Rocky Ridge Trail Day, April 10, 2004






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On a sunny and clear Saturday morning, on April 10, 2004, volunteers gathered at the end of Santa Teresa Park's Pueblo Area parking lot near the entrance to the Mine Trail. Trail lead Roy Ichinaga explained what needed to be done and handed out the tools and rolls of chain link fence from the park department's tool trailer. The fence rolls would be used to stabilize drains. The volunteers included Friends of Santa Teresa Park president Mike Boulland, Vice-President Kitty Monahan, and secretary Ronald Horii. The crew headed out down the Mine Trail, into Big Oak Valley, and up the Rocky Ridge Trail. Along the way, they paused and talked about the trails to curious trail users. The lower part of the Rocky Ridge Trail is a narrow single-track path that gradually ascends the hillside. In the winter, rainwater rushing off the hill turns the trail into a rain gutter. In past years, the water would pool up in parts of the trail, turning it into a muddy mess. In recent months, trail work by volunteer trail crews have improved the drainage considerably. On this day, the trail crew would mainly be looking for trouble spots and fixing them. While the Rocky Ridge Trail, for the most part, does not run up the real Rocky Ridge, the ridge it runs on is very rocky. Weeks of sunny weather dried up the trail, making the clay dirt very hard. Working on the trial required some heavy tools and hard work. One area required making a drain with rocks. Some of the crew gathered rocks from the hillside, broke them up with a sledge hammer, and arranged them to form a drain, using the piece of fence to help stabilize it. Other members smoothed out rough spots in the trail or countoured the trail to improve drainage. Around noon, the volunteers returned to the Pueblo Area knowing the work they did would help keep the trail in good shape for trail users in the future.

(Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger picture. Hit the "Back" button on your browser to return.)
Volunteers gather at the Pueblo Area parking lot Trail lead Roy Ichinaga in the tool trailer Roy hands out the tools and materials
Volunteers with their tools are ready to head out to the work site Heading out towards Big Oak Valley Heading up the Rocky Ridge Trail
Setting up at the first site Putting rocks down to improve drainage Roy pointing out spots that need work
Digging out and carrying rocks Working higher up along the trail Admiring their handiwork after a hard morning's work

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Created 04/30/2004 by Ronald Horii