# Sugarloaf Peak Trails Sustainability Project - Yuma AZ



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Now that I have BlM's blessing, I am starting this new thread to publicly chronicle progress on this project.

Thanks aero901 and YRG for your input so far.

Talked to the BLM manager yesterday and got the go-ahead to continue the work I'm doing and enthusiastic support for future development proposals.

I will repeat some of my initial post here concerning the background of this project.

50+ miles of un-designated trail
Low desert
3.3 inches of rain/year
Though we don't get much rain, trails get blown every season from rains
Gravel sand and silt - a few basalt outcrops
Trails have been in existence for a long time
No formal designation by BLM or any other agency
No active, public group maintains or publicizes trail system

There is evidence that people work on the trails, but they have no public face. I talked to the BLM land manager and he has had no one besides me approached him about maintaining the trails. BLM does not recognized the trails for any specific use. 

I've decided my best course of action is to do the one thing that all authorities and groups seem to agree is most important, reestablish an outslope. I took the plunge and started working today. 

I completed the first project of deberming about 200 meters of trail and restoring outslope. When basic maintenance of the trails is addressed, I hope to create a rock feature here with the large rocks that have been removed from the tread _[I have since decided this was not a good idea]_

The next project involves a climbing turn (I think that is what it is?) that is badly eroded, and I am looking for advice how to tackle. A rolling crown switchback looks like a possibility, but I don't understand how channeling water at the upside of the descending leg is not going to create a similar erosion problem. (I have "trail solutions on order, but haven't gotten it yet) I will get a pic today that better shows the extent of the turn. Time to go do some work! _ [Work creating a grade reversal on this corner was "undone" by someone, so I have postponed efforts to solve this issue. Deberming and installing drains uphill of the turn has improved the situation] _


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

THIS! is what I want to do, but doubt it will work in our soil (see ribbon test pic below). The topography in this pic is nearly identical.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

A rolling crown switchback essentially eliminates the fall line section of trail midway through the turn and doesn't allow water to flow fast enough to erode soil. These features take many hours to construct properly (+50hrs) and are considered advanced projects. They are largely falling out of favor for mountain bike trails because they interrupt a trails flow. Coming from that downhill section of trail right into a switchback is a recipe for more skidding erosion also.

Check out the switchberm or use a insloped/climbing turn where riders are going to have significant speed entering the corner. The most important thing about building these kind of turns is to place drains (grade reversal style works best) directly before and after to keep water from flowing through the turn. As you suspect, the durability of the soil for berm construction will be an issue and it will require regular maintenance. If you have the resources to rock armor the face of the berm it would be a good idea.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*climbing corner*

Here's 2 pics that shows the whole sweep of the corner. The second is not as pretty, but you can see the elevation change better I think.

I talked to a civil engineer today about the possibility of creating a retention basin in the center of the turn and draining the water from the turn into the center with no outlet, containing it until it percolates. She suggested a 2 foot depression would do the trick. I suspect this wouldn't be considered most anywhere else, but this is a water control strategy that is routine in this part of the country. We basically have rain 2 times a year. We've had half our rainfall for the year in the past 3 days.

I do realize this would require significant work, more than I can do on my own. I'm thinking of this as a way to bring other people in, make an event of it, giving riders a chance to invest in something very specific so when they ride the trail they can say, that's MY corner there!

A big bermed corner here doesn't really fit the character of the trail, it's not the biggest problem, but it seems like something that could become a point of focus to hook people's attention and investment.

Just got my book, so I'll do some reading before I comment further.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Aero, I didn't do a good job of replying to you, sorry. Yes, drains before and after the turn. What do you think of the idea of taking all the water that drains from the turn itself, and directing it into a retention basin in the center? Outslope above, inslope below, with a dug-out center basin; like a bike-park corner? Goal for this is more gaining public support than sustainability. The work I've done so far is not going to be seen as "improvements" by most riders. Our rains are infrequent enough that this one feature could be repaired as needed.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

From my experience, projects which get the most volunteer turnout are: building new trail and building cool trail features (jumps, bridges, berms, TTFs). A sustainability project will usually only attract the hardcore builders who would be there regardless. Sell the projects as trail improvements and aim for workdays that will make using the trails more enjoyable for all users.

As for the retention pond, it isn't standard trail building practice but it might work in theory for a while. I suspect it isn't usually done because digging a 2' deep pond is a hell of a lot of work for something which can be achieved with simpler methods (grade reversals). If the drains at the entry and exit of the corner are built properly, there won't be a need for a retention pond. I wouldn't suggest digging a big hole as a project to inspire volunteers to work on the trails.

The overview photos are very helpful for seeing what is happening with the water flow in that area. Given the info you have provided and the latest photos I was able to find this specific section of trail in Google Earth (I think) and get a better look at the surrounding terrain. Unfortunately, I think your best option is a complete reroute and rehab of this section of trail. The average grade of the segment is around 10% and it really shouldn't be more than 5% given it is located on a 15% sideslope (half rule violation) and built on noncohesive soils (maximum sustainable grade violation). Any other "fix" would be temporary and need rework in the future. Good news is volunteers like building new trail and the new trail will end up twice as long when finished. See the screenshots below for a routing option that meets a 5% grade.
















Contour Spacing: 1m


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

aero901 said:


> I wouldn't suggest digging a big hole as a project to inspire volunteers to work on the trails.


 Now that you put it that way, it seems so obvious 


aero901 said:


> The overview photos are very helpful for seeing what is happening with the water flow in that area. Given the info you have provided and the latest photos I was able to find this specific section of trail in Google Earth (I think)


 That's the spot, how did you find it?



aero901 said:


> I think your best option is a complete reroute and rehab of this section of trail.


