MTB Trailcare

This afternoon we added final touches to the big berm on Barney's, inspected the rest of Barney's and had a look at some of Exit trail to see how they coped with the weather.  We didn't go down into the wet areas of the forest, which will be wet and should be avoided for a week or so, but were happy enough with what we saw.

The surface layer of clay on the top berm on Barney's was stripped by the torrential rain, but it did not damage the riding surface.  We did some more tamping and so long as no-one goes feral and shreds it for a week, it will be really good.  The drain worked and the silt trap of rocks below it has worked well.  What is left after the deluge is all the good stuff and a solid inslope drain that is free of debris and silt.  Here are some pics

Here's a close-up of the surface up top.  Check the last trail news for previous pics.  This is a good outcome after who knows how much rain - 200-300mm, with 75% of it falling in one day

One issue was the rock ledge, inslope at the exit.  It was too close to the riding line, angled in a nasty way and 5-10cm above the rest of the tread.   We saw no good coming from it.  Previous attempts with a mattock and pry bar had dislodged a small chunk after great effort.  We wanted it gone to avoid evasive manouvres and future ruts (and stacks).  

Enter "Richter".  Our old friend has been lurking in the woods, ignored for a long time due to the dry spell.  The earth moves off it's orbit when Richter strikes, so this rock had no chance

What Richter does apart from pound solid matter, is liquify the ground.  Think of water coming up through the sand around your foot on the beach, or what happened in the Christchurch earthquake on a slightly lesser scale.  In the next pic there is liquified earth in the drain beyond the rock, which has been pounded flat.  When that liquified earth solidifies, it remains sound for a long time

There are exposed rocks all over the park after this downpour.  Many months of dust has been flushed, leaving them proud.  No question, erosion must be increased as water flows past them in the future.  Guess how you solve this?  You don't pull the rocks out and leave another layer of trail vulnerable.  Rather, hammer them in if the trail line remains good.  Here's Ashley helping Richter do the deed with before and after pics

Farther down Barney's there are some issues after the gale, but in general, things are OK for now

This seasonal creek crosses Exit Trail.  It starts up on Barney's.  Past the trail crossing (which was smooth and undamaged) there was flood damage almost 2m above the creek bed as far as we could see

What was really exciting was that quality of water in the creek down there.  It was clear!  We have not seen that before and did not expect it after this post-drought deluge

The other thing we are happy about is the state of the closure of the old Exit Trail line, now defunct for ages.  It continues to collect organic debris and close in despite being a 1m deep rut in places before closure.  The recent downfall has not changed that, which is great

See you on the trails