One of the beautifully rebuilt switchbacks - still holding up when I was there with Jamie in December:
Much-needed decommissioning of a boot path cutting through the switchbacks that became much worse when the main trail was temporarily closed - it extended all the way to the large log in the background:
There was also some drainage and tread work below the switchback section, where the trail parallels McCord Creek and approaches the falls that has begun to fail -- and I'm not sure this was even part of the PCTA effort. The trail work involved a piped or possibly rock culvert (couldn't find the pipe) that had blocked, and left a small tributary running down the trail.
When I came across this last Spring, I trenched the trail at the culvert location to at least stop the damage to the lower portions of the trail. But the hazard developed were the diverted stream had eroded a narrow section of trail where a large boulder also protrudes into the path at about hip-level -- the hazard is that if you're watching your feet in this narrow spot, the boulder can easily catch your pack or elbow, and push you toward the edge! This nearly happened to me, and that's when I realized that after about a 15 foot slide, there was a healthy 25-foot vertical drop, below!
Here's a photo of this hazard spot, with the offending boulder on the right:
Here is a wider view, showing the log retaining structure already in place here, and I believe there is even a rock basket under the trail where the culvert was constructed -- the culvert is just off the right side of this image, the narrow spot marked by the "boulder":
These photos were taken last Spring, but the scene was more or less the same when I was up there with Jamie in December.
Because of the potential to slip over the little bluff, it's kind of a sketchy area for a project -- but definitely one that would be nice to take care of for safety reasons, especially given all the winter use that this trail receives in muddy, slippery conditions.
Tom