 I have to adjust my thinking. BLM is on board, so a reroute might not be out of the question. I think an EA will have to be done, but the manager has already suggested they are willing to do that. That will take time, which is inconvenient as we continue to get rain and have gotten .52 over the past 4 days. It is so EASY to do work right now. Soil that normally requires smashing and bashing to move now can simply be pushed aside. Wonder how long it will stay that way?



aero901 said:


> See the screenshots below for a routing option that meets a 5% grade.


 Not only would this solve the erosion problem, but that would take the trail past a beautiful natural overlook that is missed when you are on the present trail. Did you create that route by hand or did you use an app?

Last 2 days of my break, I'm feeling pushed and pulled in a dozen directions. It's fun, but gotta prioritize and focus. I've started a Meetup group and scheduled a ride for Saturday on. I'm hoping to use that as a venue for developing an active group. I've gotten a couple of responses, but no one has signed up for the ride yet. Curious to see what kind of response we get.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

The routing was hand drawn in Google Earth using methods similar to those outlined in this presentation (which is worth a read): LiDAR and GIS for Trail Design. Contour lines were drawn using the intersection of fixed height polygons and the terrain. Finding the spot was one part dumb luck and one part being able to recognize features from the photos on the areal images (mountains, farm fields, powelines).

I don't know how long it will take to get an environmental approval, but I expect the dirt will have plenty of time to dry in the meantime. Still better to wait and do it properly even if it is a little more work. It might also make sense to pick a number of spots which require reroutes and have them all gone over during the EA so you have plenty of work to do in the future without having to wait or bother the Land Manager as often.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

aero901 said:


> ... LiDAR and GIS for Trail Design.


Thanks! I will check it out.


aero901 said:


> Contour lines were drawn using the intersection of fixed height polygons and the terrain.


 That will make sense after watching the presentation, right!?  I think I get the idea though. I know what LiDAR and GIS is, I've written proposals ABOUT it, but never used it.



aero901 said:


> Finding the spot was one part dumb luck and one part being able to recognize features from the photos on the areal images (mountains, farm fields, powelines).


 Well I'm impressed you were able to pick that out from the little information I gave you.



aero901 said:


> I don't know how long it will take to get an environmental approval, but I expect the dirt will have plenty of time to dry in the meantime. Still better to wait and do it properly even if it is a little more work. It might also make sense to pick a number of spots which require reroutes and have them all gone over during the EA so you have plenty of work to do in the future without having to wait or bother the Land Manager as often.


 Yes indeed, today was a day of stepping back and getting a grip on my enthusiasm. I have half done work scattered over 2 miles of trail, trying desperately to take advantage of the rain, both for the easier working conditions, but also a rare chance to see if the remediations are working as expected. Time to identify specific tasks, and see that they are completed and tidied up before moving on. The turn will wait till I have a group of people ready for a project. I have it in mind to create a project map with problem areas identified and prioritized by severity and rated by amount of work. I've been mulling over the idea of having leaders for specific tasks, like: debermers, nick builders, rock movers/feature makers, and a cosmetic crew 

So today, I evaluated some of the drains I put in earlier this week and tidied things up a bit. Overall, I'm really pleased. We haven't had a heavy rain yet, but the areas I've worked on have not seen any more erosion damage with this weeks rain.

So today I decided to focus on a single project (besides that other work, where I didn't). There is a sand-pit where the trail has widened to 6 feet of loose sand with numerous "alternate routes" going every which way. The section is about 50 feet long and located here https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7663414,-114.4931621,86m/data=!3m1!1e3

There is an alternate route that has been created this past year that roughly follows the terrain on the south side of the "pit". It is still quite narrow and is placed well for effective drainage, except for a short section that is 17 % grade on the fall line. It is just 15 feet long and is followed by a significant grade reversal so I'm hoping it will prove sustainable, or at least more so than the primary route.

I think what I did today would be called "armoring". I took large rocks with flat surfaces and sharp edges and buried them into the tread to form a narrow tread. I put small rocks along the outside edge to define the tread and keep riders on the rock. I sifted through the sand to pick out the small rocks and scattered them on the surface to attempt to disguise the disruption. Pics below. Before, after and materials.

Having trouble with pics,... really tired... will post pics later


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

Hopefully this diagram will make the contour creation process more clear. This workflow is definitely not the way to do it if you have a large area of contours to generate, but it gets the job done for small areas and without the need for complex GIS software.









Sounds like you have a good plan for moving forward with more work. Planning is one of the most critical, and often neglected, steps.

For the sand pit reroute, just keep an eye on the area and see how it fairs. It sounds short enough that it may not be an issue. If it becomes one, armoring would be a good fix given it's short.

Attention to detail when rehabbing old trails is critical, especially in a desert environment. People will still try to follow deactivated trails that are barely visible.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Sand pit pics*








Main trail in center, braiding over the top, bypass on the downslope side.








From the other side, showing yet another bypass off to the right








Sand in the middle of the route








Natural state, or close to it








Bypass with worrisome erosion at the grade-change








Armoring I did yesterday on bypass








Another view








Approaching rain storm _ [Don't think it hit] _

Location
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.766358,-114.4932052,86m/data=!3m1!1e3


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

2 months of use and this bypass seems to be holding up well to traffic.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Windmill Hill*

First major project has become armoring 150' of a 30% grade. [more like 20%. I've come to realize you can't just measure 6 inches of trail incline and accurately represent the hill] https://goo.gl/maps/j64fx5dmtoH2

I have named this segment Windmill Hill, NOT because there is a windmill but because there are those who think my efforts to make this section of trail "sustainable" are in vain. The name is a tongue in cheek reference to Don Quixote's tilting at windmills.

