Leaf Blowing on Trails and sustainability

[graveyardman67]

I happened on this interesting Youtube in my feed this morning. I typically will blow off at least some sections of Wildcat. I know a hand full of others that do the same for some local trails. Of course most of our northern trails have significant rock armor but this will definitely give me some pause in going blower crazy.
@trailhead @Kirt @pooriggy @pixychick @notcho @Jason @KenS

Please share with someone who cares.

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

@stb222

 

[RobW]

Someone go get a crap load of leaves for 6MR

 

[Pearl]

using comic sans, lame
using the word percolate, fantastic

 

[JDurk]

Leave the leaves. Like shingles for the dirt. @MikeP

At the local trails here in SJ, RCGC, CCC and Ceres, not removing the leaves has improved the trails, although there is still some arguments from some people to make it all 4' wide of dirt. Existing trails in Wissahickon do not get leaves removed, only when making new trails. Pretty sure the same for MR/WC in DE.

 

[w_b]

always liked the leaves...

adds a lil sketch to the sketch.

leave the leaves!

 

[pooriggy]

Fair hill is a perfect example of a lighter soil that migrates easily with water and frost heaving. It is definitely beneficial at places like that to let the leaves protect the soil.
Heavier soils with less silt content are less prone to erosion, that does not mean it will not migrate, however it will happen slower then a place like fair hill if leaves are removed.
I'd like to see a study done at a place like Mahlon. Leaves blown off and leaves left on, what the outcome would be.

 

[rick81721]

Fair hill is a perfect example of a lighter soil that migrates easily with water and frost heaving. It is definitely beneficial at places like that to let the leaves protect the soil.
Heavier soils with less silt content are less prone to erosion, that does not mean it will not migrate, however it will happen slower then a place like fair hill if leaves are removed.
I'd like to see a study done at a place like Mahlon. Leaves blown off and leaves left on, what the outcome would be.

Yes - a controlled trial is the way to go here. Would at least be applicable to that kind of park. The only issue I have with leaves is obscuring the trails and some will go off trail

 

[stb222]

I have done an experiment over two seasons on the volley ball to road section at Mercer.

The soil is heavily sand based with deciduous tree cover. I raked half of the trail in the late fall and half in the spring to see how it faired throughout the year. Note that leaves were not raked as soon as they fell with generally at least a few weeks on the ground.

Raking in the late fall:
Produced superb winter conditions, only
Noticeable downside was in partially thawed conditions, the slide was worse on the surface. Through the year, this section seemed to dry out faster in the summer, leading to sandy/loose conditions (which is tropical for Mercer).

Raking in the spring:
Led to winter conditions where leaf slide was more prevalent. Raked in the early spring leading to perfect conditions. Throughout the summer this section seemed to fair better in dry conditions with less sand traps. That being said, this section had slightly less to begin with.

For both sections, keep in mind that raking often leave a thin layer of dirt and organic matter that ends up making the trail tread butter smooth. I believe that this lead to a more stable and sturdy trail tread throughout the year. Leaf blowing would not leave that layer of dirt on the tread.

The verdict for me, for Mercer, is to rake in the spring.

Note, this assessment is for Mercer only.

 

[mattybfat]

I'd like to see a study done at a place like Mahlon. Leaves blown off and leaves left on,

It's called Lewis Morris and we know how well that fairs.
I was always taught hilly to mountainous leave the leaves for organic break down. A trail of blown leaves acts as a river in drainage. Personally I think it's such a short time of illusion before a broken in trail over the leaves. I did not watch vid so I have no clue if I am completely wrong in their eyes.

 

[graveyardman67]

As far as going off the trail. That's part of fall riding. I did completely blow the Beach Glen Trail here at Wildcat last year. We have typically seen so little traffic it would be hard to say what impact it had. Though, this year the Meetup ride has certainly stirred some increased interest. I'll let sleeping leaves lie as this seems to be the trail conscious consensus.

 

[trailhead]

We don't have much or any clay content so the dirt isn't very sticky here. I don't think blowing off the BGT was bad at all because it was the only way to keep folks on the trail. Hopefully the increased use will keep the leaves padded down. Another area which sometime warrants leaf clearing is when the trail is lined too much with rocks on the downhill side and fills up so much as to clog the drains.

 

[pixychick]

Ringwood does not have much organic matter, so blowing the leaves can make it worse. I remember one year a running event blew them off sitting bear at Waway and that trail has never been the same. Some mulching is good for rocky places. The leaves will pad down in a week or two. It will be hard to find the trail though.

 

[jdog]

I rode at Elm Ridge near Windham yesterday. Someone there is leaf blowing the whole spot. The first picture is where they had blown and the second is where they had not.

I suspect that they are blowing off much of the remaining topsoil as well.

I really enjoy riding on top of newly fallen leaves. Somewhat like riding on a few inches of newly fallen snow.

I don’t get the concept, in fact I detest it. I’m a firm believer that blowing off the trails increases erosion and does way more harm than good.

(This place is killer btw!). They built a new section this summer that’s super fun and the plans for next summer are impressive.

 

[V-Dub]

I'm a firm believer in not leaf blowing the trails. The leaves help to stop erosion now but maybe more so they protect the trail in the spring when the frost is coming out of the ground. Trails without leaf cover are much more likely to be damaged by early season riding

 

[Monkey Soup]

Riding over the leaves makes you a better rider also. Not seeing the rocks and not knowing when you'll slide forces you to look further ahead and ride with a lighter touch on the bars and brakes. Too many people ride with the death-grip.

 

[MikeP]

we generally don't rake down south CCC/GCC/Ceres, only sections where leaves accumulate and lead to dangerous conditions, like a rocky chute for example. The leaves get packed down pretty quickly and eventually mulched. It's always a debate but at least at CCC(most heavily used trail system) leaving the leaves has shown lasting benefits

 

[teabagger11]

not down with the leaf blowing, i believe the added challenge makes one a better rider

 

[thegock]

Good when finishing a new trail so the pioneers can follow. There is a thin layer of partially decayed biomass just on top of the hard pack that you want to leave, doe.