Recap: Santa Teresa County Park
This past Saturday, we teamed up with the Bay Area Ridge Trail and Santa Clara County Parks to co-host a Dig Day alongside the Ridge Trail Service Day in Santa Teresa County Park. This all-day trail work event was sponsored by Santa Cruz Cycle Works, and included delicious food and drinks from Sierra Nevada, Cracked Cookies, Verve Coffee, and New Leaf.
Our Dig Day at Santa Teresa County Park was extra special because it coincided with the Bay Area Ridge Trail’s annual Ridge Trail Service Day. Each year, Bay Area Ridge Trail brings together dozens of agencies to host their own volunteer trail maintenance events — on the same day — on the 550-mile trail that circumnavigates the Bay Area (learn more here).
We were thrilled to team up with this awesome organization this year! Our volunteers and staff prevented erosion on Stile Ranch Trail by creating long-lasting drainage points throughout the trail. Volunteers spent the majority of their time focused on rock armoring eroding sections of trail; a complicated project that will prevent water from carrying soil down the trail for decades to come.
Before we dig into the recap, we’d like to honor the land on which this event took place. The land on which we gathered is the unceded territory of the Thámien Ohlone-speaking indigenous peoples, who existed there for thousands of years. We want to pay respect to their generational stewardship of this land. We encourage you to learn more at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Council website.
... now back to the recap!
Stile Ranch is a popular trail in Santa Teresa County Park, and our goal for the day was to preserve the fun and challenging nature of the trail while enhancing long-term sustainability heading into the rainy season. The work we completed with volunteers will provide effective water management and improve tread durability despite the storms we’re bound to face in the coming months.
“Santa Teresa is a popular destination for mountain bikers in the Santa Clara Valley as it offers technical challenges that are rarely found in the area. The Stiles Ranch and Rocky Ridge trails traverse hilly, rocky areas. Even for accomplished riders, it’s a challenge to “no-dab” the climbs, and the descents offer lots of fun on the rugged and demanding surfaces.” - Craig Gleason, longtime SCMTS volunteer, and supporter
Trail crews shared one task for the day: building grade reversals with rock and rehabilitating user-created shortcuts. One crew worked on creating a short trail reroute to prevent erosion and brushing the trail corridor. Grade reversals are one way that our team prevents erosion and creates suitable drainage on trails. Take a look at the photo below for a peek at how this works (Photo Credit: American Trails).
Grade reversals are short sections of trail that change from climbing to descending, then return to climbing. The reversal gets water off the trail tread fast–so fast, in fact, that the water doesn’t have a chance to erode the tread of the trail!
Although grade reversals increase the distance from Point A to Point B, their ability to reduce erosion makes them the preferred technique for building sustainable trails. When properly built, grade reversals severely decrease trail maintenance needs.
Don’t let the happy faces fool you — building grade reversals with rock is no easy effort. First, volunteers cleared the trail surface (tread) of any debris or loose rock to expose a clean surface. Next, they used pick-mattocks and shovels to dig into the tread (soil) and create a basin or trough for the grade reversal. Dirt was carefully placed to the side for use later on. After digging about 6 inches into the tread, it was time for the exciting game of rock tetris!
Large rocks that were removed from the trail, or found on the side of the trail, were carefully selected and placed to create the grade reversal, starting with the outermost “wall” that holds in the rest of the rocks. One after the other, rocks were carefully placed, rearranged, switched out, and hammered in to create the perfect rock-armored tread surface. Volunteers worked slowly and methodically under direction from SCMTS and Santa Clara County Parks staff to ensure quality and sustainability.
The true test was ensuring the rocks were immobile; no rocks should not move after proper placement. Smaller rocks and base rock were added on top of the large rocks to fill in gaps. This creates a basin where water can escape into and flow out of without eroding the trail. Volunteers installed over 10 rock-solid grade reversals throughout the day, creating a more sustainable trail for users while protecting the surrounding serpentine landscape from further erosion.
After a day of shared hard work, learning opportunities, triumphs, and laughs, volunteers, Trail Crew Leaders, and staff made their way back to the parking lot for a classic SCMTS post-dig celebration! Everyone enjoyed beverages from Sierra Nevada Brewing, snacks, and a raffle from event sponsor Santa Cruz Cycle Works.
And just like that, another Dig Day came to a close. We want to thank all of the volunteers, new and returning, who joined us, and especially our partners Bay Area Ridge Trail and Santa Clara County Parks for planning an awesome day on the trail with us.
Join us at our next Dig Day! The best way to be notified is by signing up for our newsletter or checking out our Dig Day webpage, but keep in mind that spots fill up fast!
Happy trails!
All photos generously provided by Christine La!