The tread has become a deep trough that has been redirecting 100% of the rain-water down the trail. The strategy is to place large, sharp-edged "molars" into the tread then fill around them the gravel and soil from the berm that has formed over the years, raising the level of the tread back to the height of the slope and restoring outslope to the tread. I am also adding grade reversals and drains as often as I can, at one point, creating a large step in the trail (no pic). Not sure how that's going to go over... 

The "before" pic is the last one....


----------



## evdog (Mar 18, 2007)

Nice work! I stopped to ride there a couple years ago on the way back to SD - pretty fun trail network. Hopefully you can get some other riders to come out and help. If you have bike shops in town they might be able to help out and spread the word. Improving the trail network might bring more visitors and thus more business. Yuma is a perfect spot to break up the drive between SD and Phx/Tucson.


As to the catch basin, we have used those a few times here in places where it is nowhere you can drain water to. I don't think it would make a lot of case on a switchback because you can divert water off the trail with a drain before the turn and right after. The upper drain will likely divert water downslope to the lower drain. You can armor the low spot of the drain to prevent the trail from eroding during your couple heavy rains. In a couple places we have also dug a trench on the slope above the trail which diverts any water coming downslope before it gets to the trail, and it empties the water beyond the turn. This has worked well. It would be a bit of an eyesore without vegetation, but it might work. The city uses these all over in the form of concrete storm drains.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Missed your post evdog, thanks for the response.

The more I ride other places, the more I enjoy riding here.

As to getting the word out... I started with "Meetup". That was really effective attracting new-comers and winter-visitors to riding. Of that group, one has stepped up to help with maintenance. Meetup proved to have some limitations so I established a Facebook Group and Page (search "desert mountain bikers of yuma") instead. This seems to be working better as a public face. Unfortunately, I have yet to get any of the old-guard to join up. I was invited to ride with one of the originators, which was great, and I chat with them when we meet up on the trails. A certain amount of bad blood with BLM and 20 years of investment in the status quo has made them understandably skeptical of my efforts to work with the authorities and to jump on my bandwagon. I am hoping to encourage some sort of good-will gesture on the part of BLM to help establish better relations.

As for the turn, I think you're right, I think I'm overthinking it. The more I look at it the simpler it is. I just need to get the water from above off the trail it hits the turn. Drainage AT the turn isn't that bad, it's what's channeling down the trail that is causing the problem. _ [This seems to have proved out. Deberming and putting in drains above has significantly reduce the erosion done in the last big rain this weekend 7/30/16] _

Going riding ... Cheers


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Another 10 feet*

Slow going but it's coming along. I have raised the tread to the elevation of the grade, built in outslope, gotten rid of the berm, created several grade reversals, and have built in several features that I hope will drain water off the trail. Still doesn't change that it is a 150 feet of fall-line trail with a grade of 30% in loose, dry soil with very little cohesion.

Got about 10 feet done today and I have maybe another 20 feet where I still need to bring the tread back up to grade. I'm on vacation so I'm hoping to put a feather in this by the end of the week.

The material in the berm has turned out to be a great mix of material for filling the trough, then filling around the large rocks I'm using to create the new tread. It ranges in size from fine dust up through very large gravel, all sharp edged. The largest gravel, I use to do the bulk of filling the trough. The large rocks that make up the tread go on top of that, then I fill around that with smaller gravel and silt. Once I fill, things firm up very solidly. The first completed sections seem to be holding up well after a couple of months of traffic. Of course, I'm anxious to see how it holds up after the first monsoon. Damn I wish I could get a garden hose out there!

One of my concerns is that the armoring rocks are supported primarily by this large gravel with lots of voids. Despite putting fill on top, there will obviously still be significant voids under the large stones making up the tread. I can see them filling in when it rains, or I could see them washing out... fingers crossed.

I have been putting in a feature that I am hoping will drain whatever water might end up running down the trail underneath the surface. I have set large, flat rocks on edge at about a 45 degree angle to the trail. They are dug deeper into the tread, with no gravel beneath them but larger rocks on the uphill side. This I fill with larger gravel than the rest, leaving out the dirt and silt. The hope is that these "drains" will direct any water flowing beneath the surface, off the trail. A part of me is telling another part of me that this is going to fill in with silt from above, making it useless.... then this other, more positive me is telling me it's all going to work out just fine, just wait and see. Scary how I talk to myself like that 

As always, I'm interested in thoughts and suggestions 

That picture REALLY does not capture the important details... sorry


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

Sounds like that will work out well. With the infrequent rains, it would probably take a while for the gravel to get filled in with silt. Even if that does happen, the users are still riding on solid rock which isn't going anywhere. All that gravel will slow any water that gets to the old tread down enough that erosion won't be an issue. Hope you are using bigger tools than what is shown in that photo.:shocked:


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

aero901 said:


> Sounds like that will work out well.


I was hoping that would be the response I got!



aero901 said:


> Hope you are using bigger tools than what is shown in that photo.:shocked:


Nope, that's it. It actually works very well. I work on my knees which saves my back and it keeps my pace slow so I don't burn myself out too fast. It's hot here, and I'm not as young as I once was so, working slowly is a good thing.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Progress*

Yesterday's work was 15', another 15 feet this morning. Getting there.

It is very interesting looking back and comparing what I was doing just a month ago









to what I did today.









I suppose I'll think that same in a couple of years when I look at the work I'm proud of today.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*What to do...*

I'm unsure how to deal with the last 50 feet or so. The slope doesn't break the half rule so I don't NEED to armor it. That said, the trail has been dug down so deep, to make the tread even with the grade would either require filling or digging out about 6 feet of shoulder on the downhill side.









Digging out the shoulder would be lots of work and would cause significant disturbance to the soil along the side of the trail.

Filling will only work if I armor it, elsewise the "cleaners" will come along and dig it out again. This would also likely piss them off and perhaps put all my other work at risk of sabotage.

