Eagle Creek #440 - Maintenance Kudos! (Feb 1, 2009)

[Splintercat]

This is a kudos report on the excellent (and fast!) work that Edan, his crew and volunteers recently did on the notorious opening section of the Eagle Creek Trail. This is the segment that passes through the perpetually disintegrating Eagle Creek Formation, knocking out the short bridge and blocking the trail nearly every winter, it seems.

I just missed the trail crew on the afternoon of Feb 1, but heard from other hikers that it was "an energetic group of youngsters led by a couple of seasoned veterans"..! The youthful energy was well-channelled by the veterans, because the work here is excellent -- some photos:

Looking back to the (new in 2008) bridge, you can see that the crew cleared all of the debris from the trail, and constructed new drainage throughout:



More great drainage and tread work, looking back from a bit further up this section (bridge still in view):



Looking the other way from the same spot, the common trailside geological feature known as a leaverite ("we'll leave 'er right here...") appears on the left, with just enough room for the trail to slip through -- this will make a nice seat for some tired hiker...



...and some happy hikers, checking out the new work, and not minding the mud a bit:



This section will be muddy for awhile, but is easily traveled and will keep us hiking through the winter - thanks to Edan, his crew and the volunteers!

Tom