Completed 10/29/05
The goal of this project is to benefit all users of the park by creating an alternate route to the loose rocky fall line section known as Devil's Down. This section is hike-a- bike for uphill, and an expert only downhill ride. It's strenuous loose footing for hikers, and inexperienced trail horses have trouble with it also. In August, the trail was roughed in with the help of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew.Three subsequent work days were held to complete all the work. Hat's off to our hardworking volunteers! The total length of the new trail is 894' and there were approximately 115 volunteer hours of labor in building it.
Day 1:
This photo, courtesy Rich Landers of the Spokesman-Review, is the one that was originally used to promote the Trail Care Crew visit. This is the lower section of Devil's Down: fall line, eroded, steep. This portion of the trail is not being closed off; it will be left there for anyone who really wants to ride it.
in August, the trail was roughed in across the scree slope with the Trail Care Crew (looking up)
The new entrance from the top of Devil's Down, (looking down).
The lower section was flagged and downed timber leftover from the fires was cleared
Day 2:
On the second work day, we did what we could despite the dry soil conditions.
The white is St. Helen's ash. There is a substantial layer of it among the rocks and in the soil.
Clearing the tread in the basalt scree was challenging.The rocks are not fractured nicely to where you could armor or pave the trail. The more you moved, the more holes there were and the rougher the tread got. The upper section was just a jumble of rocks that had trail potential.
This is what the upper section looked like after day 2:
Riverside Project Continued: Days 3 & 4