Trail Ambassadors as Trail Maintainers

Rik Christensen at the trailhead

Many Gossamer Gear Trail Ambassadors serve as trail maintainers. This patrol report from Rik Christensen demonstrates one aspect of trail maintenance in the Los Padres National Forest. Patrol reports are usually done by supervisory maintainers to direct the actions of trail crews during the season.

I hiked with another Volunteer Wilderness Ranger to see if water was still flowing along the Reyes Creek area. The flow along Reyes Creek has improved since last fall.

After setting up camp at Upper Reyes Campsite, we continued along the trail to do some brushing and treadwork.

Trail maintenance is a continuous process. Some problematic downed trees have been removed, but there are some that remain.

It got down to 34.7 degrees but I was warm and happy with my Gossamer Gear setup.

The bears seem to congregate along Reyes Creek, especially during a drought. There were about 200 piles like this between Beartrap and Haddock. I ran into a small bear on the way in.

This post was contributed by Trail Ambassador Rik Christensen.