Hartshorne Trail maintenance info

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Thanks Bobby! I was seeing sideways when I left that place on Monday lol. Moving those stones kicked my ass! I think Larry could have kept going - the dude is a machine!

I hiked the connector today to see where tire tracks were laying down and hiking it down and then up felt good and there is definitely some nice lines burning in. Just some fine tuning in a few more spots and should be good to go.
where's this connector? I've just started riding this park and tend to stay on the marks due to getting lost easily.
 

CommandoStyle

Well-Known Member
It crosses the road from the claypit lot into the main park. ~halfway down the road to the back bay.
I think he was referring to the "Grand Tour Connector" near the upper lot which connects Grand Tour to Cuesta Ridge.

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mwlikesbikes

Well-Known Member
Tree down across the trail on Devil’s elbow climb between the original elbow and the new hairpin. Only 8” around but about a foot off the ground. Should be quick handsaw work to clear it
 

don

Well-Known Member
Some progress pics from the last 2 TM's on the GT Connector trail. For this section it was a shorter but steeper fall line section that linked 2 of the opened up corners together. There was a bunch of stone in the area and we felt that armoring it would give it a long term strength and add some flavor to the climb. There were a couple of little things like one of the large rocks just to the side of the trail (near my red shovel in the first pic) and the trail needed to be pitched to the new drainage area (old trail section).

1st - start of last week's TM
2nd - end of last week's TM
3rd - end of this week's TM (you can see how the rocks were more exposed after just one week of weather and use)

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don

Well-Known Member
A couple more. A little hard to see the rocks but there are a lot in there. Iggy farmed at least a dozen from the woods and Larry dug out some sizable ones from where the old trail was.

1st - last week's TM looking up
2nd - after this week's looking down. Brian did an awesome job of framing out the upper left section with stone. It put the trail tread a few inches above the side and has a great and functional look.
3rd - pic of one of the stones we were working with - lot of muscling, pry bars and a 20lb all steel Wolverine shovel to move them into place.
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don

Well-Known Member
Last 2 pics

1st - Larry and Brian are such badasses that we finished the rock work before 12 and did a little tuning on the turn after. Even after moving and setting a bunch of rock they got me 8 barrows of honey grade material to use
2nd - overall pic of the work area - about 15' of trail in 2 TM's - heat and rocks make long work.

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Mitch

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Last 2 pics

1st - Larry and Brian are such badasses that we finished the rock work before 12 and did a little tuning on the turn after. Even after moving and setting a bunch of rock they got me 8 barrows of honey grade material to use
2nd - overall pic of the work area - about 15' of trail in 2 TM's - heat and rocks make long work.

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Thanks Don and Crew, you guys are killing it!!!
 

don

Well-Known Member
We went back to Grand Tour to fix a roller that had been getting blown out from the dry weather and use. I feel like the work we did on the trail has held up pretty good for a years worth of use on it. The drains are working but will need to be cleared at some point. As Chris and I were making a plan for this Monday's TM we both said how the layout makes things very difficult - long fall line sections with very sandy material. We both said there is such good topography that wasn't used and if things were done from scratch the line would be totally different using modern trail knowledge.

Any way - a pic looking up and one looking down. We didn't get a ton of work done due to the brutal humidity and then we got absolutely soaked 2x with passing storms. To keep it from blowing out again we are going to farm rock and armor. I hoping it keeps a similar feel as the large rock section right before it (when going downhill). Any help moving and setting rock will be huge.

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don

Well-Known Member
With the roller getting blown out from use we felt it would be better to move it and make it more substantial with rock and size.

Pic 1 - Brian using the smaller rocks as fill - he moved some medium sized rocks down hill to hold them in
Pic 2 and 3 - we dug benchcut down a 1-2 ft to create a dip. With the slope of the trail it was hard and the digging was gnarly. One positive is the outward slope is steep so when water comes thru it should exit quickly.
Pic 4 - It would be a lot easier to just throw duff and plantings into the woods when cutting out say a drain but I feel it goes a long way to bring that organic material to old trail sections. I'm not sure if many know but the original trail went to the right of the tree in the pic. Even having no traffic in years nothing was growing back. Creating a natural catch basin of plants, leaves and mulch with slow down water and anything coming across won't build up speed to create erosion. And it just looks way better too.

