By John Hankins
The quiet peace and thrill of sauntering along our forest and local trails with a nice, solid tread with perhaps flowers along the way, tree canopy overhead, a meandering creek below and magnificent views is well known by thousands of hikers, often led by the Sierra Club on any given day.
Let’s give profound thanks to the professional and volunteer trail crews who make that happen, sometimes at their own peril. The best way to give thanks is to donate to trail crews and/or lend a hand.
Teen-aged scouts are doing it and gnarly veterans like Trail Crew leaders Mike and Jenn Smith. Mike’s been doing it for 20 years since he was a scout and “it’s the love of the backcountry and my sense of stewardship that keeps me involved,” adding that he trained five pack goats to carry equipment to remote areas.
But the earth moves and since the January storms their work on such trails has been like the Myth of Sisyphus eternally pushing a rock up a mountain. Crew found trees toppled, falling rock, holed-out paths that threatened safety, and that meandering creek became mean, washing away campsites and roads. It forced the Forest Service to close portions of the forest for months, citing severe risks, and even now portions are impassable or unreachable.
“We are talking about damage that will be in the millions, perhaps even in the tens of millions,” said Andrew Madsen, Los Padres Forest spokesman told the press.
Trail crews numbering in the hundreds were called to action by the Los Padres Forest officials, notably its non-profit partner Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA). Others in and outside the forest pitched in, groups like ForestWatch, Montecito Trails Foundation, Sundowners, the CREW, Channel Islands Restoration, Ventura Land Trust, Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Sage Trail Alliance, Runners for Public Lands, city of Santa Barbara, scout troops and ‘unofficial’ heroes like Mike Gourley’s Get It Done motley crew. There are many others.
The atmospheric river storms and snow ravaging Santa Barbara and Ventura counties slammed the trails and camps, but as soon as it was safe, eager volunteers came to help wherever they could. Or as Gourley said, “we give them Gatorade and beer and they’ll do almost anything.”
They are there now as you read this, still working on the devastation that Bryan Conant, Executive Director of LPFA, said was so ‘gnarly’ he’s never seen it on this scale. “It would be like a massive fire throughout the whole forest.”
Ironically, the lovely snow that covered our hills was responsible for downing some trees and trampling the chaparral. Conant said LPFA worked for months behind Figueroa Mountain funded by grants, but the March snow event “is making us rework it over again.”
The LPFA is the official non-profit partner for the Forest Service whose budget has been whittled down over the years. The LPFA helps coordinate volunteer projects across the Los Padres Forest. Its volunteers work to keep trails open, report and assess forest conditions and provide public education on how to safely use the forest. Its headquarters are the Visitors’ Center at Wheeler Gorge above Ojai.
A special shout-out to scout troops. Backcountry author and teacher Craig Carey calls out his troops where they are needed. His Troop 111 (“There can only be one 111”) has been “constantly volunteering at Ventura Land Trust’s Harmon Canyon and all over the Los Padres Forest and Pt. Mugu State Park these past few months.”
Some of my own long-time go-to places are no longer there or severely damaged, notably San Ysidro Trail in Montecito and the swimming hole and trails of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and VLT’s Harmon Canyon.
“Trail damage at the Ventura River Preserve is substantial,” OVLC’s Brendan Taylor told Condor Call, noting that one of my summer favorites, the natural swimming hole along the Ventura River, “has been filled in with sediment and river rock,” and the trail to it “ends in a dangerous 10-foot drop.”
Dan Hulst of Ventura Land Trust’s Harmon Canyon said it was staff and volunteers who were able to open five miles of single-track trails, but the upper fire road portion needs heavy equipment to bring it back to use, hopefully partnering with SoCal Edison which can’t access their lines without the road.
The VLT volunteers “commit time, energy and effort for no pay, and we very much appreciate it,” Hulst said, especially since Harmon was visited by 100,000 aficionados during the last year.
Good news though from Ashlee Mayfield of Montecito Trails Foundation (MTF), asserting “we will bring the San Ysidro Trail back.” The front portion is passable, but not yet the route to Camino Cielo Road. With over 90 miles of trails through Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria, Mayfield said “there’s always a trail for you,” maintained every Tuesday by volunteers or when needed.
“Storms are the re-wildling of nature,” she mused, and others urged the public to be patient as the Trail Crews rally to bring back solid and safe trails everywhere.
Let us applaud and appreciate all these individuals and crews and take another step to donate your time and/or money.
Because, as we know, the earth moves.
LPFA volunteers clearing trails and using saws. (Photo by Mimes)