West Engelsmans Reroute Project Update
December 20, 2018
Photos by Bruce Dorman
Even with the later than anticipated start of the project, due to the dry fall, we have made good progress on the West Engelsmans Reroute Project. Over three quarters of the trail is roughed in, and we will leave the ends unfinished until the spring when we are closer to opening the trail. We had a great Trail Academy class last weekend, doing some very fine finish work on the east side of the trail.
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The west side is getting close to finished. Cob, Bruce, and volunteers have been working during the week on finishing up the hardened swale crossings with horse hoof-proof rock walls. The rocks looks small but all are at least 50% buried, some much more. They should stay in place for a very long time. We are hardening these areas in anticipation that during wet periods water will be emerging from the hill slope.
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We still have a few more rock wall projects left, one more swale, and a few other locations to help reduce the trail grade and minimize impact to tree roots.
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We will be working out at the West Engelsman Reroute Project through the first and second weeks of January. After that we will move our focus to the new trails on the East side of Glenwood Preserve. Depending on how close we are done we may continue working at Wilder one day a week, and then will return with a stronger focus in mid/late April before our last Dig Day of the season, where we will finish up the new trail and address any issues that pop up over the winter, and decommission the old route.
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The new route will be closed over the winter to allow the soil to cure and harden without ruts, hoof prints, and tire tracks. Please mind the closure signs over the next couple of months and help spread the word.
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Trail Jargon Glossary
- Swale - A shallow channel with gently sloping sides. The swale concept has also been popularized as a rainwater harvesting and soil conservation strategy by Bill Mollison, Geoff Lawton and other advocates of permaculture. In this context it is usually a water-harvesting ditch on contour, also called a contour bund.
- Trail Grade - The ascent or descent of a trail segment expressed as a percentage of its length.
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