is working with ANF to determine if we can execute work projects in the burn footprint before the closure gets fully lifted (whenever that is), but it is pretty messy out there.

We're gonna need a bigger shovel

• After the area reopened last month, Pete and Jerry cleared blowdowns from the trail going up Liebre Mtn, just below Horse Camp. If anyone goes up there soon I'd be interested to hear if there are more, since the storm last week.
• In Section D, work continues in the Station Fire footprint.  An inventory after the November 16 wind storm revealed 50 dead trees blown down across the trail, and then on December 11 the big storm went through.  Pete and the Trail Gorillas will be out there next month to start clearing them.

Times 50

Next Trail Projects: Oct 11, Nov 15

While the northwest corner of the Angeles National Forest remains under the Powerhouse Fire closure order, we're continuing our attention to the Station Fire area.  The Trail Gorillas have worked hard to clear the trail in this segment, with great success in 2014.  And now that it's been five years since the burn, the poodledog bush is finally diminishing. 

We'll hold work projects in the segment off of 3N17, the Mt Gleason Road, on October 11 and November 15. Info is below: 

On Oct 11 and Nov 15, meet at 0730 at Mill Creek Summit on the Angeles Forest Hwy.

We'll combine vehicles there and convoy through locked gate on Mt. Gleason Road.
Work is primarily treading.  All volunteers need to wear sturdy work boots and long sleeved pants and shirt, and bring leather work gloves, weather protection, lunch, and all your water for the day.  PCTA will supply tools and PPD.

If you can volunteer, please respond with your party number, so we can ensure to bring enough tools for everyone.

NOTE: Will cancel in event of Red Flag wind warnings.