The third option would be to just put in a few drains and let it be. The tread is unstable, but the slope is such that it is still rideable.

At 15 feet per workday, I get out, on-average, one work-day per week, that's 3 or 4 weeks to finish armoring. Drains could be done in one day, but I think I would feel like the job wasn't really completed.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions, questions?

_ [I ended up just deberming here and it is working fine. No gravel deposited after last big rain 7/30/16]_


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

Water is probably now the main eroding force (so drains are required), but what initially caused the trail to trench like that if it doesn't violate the half-rule? Does the trail exceed a 5-7% grade? Is this mostly user based erosion (skidding, horses, motos)? Drains might not last if users are the primary erosion source. I agree that if you infill, you must also armor the tread or this will happen again.

By far, the biggest issue I see is the trail is too straight. This will let riders build up a ton of speed and brake/skid abruptly into the first corner/obstacle. Suggest introducing curvature/choke points to slow riders and minimize skidding. A straight trail is a dead giveaway of a poorly designed trail.

Use the spoils from digging drains through the "shoulder" to build rollers on the downhill side of the drain (see: rolling grade dip) to minimize impact to surroundings. These will slow riders down and keep water from accumulating on the trail as well.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

_


aero901 said:



...what initially caused the trail to trench like that if it doesn't violate the half-rule?

Click to expand...

_
2 things: First, the "cleaners"; well-meaning riders who rake out loose material and pile it on the side of the trail. This has created berms throughout the system leading to significant erosion damage to trails that would otherwise be good, sustainable trail. 








Second, related to the first: The 150 feet of trail up-hill from this problem section has been likewise deeply trenched, redirecting all of the rainfall from the adjacent hillside down the trail. By the time it gets to this steeper section, I'm guessing the trail looks like the Colorado River in a heavy rain. Until the work I have done, there was no outlet for this water until it reached the change of grade at the bottom of the hill. 
_


aero901 said:



if users are the primary erosion source.

Click to expand...

_
That doesn't seem to be the case. Though not without exception, in general, where there is no bern, the trail remains solid even some very steep sections of trail. It seems to me that it is water erosion. 

_


aero901 said:



By far, the biggest issue I see is the trail is too straight. ... Suggest introducing curvature/choke points to slow riders and minimize skidding.

Click to expand...

_As I have armored the hill I have created several significant steps about 10" high, both to create grade reversals and to slow riders' speed. As I have remade it, it would take a very skilled rider to take the hill at speed. _



aero901 said:



A straight trail is a dead giveaway of a poorly designed trail.

Click to expand...

_Indeed, the design of these trails break every rule in the book as does most of the maintenance efforts. I hope that I can effectively deliver some public education through the Facebook group I have created. I also printed up some cards with contact information for the Facebook group that I have left at the trail-head.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Armoring the trail*

[video]https://www.facebook.com/DesertMountainBikersofYuma/videos/1538747479764299/[/video]


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Its RAINING!

.15 inches so far in what is our second driest month on average. Possible thunderstorm this afternoon! Can't believe it, fingers crossed!


----------



## drew p (Jan 20, 2012)

aero901 said:


> The routing was hand drawn in Google Earth using methods similar to those outlined in this presentation (which is worth a read): LiDAR and GIS for Trail Design. Contour lines were drawn using the intersection of fixed height polygons and the terrain. Finding the spot was one part dumb luck and one part being able to recognize features from the photos on the areal images (mountains, farm fields, powelines).
> 
> I don't know how long it will take to get an environmental approval, but I expect the dirt will have plenty of time to dry in the meantime. Still better to wait and do it properly even if it is a little more work. It might also make sense to pick a number of spots which require reroutes and have them all gone over during the EA so you have plenty of work to do in the future without having to wait or bother the Land Manager as often.


Glad to see this is helping people!


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Backyard hill #1*

The other hill looks and rides really good after a couple of days of rare rain. Started on the next hill tonight. Same problem, same solution - 

Fill the gutter and remove the berm
Place a ridable tread level with the grade(big rocks)
Ensure outslope
Create grade reversals and drains
Secure tread with gravel; large, small, really small, dirt and silt

Got about 10 feet done in about an hour. Includes a grade reversal. Only 140 feet to go! 

Before








After


----------



## lazarus2405 (Jul 16, 2011)

In my opinion, it looks like you're doing some really excellent work without much help in challenging soil. You're doing all of the "right things" - working with the land manager, trying to reach out to the community, asking others for second opinions, second-guessing your own work, reinspecting your drainage after rain, etc. Keep it up!

That last "after" photo looks really fantastic. From a rider point of view, it looks like a nice gradual S-bend, with enough berm in the right places to be a lot of fun. I would rather ride that than a straight chute. Consider subtly de-straightening the rest of that 150' hill a little left-right as you add grade reversals. 

You're making me wish I had an orphaned trail system in my back yard to work with, instead of being "stuck" with a well-developed club and regular maintenance days and county park master plans. Something about grass being greener... :thumbsup:


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

lazarus2405 said:


> In my opinion, it looks like you're doing some really excellent work without much help in challenging soil. You're doing all of the "right things" ...


+1

Keep it up and hopefully you can find more volunteers (one of the most difficult trail building problems) to get these knocked out quickly. It's amazing what 10 extra people can accomplish. Pick a few larger local companies and ask if they have community service requirements for their employees. Many in our area have such requirements and have been a great help in supplementing our volunteer force. Trade unions and some high schools may also have similar community service requirements.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

drew p said:


> Glad to see this is helping people!


Truly a great resource. I'll continue to recommend it to whoever I can. Thanks!


