Trail Work Thread - Harmonie

[smackgilbson]

Yes , Mr. Barnes. That was me. A buddy AJ and i were out there friday night. Would of done some more work but we wanted to get a ride in before dark.

The bridge could be put in now if we do have the wood. I kinda like the elevation change from one side of the ditch to the other. A ramped bridge there would be kinda neat and add a bit of contour to the trail. Regardless Im going to put some pieces of drainage pipe out there incase we do fill it in with dirt or they can be used somewhere else.

I'll be out there some this week to tweak some more of the trail . Hope to see ya out there!

[timbarnes]

I'll be working out there Monday and Tuesday morning w/ JHCC help. I was thinking of cutting down the side that Zack worked on to make it less of a dip and straighter. I know its a lot of dirt to move, but the trail would be more rideable then. There is an alternate location for the bridge lower on the gully that would line up straight to the original downhill trail and about a 60 degree angle on the uphill side. It would be about 12' long. When complete, there would be two routes through the section giving the option of taking the bridge or not. Not sure if the regular trail dip will hold when the Fall rains come, though.

[daniel240]

Trails were excellent yesterday afternoon. I removed 2 dead limbs that fell across the trail probably 10'' in diameter on the loop. I rode the new section of trail and I was amazed at how much better it was since the last time I rode it right after the work day. There are still a lot of areas that need bench cut and fine tuned but overall its coming along nicely. I plan to be there on the 11th.

[timbarnes]

Also posted on the HMBA site:

Three JHCC guys and I worked on the Sycamore Loop where it was getting really overgrown. Most of these spots are cut back now. Still have to leaf blow one area that was trimmed back and cut a couple of more areas. Hope to do that tomorrow. Trails too wet to ride. We were slipping in many areas because it was so wet.

Found the lumber left by Alex. Looks like more than enough for the bridge we need.

[smackgilbson]

Dirt bridge is in, complete with drain pipes underneath. Finished it up tonight. Gave the top a slight downward slope so water wont sit on top and it really fits in with the contour of the top trail. I did compact the dirt pretty good with my pounder tool (whatever that thing is called) ,but will still need some settling and riding on to really harden up. Enjoy!

[dcates74]

Smackgibson did a nice job on the bridge. Worked on the Walnut extension this morning.

[timbarnes]

Trimmed some more on the Sycamore Loop. All is done from the start going clockwise to the fire road. Some debris is still on the trail - ran out of gas for the blower. Will try to complete tomorrow.

[timbarnes]

Repost from Ron Pendley's website (www.ronpendley.com):

We talked about doing a trail build day every month. Then what day. Most seemed to like the idea of the first Sunday at 7:30 or 8:00 am. July will be an exception because of the holiday.

So that means Sunday July 11th 7:30am just because of possible heat. Earlier the better. Lets meet at the Shed at the maintenance area on Left after you enter the park and pass the
pool. We'll work out what tools we have and move on to the trail.

If you arive later and haven't been there before, turn right toward the boat ramp but keep going until you turn right and climb the hill. Travel on until you come to the first gate. Go back to the area where the picknic tabels are. Follow the trail, or noise, or shortcut to the
right where you can see a gap in the weeds into the woods and follow a path to the trail.

Bring bug spray, water and you probably want to wear jeans and some kind of cool shirt.

And maybe snacks.

[Tim]

so it's every first sunday with the exception of July 11th ?

Oops I thought it was just every second sunday.

[timbarnes]

There's a lot of reasons why I volunteer to maintain the trails at Harmonie, but this video really sums up why I do it. What a great experience for a family! Note: sorry about the ad - don't know how to get rid of it.

[nathan]

I couldn't help but notice that the gnats are back with a vengeance. Does anyone have an effective deterrent for these things? I've heard vanilla behind the ears is supposed to work.

[kylekirkman]

nathan- vanilla mixed with water, heavy on the vanilla in a spray bottle will keep them at bay. Chastity the asst. park mgr had some last year and she said it worked. Give it a whirl and let us know.

also- to everyone, I've been taking care of massive home projects for the last month and a half and the current phase is coming to a close. I have a few weeks left of hard work and will attempt to get out to a build day. In the meantime I still have the Lexan sheets. If anyone is wanting to pick them up you are welcome to link up and get them to the park. If not I'll (eventually) get out to Harmonie. Sometime this decade. maybe.

[Tim]

It really works well too ! plus you get to smell like fresh baked cookis ;D

[Ben Kaetzel]

I have also heard that a laundry dryer sheet also works well to keep the gnats at bay, and you won't sweat it off, but you don't get the fresh baked cookie smell.

Tim B., that video is way cool. What more motivation do we need to build? That kid will be a MTB junkie. Awesome.

[smackgilbson]

The expansion trail is coming along now.

Dan, I believe, cleared a good bit of trail last week I trimmed back the branches and plan to clear the trail the rest of the way down to the old lake sometime this week. This way we can focus on getting this trail bench cut in on work day when we have some man power.

The section on the other side of the lake needs little more than a good clean up and its ready to go.

Hope to see you all out there, Zach