MTB Trailcare

If you have tried the "completed" Pete's trail since the last trail news, you know there was one dry day and then 50+mm of rain fell the next day.  There's been a lot more rain at Nerang since then.  

Sadly Pete's trail was smashed by last Saturday arvo.  Not all of, just some of the problem areas on upper Pete's we have been working on through this wet period and most of lower Pete's.  Even parts of the new section that was built on a stony base had some ruts.  Anywhere with exposed soil or clay is a mess.  That's not just Pete's either - Brett's, Explosions, Three Hills and many other trails are boggy and vulnerable.

We are reconciled to doing a lot more work to make Pete's lower section durable, but this weekend is going to be really wet and wild, so what we have to do will be delayed again.  You may be able to build new trail in bad weather, in fact it helps to see where water is moving, but you can't repair trail in bad weather.  You just add to and enlarge the quagmire. 

So that explains why our trailwork calendar has been blank lately; that and Easter.  We work regardless of holidays, but we don't want to post trailwork days during public holidays.  

This weekend it looks like an East Coast Low will form, so work will be confined to clearing drains of organic matter and clearing sightlines of sagging plants on Saturday, while the big rain falls.  On Sunday the drains will need more attention and maybe there will be fallen trees.  Ash and I have caught a bit of a virus, but hopefully will be able to get out this weekend to work on Pete's and Brett's.

Happy to have help if you want to be in touch.  This sort of work is what we call normal trailcare duties (no back-breaking digging), although the weather will be nasty.

Cheers

Louis