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Ryan turn grade reversal*

The lower corner here washed out badly with the last rain and riders were starting to make their own reroutes so I created a line that I hope will make this corner less susceptible to erosion damage. The line is very close to the bottom half of what you have sketched here (from where your line crosses the trail) except that I didn't go into the wash. (I tried to create a jpeg to post up but I am defeated... it keeps posting without my line added ...)







At the top where your line crosses the trail, my line curves back uphill briefly to create a grade reversal, followed by a climbing turn (in reverse since I started describing this from the top). The drainage uphill of the fall-line portion of the climbing turn is very very small; most rainwater will drain into the wash to the east rather than down the trail. I will check it out after our next rain to see if and where drains are needed.

_[This is some of the work that was undone; efforts here on hold]_


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

I saw trail-runners on the trail this morning, something that is quite rare. I was really interested to know if they would see the armoring as an improvement or not. We caught up with them at the end of our ride and I asked them about it in a way that I hoped didn't reveal that I was the one who did the work. Of course they saw through me immediately, but they convinced me that they did indeed see it as a big improvement and expressed enthusiastic appreciation for the work. Nice


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Checked this corner today and it was also obvious I needed to do more work so after our ride I came back out and to finish things up.
I...

Debermed all of the trail above the turn. 
Found a nice big scorpion
Added some nicks/drains above and below the turn
Added 2 grade reversals

I am optimistic that it will work because the water that did the damage was coming from uphill, and that will, hopefully, now be sheeted down the hill or drained off by the nicks.

Looked good to me when I left. Wonder how it will look to me tomorrow


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

aero901 said:


> ...Hope you are using bigger tools than what is shown in that photo.:shocked:


Comments on this board tend to influence my thinking and action a lot I guess. A week after this comment aero, and I bought myself something more substantial to work with 









I've only seen photos of a Rogue Hoe, but it looks similar.

I still find the trencher most useful for armoring work but this works well for deberming. I find myself using the corner most of the time so I'm thinking of reshaping it to a diamond like Rogue's 65VW. https://roguehoe.com/product/65vw/ Might need to have two heads but that's ok, they're only $20.

I'll anticipate the question, "why didn't you buy the Rogue?" I wanted a tool that I can knock off the handle so I can carry the head in my pack (I made a sheath for the sharp edge) and tie the handle vertically to the pack. This has been working well. I don't have that sharp head hanging out on the end of a long lever, waiting to do me harm if I take a spill and I haven't stuck the handle in the spokes yet, which I did when I was carrying a rake. I find it much easier to carry the handle and head separately.

I could get excited about this https://roguehoe.com/product/70ar-travis-tool/ if only the head were made with an eye instead of a socket.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Found today that someone has dug out one of my grade reversals. It wasn't the most graceful and created a bump in the trail. Guess I need to spend more time and make them longer and smoother. Still surprises that someone would undo work, especially when there is clear evidence that it was effectively diverting rain off the trail.

_[Several small reversals were flattened but two large reversals were left unmolested and in fact, other riders have done additional work on them (THANK YOU! ). There is now a lot of water being handled by just these two diversions, instead of several smaller ones. The two big ones are "working", but evidence that some water made it over the top of the last feature raises concerns that a really large storm will likely overwhelm the last diversion, right above the problem area.]_


----------



## lazarus2405 (Jul 16, 2011)

ki5ka said:


> Still surprises that someone would undo work, especially when there is clear evidence that it was effectively diverting rain off the trail.


I think you'll find that very few riders think about rain when the trails aren't wet.

As always, please excuse my armchair trail building advice.

When you're facing that sort of passive resistance to trail work, it helps to try to either make your drainage work invisible to the average rider, or try to offer a trail improvement when you do your sustainability improvements.

If you're adding a grade reversal, either go super long and smooth, or turn it into a fun roller, as a feature. If the trail grade and sightlines, etc make sense, you could try to "hide" your grade reversal as a doubled-up roller. Most riders will pump it, some riders will jump it (like a double), and hopefully no one digs it out.


----------



## twd953 (Aug 21, 2008)

ki5ka, 

Most likely, the person that tore it out didn't even give a thought to whether it affected drainage. More likely, they didn't like the way it rides, and thought they knew better. Dude probably threw a little tantrum when he did it too. 

But, I think there is a trail building lesson that can be learned here, even if it sucks that somebody messed with your work. Trail building can be an iterative (and humbling) learning process. Once you complete work on a section, go back and see how people are riding those sections. Where is the worn in line, are riders skidding into or riding off trail to avoid it (or tearing it out)? If it isn't working out, then take a step back and think about how you can improve it.

If you're cutting in grade reversals for a drain, they should have relatively gentle transitions. A number of years ago, a forest service crew went out and cut drains in every 100 ft for a good portion of a popular 22 mile local loop. Every drain was cut full width across the trail about 12 inches deep, 12-18 inches across with vertical edges. WTF? Totally ruined that trail for years until those drains wore away.

How gentle your transitions need to be depends on how deep the drain or grade reversal is, and how fast the section of trail is. The deeper the drain and the faster the trail, the longer your transitions need to be. 

Also, your drains should be a lot wider than you think they need to be. If you make the drain 3 or 4 feet wide, you can handle more flow and disperse it over a wider area to dissipate some of that energy. Narrow drains concentrate the flow, increasing flow velocity and erosive force. A wider drain also helps you create a smoother transition into/out of the drain. The downside is they take more work to build, so you'll need to strike a balance with what you have the manpower to build.

When you're doing drainage work, it has to be functional (i.e. drains the water and prevents erosion) but it also needs take into account the rider experience. Do your grade reversals/drains feel more like riding a pump track or do they feel like slamming into a huge pothole in the road? You want more of the former and less of the latter. 

Taking rider experience into account really goes for any trail feature (drains, berms, corners, trimming back brush and vegetation, technical trail features). You always need to think about how fast the riders are going, how the site lines are, and the character of the rest of the trail.

