Well, we already had our first snow of the year up on the trails, and it definitely is looking like we're on track to get a better season this year, although it won't take much to improve on last year's situation. There was actually about 3" of snow out in the meadow last Saturday, and it stuck around in the shade over the weekend, even with the warmer days. It's just starting to stay much cooler up there than down here in town.
We've gotten quite a few fall trail work tasks completed, including getting the brush (locust and aspen shoots) mostly cut out, and lots of really tall grass that was going to be a problem in the first few snows. There's still some patches left here and there, but overall, it looks good. The front hill still needs some grass/brush cutting, but it's very little compared to what we've gotten done. There were some trees that needed to be cleared out, with a few small ones that fell this past weekend with the weather. Some of the grooming equipment is still being repaired, but it should be ready to go by the time we're getting snow.
A big thanks to the volunteers who have spent some time out there working on things.
OK, so now is the time to get ready for the big fence hanging job! The rolls of fencing are out of storage and stashed along the trails and up at Point A. We'll have zip ties ready to go this weekend to get a good start on the job. It'll likely take a couple of weekends, so we'll plan on working this Saturday and Sunday, and the next, probably in different shifts. I know I'll have to do all of my fencing work this weekend because I'll be gone the following weekend. If you can carve out some time to come up and hang a few rolls, that will make a huge difference.
We hang two layers (upper & lower) from Point A down to the trailhead, then just one layer from Point A down the "Lower Guaje Road" trail (aka, "Lower Road"), and one layer from Point A, along the sections that have the metal fencing for securing it.
There are a few other short sections to hang fencing farther out as well:
1) the "rock" near Point J
2) Point H - short section to shade the downhill coming off of Dave's Dogleg
3) 2nd hairpin switchback above Point J
The most important zone is "The Rock" just before Point J. That spot just sits in the sun all day and the fencing is crucial to holding snow there.
The Camp May Road is closed during the week for the JMFP water line and paving. It's even closed on Fridays now, so Saturday/Sunday is the only time to get this work done. It's been hard to find times to get work done up there because of that.
Hope to see everyone out there soon!
Clay
