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Shoring up Echo Mtn. Trail

    

    

 

 

 

Debris Dam at Tavern Site

Rains would cause serious erosion, and a dam was built to prevent damage

 

After first Rain, see below how Mother Nature filled in the earth. 

You can readily see how much material is moved by the rain.  The inset picture is from the storm in Jan. 05. 
This is the same area above the new dam demonstrating that a heavy rain will carry a great deal of earth.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

This shot is the area from which all the water in the above inset photo is coming from

 

Echo Mountain

We retrieved 2 trolley wheels from the side of Echo Mountain.  These are the same wheels that we had originally found at the bottom of the hill in the creek further down the canyon. 
We pulled them part way in Jan. 2004, and didn't finish the job until now.
See work party in Project 6 .

      

We brought them up the steps at the ruins of the hotel, and took them down to our other location where the other wheels are stored.

 

 

October 7, 2006

This was the return trip to nab those doors to the safe.  We had a good crew of 12 and got a lot of work done. 

Not only did we bring the doors up, and deposit one at the Tavern (Camp Site) and the other locked in the Tool Shed - but we also moved logs and brush into the pathways of the bikers who seem not to hesitate to make their own trails that are downhill speed thrillers, but at the same time, cause destruction and erosion to the Forest.

See September 16 Work Party below for pictures of safe doors from Alpine Tavern that led up to this October 7 job.

Also See supplemental info submitted by Paul Ayers regarding the area and some history behind it, plus an awesome photo from 1992.

 

A very rare occurance - an 8 point Buck was watching us below
doing our work.  We must have been a curious lot because
he remained up there watching us for several minutes.  

 

Work crew getting hand truck ready to lower over the side.  We will put the safe doors on this hand truck, and pull them up using a shieve/pulley system,
with John's truck as the mule.

 About 100 feet down this slope (about 70 degrees even though it doesn't look that much in the photo) is where the 2 doors had
been resting for many, many years.

 Paul and Dave getting ready to lash one of the doors to the hand truck - As John's truck up on the road was pulling back, the hand truck, guided by Dave, was heading up to the road.  The doors were about 200 pounds each.

Brain, Chris and Dave getting door strapped down to haul up hill

 One of the doors resting now at the Tavern site.

Both doors in back of Joel's truck.

Stove remains found down canyon and also put at Tavern site

 

 Trail being rejuvinated by crew.

One of logs put in place to block the path of the dirt bikers who were creating problems with erosion

 Logs put in place following the trail that we refurbished and also blocking the unauthorized trail that the dirt bikers had cut straight down
the mountain from the top
While we were doing the safe parts extraction on 10/7/06, I realized that the area we were working in was described in Dr. Reid's history as Giddings Trail Canyon. Dr. Reid spends a fair amount talking about the Canyon, and the trail and peak associated with it. Giddings Peak, became Grizzly Point and then Sunset Point [See, photo of Paul at Point on 2/1/92]; the Point is basically where Middle Millard Trail crosses Sunset Ridge leaving the Millard watershed for the Rubio and Las Flores watersheds. 
(From Paul Ayers)

September 16, 2006

 We were tipped off by Charles Seims that there were 2 doors from the safe that was originally at the Alpine Tavern.  After looking extensivly from the Cape to the north along the longest straight section we had given up.

You can't see it from the photos, but we were on the side of the mountain that was about a 70 degree slope.  Climbing back up and looking for an easier route we came upon, guess what ? - the doors from the Alpine Tavern Safe.  We rigged up the cart and tried to lift it but we did not have our good ropes or pulleys.  

One of the ropes broke and we lost it after lifting about 15 feet up the steep hill.   It did a flip and almost hit Brian.

We will come another day with the right equipment.

 

The Crew - Joel, Joe, Lee, Bruce, John, Susan, and Brian

Lunch break at the Point

These doors from the safe weigh about 200 pounds each.

 

 

Work Party - March 4, 2006


A beautiful day - much different from 2 weeks prior

 

above - trolley wire hanger at granite gate

 

Part of the job was to clear debris off the fire road as we traveled to our work destinations.
This particular rock of decomposed granite was not very decomposed.  In other words, we
couldn't break the darn thing up, no matter how much we pounded on it.  The sledge hammer
would just bounce off.  So we ended up muscling it over to the side of the road and left it.


 


 

Sheriff's helicopter hovering over canyon at Echo Mountain.

Work crew having lunch

 

 

 

Work Party - February 18, 2006

Who says it doesn't snow in  Southern California?  Joe Hall said the temperature here at the Point was in the upper '20's - Yeeeeooooowwwww


Joe Hall and Bruce Spears doing the "two-step"

The real men of Mt. Lowe - in their shirtsleeves.  Wow - Tough

Granite Gate - Mr. Marcroft - the man who needs no coat. 
He read "To Build A Fire" by Jack London,
and figures that 25 degrees is just not enough to get all worried about.

 

Inspiration Point and the View Finders

This is the view of the Campground at  the Alpine Tavern location