A lot of hiking trail maintenance has been done by volunteers this summer. Crystal Lakes has long had an adopt-a-trail program where volunteers sign up for a trail and maintain it. We want to recognize and thank the volunteers for their hard work. There may be others but these are those we know of.
Gary Walls cleared many very large trees from the trail in the forest service area. This trail goes for several miles. A trail from Crystal Lakes goes into this forest service area from the 6th filing. This is a service to the Crystal Lakes community.
Eight of our hikers cleared River Trail of 10 downed trees. Thanks to Anne Dirmeyer, Robin Lauric, Bruce and Kathy Schreiner, Naomi and Jim Brown, Jeanne and Rich Rowe. This is a beautiful trail along the river near base camp. You can see from the picture the downed trees they had to clear.
Guidago – Section 2 – Tony and Paula Luz have adopted this section of Guidago trail which runs between Shoshoni and Ottawa. They cleared it this summer. Paula is not in the photo as she is in the hospital recovering from a stroke that took place since. In addition, Tony, Paula and their sons, Eric and Adam, planted approximately 45 trees for the Greenbelt Committee this spring. They were assisted by two of their friends, Tara and Myles. These trees were planted at Little Lone Pine Lake, Base camp, Snoopy Pond, Mosquito, and both picnic areas around Crystal Lake. We appreciate Tony taking on this project and seeing it through.
Guidago – Section 1 - This section of Guidago Trail has been adopted by Joe Brown. It runs between Hatchatumi and Shoshoni and links to Section 2, then to Ottercreek Trail down to the lake. Joe has cleared this trail of several fallen trees. This trail was impassible this spring. When taking photos of the cleared trail, we spotted a buck grazing.
Midgard and Hoth trails have been adopted by Kevin Steele. Kevin has maintained Midgard Trail for many years keeping it clear of fallen trees every winter. In addition; Kevin made steps up the steep bank to Shoshoni several years ago which have rotted away. This summer he has done a great job of remaking the steps with eight steps up the bank and a hand railing making it safe. In addition, Kevin has cleared Hoth Trail with the help of Joe Brown.
Richard and Jeanne Rowe have been marking and clearing Black Mountain, their adopted trail, removing obstacles to make the trail clearer. They will be going up with a chain saw to remove 5 or 6 fallen trees. There is a bolder field on Black Mountain that hikers must cross. They keep it marked with red paint. This is a most beautiful scenic hike in Crystal Lakes, especially in the fall. Incredible views.
Carmel and Craig Mawle have been clearing the west end of Asgard Trail which is their adopted trail. This trail goes to the washout. Asgard is a beautiful trail but hasn’t been used in years all the way to Otter Pond on the west end because of the washout which is risky to pass. The east end of Asgard we use to get to other areas such as the pond, and Beaver Creek Trail. We are hoping to get some professional help to make the washout area safe so we can use the trail which goes from Catawba Pond to Otter Pond. Pictured is Craig Mawle clearing the trail. Carmel also has done considerable marking and even finding the trail which goes through easements in addition to Greenbelt.
This is the trail where people are navigating it around the washout. A handrail would be helpful. The Greenbelt Committee is exploring permanent solutions to repair the damage and prevent further erosion of the hillside. Until then, Craig added a temporary bridge and handrail built from fallen trees that were previously blocking the trail. Other work on the Asgard Trail includes a small bridge over a small but deep stream that posed a hidden tripping hazard, a bridged walkway over an area damaged by an uprooted tree, a new bridge over an area flooded due to beaver activity, and repair of an older bridge.
Rich Marosey has also done some trail maintenance in Asgard on Odin and Valhalla trails.
Paige Niederer and Louie Philippi have cleared 6 downed trees from Beaver Creek Trail.
Sue and Bob Chesnut have also done some maintenance on Beaver Creek Trail.
Our Trail Adopters do important work. Many thanks to all our trail maintenance volunteers.