When working on a section, try to think about what the rider is doing the 50 yards (or more) before and after that section. Is the work going to cause riders to slam on the brakes and skid, or kill speed so that riders have trouble making it up that punchy climb? Or maybe that work increases rider speed to the point they blow out the next corner. Walk (and ride) the sections before and after where you are working and think about how the work on that section impacts those other sections. As you do the work, ride it yourself to see how well it rides.

For something like drains, they should integrate into the trail as seamlessly as possible. In other words, most riders should either not even notice it's there, or better yet, it makes the trail even more fun. 

Now, a disclaimer. A lot of the advice above on is coming from looking at some of the pictures you've posted and assuming that the character of your trail is move wide open, fast and somewhat flowy. If you're looking for a more technical trail with a lot of ledgy features, you can totally integrate those into your drains and grade reversals as well.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

You are both absolutely right, it didn't ride well and I know it didn't ride well. They were very much like you describe twd, more like a pothole than a pumptrack. 

I feel so conflicted because there was so much damage in just one rain it seems like if it isn't stopped, it will become impossible to recover this trail. I put in a bunch of inelegant stop-gap measures to try to stop the damage and then have been going back and refining them over the past few months. I had re-worked these once, but I guess they need to be longer still. 

Humbling indeed


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Posted this note on my facebook page. ...

---

Today was a discouraging day. On my ride I see that someone has removed several erosion control features that I have worked on putting in over the past several months and installed. If you think you might know who this is, please encourage them to private message me. We have the same goal, improving the trails; it just seems we have different ideas about what that means. I'm hoping that perhaps if we can begin a conversation we could find some common ground.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

More work has been undone. Its puzzling because I have many riders offer encouragement and thanks but someone seems to think this is some kind of battle I guess. I think until I have a group behind me, I'm going to stop doing work.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

With or without a group you are still likely to see resistance from the same person/people. The main difference a group brings is the scale of projects. Bigger is harder to undo and can break the will of a few rock flippers.

How did you disguise the old trail when you put in this reroute? Any photos? If the old trail is even somewhat visible people are going to continue to use it. Especially if the old trail was a more direct route (it appears to be). Make it more difficult to use the old trail than the new trail and people will use the new trail. Hikers, in my experience, are more likely to shortcut/ignore/undo reroutes than cyclists.

Do you have a kiosk at the trailhead where you can post information about what you are doing and help draw in volunteers? If not, make that a priority while you regroup. Have you talked with local bike shops about getting the word out?


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

aero901 said:


> With or without a group you are still likely to see resistance from the same person/people. The main difference a group brings is the scale of projects. Bigger is harder to undo and can break the will of a few rock flippers.


 What I struggle with most is the sense of it being a personal attack; I have to get over that. With a group behind me, I think it might not sting quite so much. It is quite the balancing act to get an active group working without creating competing factions; sure don't want to start a battle.



aero901 said:


> Do you have a kiosk at the trailhead... make that a priority while you regroup.


 We can't do a kiosk without an EA, but the land manager did suggest that we could do temporary sandwich-board style signs where work is being done to explain the work and do some trail-side education. He even said he might have some we could use. Guess it's time to check in with him again, it's been quite a while. I think you're right, getting information out is crucial and informational signs seems a great way to do it. I did do one and it lasted a couple weeks before someone took it down. If it was a bigger, more officious looking sign, and maybe more than one, perhaps they might last longer.



aero901 said:


> Have you talked with local bike shops about getting the word out?


 I have printed up some business cards that have information that leads to the Facebook group and my maps on MTBProject. I dropped some off at one shop in town and I hand them out to people I meet on the trail that seem interested. I need to hit the other new shops, haven't gotten to that yet. I have had several people find the Facebook group that way and join as members. While the Facebook Group is slowly gaining members, that hasn't yet translated into people showing up for rides, and it is the rides that I'm hoping will lead to work-parties.

Pretty hot to be doing work this time of year so a good time for regrouping


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Update 7/30/16*

Downpour this morning was a great opportunity to go out and evaluate the trail-work done since January.

















I was really pleased with what I found!

I put in a number of little nicks/diversions along the trail that I wasn't sure if they would be effective because they were so small, but nearly every one is diverting water as intended. These are along very long stretches with very low slope where the erosion problem seems to be in the middle of nowhere, many many yards from where the water is being diverted into the trail. Not very much volume, but it all adds up.





























The armored sandpit bypass is settling in and I am not seeing any erosion undercutting the rock, which I was worried about. More riders seem to be taking the bypass and the number of alternate routes seems to be diminishing. I was having some riders fall off the rocks, mostly uphill, but sometimes downslope. I added some rock to keep them on the armoring and that seems to have helped, but looking at this photo makes me think I should add some more for good measure.









My first big project was deberming and outsloping a section of trail that was always making and collecting loose gravel. Big berms were channeling water from the entire hillside down the trail. Today when I checked this section, the debermed areas had absolutely NO loose gravel anymore. 

















Likewise, the armoring on the two hillsides seems to have solved the loose gravel problem. After the rain, the armoring is solid, no shifting or undercutting and no gravel is collecting in the tread. In some areas, the armoring is not even visible, which is both a marvelous thing, but also a bit of an ego blow, showing no evidence of all that hard work... that's why I come here, cause I always get a pat on the back from y'all 

























I was worried about the area pictured below, because riders were creating a tread uphill of the armoring. I was afraid the tread would end up lower than the armoring, creating a new berm made out of large rocks! That doesn't seem to be happening. Enough material seems to be migrating down into the tread and being packed by riders, keeping the tread at least even with, and maybe even above the height of the armoring. No new loose gravel has collected after this most recent storm, so I'm hopeful this might end up being OK after all.