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don

Well-Known Member
Thanks crew! Appreciate the work and updates. You deserve a raise!

smacks head - I forgot the hell yeahs from the Monday workers: Brian Wilson, Larry, and UK Steve. It was very tough work with the trail tread being rock hard and these guys really crushed it.

I'm hoping the updates help in letting people know the how and why we do certain things. I know I ramble on but there is a lot of forethought and head scratching on the planning end and if a quick post with some pics help with some questions people have it may be worth it.

Raise? 15% of $0 is still $0 lol. I get to work with some really awesome people at the TM's which is great for the soul. And then seeing people fully enjoying the trails is pretty sweet too.
 

knobbyhead

Next off the Island.
smacks head - I forgot the hell yeahs from the Monday workers: Brian Wilson, Larry, and UK Steve. It was very tough work with the trail tread being rock hard and these guys really crushed it.

I'm hoping the updates help in letting people know the how and why we do certain things. I know I ramble on but there is a lot of forethought and head scratching on the planning end and if a quick post with some pics help with some questions people have it may be worth it.

Raise? 15% of $0 is still $0 lol. I get to work with some really awesome people at the TM's which is great for the soul. And then seeing people fully enjoying the trails is pretty sweet too.
Thanks ! I was recovering from cranks!!!

I rode it today, I thought I noticed something changed!! Nice job!
 

don

Well-Known Member
Thanks ! I was recovering from cranks!!!

I rode it today, I thought I noticed something changed!! Nice job!
Thanks Knobby! Will see you at the next TM I'm sure!

I hiked there today and there were already a lot of tire tracks on that section. The tread paths looked like they were close together and not too many skids. I think another TM or 2 to finish up the armoring work and it will be solid for a long time.
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Our last few Monday sessions have been spent armoring the water tower down hill on Grand Tour. Everyone loves this downhill we renovated last year however its showing signs of wear from use in a relatively short amount of time.

Given the sand based soil and speed traveling down the trail, brake bumps and channels have formed. To prevent further deterioration of the trail we have began lining the trail with large rock in areas showing excessive wear. This involves some heavy lifting but is well worth the effort in order to provide a sustainable trail.

As always we are seeking volunteers who are interested in helping on the trails, please reach out or post up if you can help. We do trail work on Mondays 9am-12m, and pruning work on Thursdays from 10am-12pm.

Thanks

These folks deserve some thanks and recognition, there like Amish people building a barn by hand. Yes we hump those rocks down the trail and set them.
Roadie Steve, Don @don , Brian, Brain Mac, Bob @knobbyhead , Jordon @rustynuts , Larry the machine.
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Don roughing in a rock line.
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The finished product, a rock armored trail.
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don

Well-Known Member
@pooriggy - we have to give big props to Brother Bill from MCPS on the backhoe last Monday. Dude got us some awesome rocks and I noticed he skimmed parts of the fire road on his trips back and forth from Rocky Point area.

I like working with the big stone as it is set and forgot for the most part. But damn it's rough on the body. Thank goodness for Larry for the help on placing them.

I rode that section down hill last night. Dry as hell but it's solid where we put rock. It's pretty cool in that the trail has the same feel but the rocks/armored areas are making the suspension/body work a little more.

For any critics: I tried to angle the rock down to match where the trail ebbs and use bigger pieces on the lowest downhill side to hold the smaller pieces above them in place. I'm also trying to place them randomly to keep a more naturalistic feel to it (think hundreds of year old cobblestone vs dry set blue stone patio).

One other part of the erosion I noticed was hikers skimming down steeper sections (very much like a tire skidding but feet instead). It is a multi-use/multi directional trail so I'll walk up and down during a TM and see how the rocks feel. Having a small "step" or 2 feels a lot better/safer for a hiker and should add a little flavor when on a bike.
 

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