National Trail Day at Santa Teresa Park

Stile Ranch, Mine, Hidden Springs, Ohlone Trails

June 7, 2008

This year, National Trail Day in the Santa Clara County Parks was held at Santa Teresa Park. About 50 volunteers showed up to work. The Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and REI provided assistance and passed out shirts and other items. The group assembled at the Pueblo Area parking lot. The work involved trimming brush and cutting weeds on the Stile Ranch, Mine, Hidden Springs, and Ohlone Trails. The volunteers received training and split up into 4 groups to tackle each trail.

Irene Tsobanakis signing in volunteers.

Trail crew leader Sam Drake and Volunteer Coordinator Heidi McFarland.

Trail crew leader Woody Collins (left) and Greg Bringelson (right), head of the trail crews.

Volunteers signing in.

Sam and Woody

REI people passing out T-shirts for the event

Park rangers.

Trail crew leader Roy Ichinaga (left), park staff and volunteer Brian Shively (right).

Woody talking to the group about trail safety.

Joel from the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council showing a map of the Ridge Trail. (Several trails in Santa Teresa Park are part of the Ridge Trail.)

Carlos from REI addressing the group.

Woody demonstrating thistle removal

Woody, with Roy and Carlos, demonstrating teasel removal.

Sam assembling his group to hike to the Stile Ranch Trail

Sam's group heading down the Mine Trail.

Sam's group walking down the Fortini Trail.

Sam at the Stile Ranch trailhead in the Almaden Valley, talking about brush trimming. Brush needs to be trimmed about a foot on either side of the trail to keep trail users from getting scratched. They also need to be trimmed up to 12 feet high for equestrians.

Part of the crew preparing to trim back the sage bushes.

Trimming the sage off the trail.

The trail crew working on the Stile Ranch Trail switchbacks.

The Mine Trail just before the east end of the Stile Ranch Trail.

Roy's group clearing thistle on the Mine Trail.

Volunteers on the Hidden Springs Trail. The Hidden Springs Trail is close to the parking lot, so some of the younger volunteers came to this section, led by Heidi, with Brian and Greg.

The group finishing up on the Hidden Springs Trail.

Woody led the group on the Ohlone Trail.

The group working on the Ohlone Trail near the Nature Trail.

Group working farther along the Ohlone Trail above the golf course.

Zoom-in of the group on the Ohlone Trail.

Roy's group returning.

Having drinks and snacks at the end of the work day.

Sam and Woody returned.

For more information on future trail events, volunteering in the parks, past trail events, pictures of the park's trails, and trail maintenance in general, see the links on the side. For copies of these and other pictures, contact Ron Horii (see links).