There is one spot where I armored a short little section, and had a bit of a step on the downhill side. Riders started riding around that to avoid the step-up. I might just dig it out. I have reduced the amount of water coming down from above, so the problem may no longer exist...









The second hill that I armored has a significant section where I simply took out the berm. Riders started riding the outside shoulder, creating a very broad trail, out of character for this system. I spent some time narrowing things up by digging the shoulder down even more and then piling in large rocks. Looking at the pics, it seems I've done the "garden path" thing. I'm hoping that's just a photo misrepresenting the situation, because it doesn't look good on the screen. Not what I remember looking like when I scoped it out when I finished.  Hopefully it will rain again soon and make it look right









Did some more deberming above the armoring. Looks really messy here 









New section, same problem. Gravel collecting because the berm. This is what the first area I mentioned above looked like before deberming. Boy that's easy to forget.









This guy was keeping an eye on me all morning; Big boy that one!









Can't seem to remove these last two photos... I don't see them in the html... anyway, ignore them


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Finished another section of deberming*

(Apologies for some repeats here. I want to keep this thread complete with all the work done so I am repeating some content of my other posts about my tool mod.)

So I've gotten to a point of closure, cleaned up the worst "loose gravel" sections of the shortest loop on our trail system, Bill's Loop.

Started on the next section of trail (Johnny Walker) that heads out to the main connector, Champagne. This is the introduction to the trails further into the complex. This bit of trail has collected loose gravel every time we have a rain. De-bermed it and created an outsloped tread. Knocked out the first hill in 2 weekends, thanks to the new cast-iron hoe tool I modded 

















Knocking through the berm with the new modified hoe

choking the trail down to singletrack width









Finished first section of Johnny Walker


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Second climb half done... in 107 degree heat! 

------------------
Second half done done! Just barely hit 100 today. Pics look horrible, but I think it actually looks pretty good. We've been getting rain, so hoping a good solid wash-down and a bit of riding in will make it look a bit more natural.

I rode the section that we did earlier and thought "this is how a sustainable trail should look" before I realized it was the section we did a couple weeks ago. That was kinda fun!

Before 








After








The dressing up I did on some sections looked a bit too symmetrical/garden path, so I took some time to change the spacing of my "choke" rocks and dug some of them in more. We'll see how it looks next time I take another fresh look.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

I'm stumped on this one.









It's just a short little climb, but the loose gravel gets so deep, it's like those runaway truck lanes in the mountains. My first thought was to simply deberm and outslope as I have been doing. I scoped things out to figure out where the water was being channeled from and found no culprit. There is a small gully just downhill that is collecting most of the water off the hillside. Only a very small slope above the trail is draining onto the trail and a significant grade reversal uptrail makes it certain that nothing is coming down the trail.

I started debermerming and found very soft soil with none of the calcic cementation that is usual here. This makes me think that even debermed, this soil will simply become a pile of loose gravel again. Sure enough, after deberming a few feet, when I tried to outslope the tread, there was no tread to be found, no bottom to the loose gravel.

This soft formation is not common, but I have run into it before. I'm assuming it is "younger" and has not yet developed calcic horizons, or is in the earlier stages of development. I haven't yet learned to predict where I'll find this condition and am at a loss how to cope with it.

I decided to armor the hill and did a really crappy job that will have to be redone. That big rock sticking up in the middle is REALLy big, and I re-dug it twice already. Just too hot and tired to do it again.









It actually rides better than it looks. The rocks are big and solid as a .... well, you know, solid as a rock  LOL I know there will be pushback because it doesn't look "smooth" so I rode in an option on the outside, hoping that as that loosens up, maybe these guys will figure out that bumpy rocks are easier to climb than loose gravel.

I'm done, going to play computer games now...


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*Proposal for BLM*

BLM is reviewing the Travel Management Plan for this area and they suggested this was a good time for me to make a written proposal.

My job used to be writing engineering proposals so when someone says proposal, I think a very complete and polished document that takes several weeks of work. I'm wondering if I'm making this harder than it needs to be, or if a lot of investment in this will be worth the time and effort. The folks I have talked with haven't been through the process and we are all guessing what's best. I'm hoping to hear from those of you who have gone through this part of the process with BLM; can you offer any insights?

Things I assume are essential to include:

Describe how designating the trails is in keeping with BLM's goals - "...provides the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time." 
Present data that identifies the primary users of the trails as mountain bikers, but also includes hikers and trail-runners (this would entail data collection)
Identify environmental concerns, emphasizing erosion control as the primary concern
Propose a strategy (using USDA and IMBA standards) to address the concern of erosion on the trail system
Identify a Trail Custodian responsible for trail maintenance planning and organization. I would offer myself for this role. 
Naming the system (Simply formalizing the commonly used name)
Identify parking area or areas (is it better to offer just one location (simple) or multiple options?)
Propose info kiosk
Identify routes and name them (Is it important to establish the scope at this point, or is it safe to leave this not all-inclusive?)
Assign difficulty ratings to trails (Does this need to be done?)

Am I missing anything important or including things that are not?

For those who have not followed the thread from the top, the trails have no designation at this point, they simply exist. I have established a social group on Facebook but there is no formal club or organization and I am hoping to avoid creating one (BLM has said that this is not a problem).


----------



## ACree (Sep 8, 2004)

ki5ka said:


> Comments on this board tend to influence my thinking and action a lot I guess. A week after this comment aero, and I bought myself something more substantial to work with
> 
> View attachment 1067465
> 
> ...


Check out the trailboss for a nice packable trail tool. I have the rogue hoe on mine and have been happy with it. Bonus is that you can swap the heads out for others depending on conditions.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

The Trailboss stuff looks awesome, but a bit rich for me.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

ki5ka said:


> ...maybe these guys will figure out that bumpy rocks are easier to climb than loose gravel.
> ...


