Mike and Jan Riter, who make up the crew, hail from Conyers, Georgia. They met up with us shortly prior to the first Gray Whale Ranch Raffle drawing, and donated their used Yakima Roof Rack to the raffle prizelist. Each of the racks was signed with their names and from the word I heard, the new owner was stoked to get them.

  For their Santa Cruz visit, they stopped in to talk with Keith and join us for the monthly trail maintenance day at Wilder Ranch State Park. Word was spread that they were coming, and an unusually large group met in the parking lot at Wilder to begin the trail work. There were enough people, in fact, that we split into two groups. Our group (along with Jan and Mike), was assigned to a recurring slide problem area along the edge of a cliff on Wagonwheel Trail. The area is one where a wash crosses the trail and pours into Peasley Creek. The cliff had been shored up with rocks a few years ago, but had eroded badly since then.

  Mike and Jan put their experience to work, telling us how they had dealt with similar problems in the past. Working with Chuck Wisse of MBOSC, they came up with a plan of attack that did not require taking out any more of the hillside above the trail. There is a large, old oak tree clinging to that hillside above the trail, and it would have to come out if any more hillside were lost.

  We decided to build up the washed out cliffside below the trail with a stronger, more permanent rock wall while at the same time, the trail above the wash would be redirected just slightly to create a straighter path over the wash to reduce erosion. The crews spread out and got to work. Working together, Chuck and I began to build a wider, stronger foundation for the wall while the rest of the team dumped small rocks and debris in behind the wall. Mike and Jan continued working on the trail above, redirecting both the traffic flow past the wash and the flow of water over the trail. They created a basin in front of the trail to catch water and slow it down before it spills over the trail.

  As the trail above neared completion, more workers came down into the creek to help with the wall. In the end, it was about 12¼ wide at the base and over 10¼ high. Each stone was carefully fitted so that they slope backward into the hill. The technique is similar to the way castle walls were built in ancient Europe, and I was inspired to build a lasting monument to good trail maintenance. All in all, it¼s a solid piece of construction using natural building materials, and we were using it as a ladder towards the end of the work day. It should be in place for quite some time.

 The event was everything you could want in a trailwork day. It was fun, a great example of the power of teamwork, and was critical to reopening that trail. Thanks again to Mike and Jan for all their help!