Trail Stewardship in the San Gabriels

During the school's Men in the Arena field trips, each class sought a way to give back to the local community.  The freshmen class accomplished that in the San Gabriel mountains, where we worked with the US Forest Service to improve a section of trail north of Azusa.  Fifty students and eight adults worked on expanding trail, weeding invasive species, and creating water run-offs to prevent erosion.  Though we could have spent several more hours out there, we got some good work done in the limited time we had.

 Nik and Carlos expanding the trail

 Mark and Ray clear invasives

 Danny and Julian

 Cameron and Tylor

 Carlos and Armen

 Clifford, Dylan and Kevin clean up the effects of erosion and block the shortcut people were using. Staying on the main trail is one of the seven elements of Leave No Trace ethics.

 

Mr. Rosenfeld, Jayu and Francisco working on a water run-off

 The group celebrates after finishing.  On the left is Freddie Duncan of the US Forest Service.

Trail Stewardship in the San Gabriels

A group of eleven represented Webb with vigor on Saturday, as we accompanied the San Gorgonio trail builders on a service trip in the San Bernardino hills. The main goal was to restore trail conditions after a spate of holiday storms. This consisted mostly of clearing rock falls and widening trail. The average trail will lose about six inches of width per year, mostly to erosion and growth of vegetation. As we hiked, we identified problem areas and worked on urgent ones, and then took care of the rest on our way out. It was a four-mile hike, with lots of stopping for work. As much as we use the abundant trails in this area, it was nice to finally give back.

Jake, Terence, Shaun, Kate, Laura, Marja, Mr. Caldwell, and Ryan in front of Smith Mountain Saddle. We were moving toward the saddle for most of the day.

Kate, Marja, and Shaun filled in water troughs and then created run-offs to prevent future erosion.

Jake and Terence

A well-deserved lunch break

Marja sports a new hairdo.

Ryan stamps down a piece of trail he had just leveled out.

Marja and Shaun clear the trail of this recent rock fall.

Laura and Mr. Caldwell rake debris from this bend.

Celebrating a successful day of service