Nope, they dug it out... This was actually riding really nicely. A bit of tech and certainly in keeping with the character of the rest of this trail. I could have made it smoother, but dang, who wants a boring ride?

Who said something about humbling?


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Johnny Walker, mile 3.

This was taken before the work I did this weekend. The light was perfect for highlighting the before and after. The Lower section is now debermed, but still needs cosmetic work to narrow the tread back down.

The hillside is a 50% slope, the trail-tread is between 20% and 25%. This is steeper than the recommended maximum of 10 %, but that is a characteristic of many of our trails. This section of trail does keep to the 50% rule (trail tread slope less than half the slope of the hillside). Before deberming and outsloping, the berm was a 15% - 20% slope into the trail, about 12" tall, and between 15-30 inches wide. After deberming, the outslope is now between 2% and 10% downhill, with nicks at least every 15 feet.

Still need to do some cosmetic work. There is another section below this that could be done too, but now that the water won't be coming down from above, that probably isn't necessary.









Broke my hoe handle, not paying attention to the grain. My father taught me better


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Met with BLM a couple of weeks ago. They are updating their Travel Management Plan and have adopted all of the trails that I mapped as bike trails. Super pumped! This will close the trails to motorized travel and opens the door to future development. They have approved my plan to place etched stone trail markers; the Facebook group I founded in January has 48 members; we have 2 rides and the first trail-work event scheduled this weekend. Things are looking up!


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

*8-Ball hill*

The Facebook group I started one year ago now has 54 members. That has translated into 1 member stepping up to regularly help with trail-work. He's a competitive downhiller, military man and young and strong. He has a good sense of hydrology, though he insists he has no idea what I'm talking about. I don't have to explain anything, just say, we're going to de-berm this and off to work he goes. Even has better tools than I do  We've starting to get into a rhythm and have another big hill pretty much finished, digging out the berm and outsloping the tread. Rain is so infrequent here, it really takes a LONG time to prove out the strategy, but the old-timers that have been giving me grief seem to be starting to see the light; I haven't seen any purposeful sabotage for several months.


----------



## aero901 (Apr 11, 2012)

Great to hear things are starting to turn in your favor! Slow and steady progress is how these things happen. Keep at it.:thumbsup:


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

We've had some rare rain so went out to see how 8-Ball was handling the water. I saw no evidence of water erosion at all, but perhaps not enough rain to be a useful test. Anyway, on second inspection, the work looks great and the hill rides well.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

100 feet to go! [video]https://www.facebook.com/ki5ka/videos/786466148167026/[/video]

Two things struck me yesterday as I was looking at this hill again:
1 - Where I've measured, the tread registers 2 - 5% outslope when measured across the trail, yet a close inspection suggests that about half the trail that I've outsloped really doesn't have effective outslope. If a line is drawn down the fall-line, that line lies along 5 or 10 feet of the trail at a shallow angle across the trail and there is often some part of the tread between the beginning of that fall-line path, and the exit point that will prevent water from escaping. Accepting that re-routing/adding a curve/grade reversal is not practical, I'm considering:

Do it over again and increase the amount of outslope.
Installing drains consisting of a small trench cut along the fall-line, filled with large rocks. (In this soil, this tactic seems to be working well in other places I've used it.)
Accept that I don't need every foot of the trail to drain; leave it alone until some erosion occurs then decide what to do. (Where there was 650 feet of rainwater-channeling trail, now, the longest distance between water exits is maybe 50 feet so it may not be an issue anymore.) 

As always, opinions here influence me.

2 - After a bit of rain (.75 inches over the month of December), the tread is now covered with sand. I didn't expect this as I didn't realize there was sand in the mix at this location. All I noticed was rocks, gravel and moon-dust. After working, the moon-dust covered the work but the rain has washed away the super-fine stuff and left the sand at the surface. It rides really nicely and I don't see it as a problem except that this once monster of a hill has become downright blase. I'm anxious for a rocky surface to show and I'm sure it will, once we have a down-pour, but that might be years...


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Well what-d-ya-know, we got more rain; makes evaluating the work that's been done really easy.

Most of the trail is draining water as hoped









...but there is about 50 feet of trail that is still draining down the trail (that section was the subject of my last post).

I re-worked some outsloping, added a number of nicks and drains today and will check to see how they are working next time we get enough rain.

The drains I've been constructing I think are best described as a buried water-bar. They seem to be working.









I've used this on some of my steep slopes where the trail is a fall-line trail and outsloping just isn't enough. I dig a trench at a shallow angle across the trail, on the fall line, put large stones in the trench and backfill with gravel. The thinking is, when we have moving water, the sand and loose material is quickly eroded away and the stones become the highest point in the path of the water and deflect the water off the trail. As the water slows, material fills back in around the stones, returning it to a pretty smooth and level surface. I tried to find a pic to illustrate this but no luck... oh well, here's some armoring that does pretty much the same thing and seems to be holding up well.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Well that didn't last long... Two days ago I came back from working to find one of my bike group cards under my windshield with the message "Stop ****in up the trails! The Old Guard". Then yesterday I was accosted at the trail-head by one of them berating my work and repeating the message left on my windshield the day before. It was quite the scene, really discouraging. I suggested we ride out and look at it so he could show me what he thought I had done badly. He didn't want to do that.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Hand carved basalt marker that we will place this weekend.


----------



## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Morning sun makes it hard to see the rock. I'll have to get an afternoon pic, but this is what I've got. Placed this with the trail-builder who named the trail for his son, Ryan some 20 years ago.

















Next marker is ready to place, but we're heading to Big Bear for BBORTA this weekend. Guess it will have to wait till next week.


----------

