The Double Diamond Award
Goes to The Mother Lode Unit of CA
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34 / Sport and Trail Magazine
he MLU's project included restoring 47 miles of the Historic Pony Express Trail. The dollar value of this project came to $142,431.00
Since 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act, BCHC-MLU partnered with the US Forest Service (Eldorado National Forest) and the California Division of the National Pony Express Association to restore 47 miles of alpine trail.
partnered with the US Forest Service (Eldorado National Forest) and the California Division of the National Pony Express Association to restore 47 miles of alpine trail.
Several trail features needed attention and were included in the project, each of which required special skills. MLU called on friends from other trail organizations in the region to assist and advise their volunteers in developing a variety of new skills (trail rerouting, ford building, grading/gravel install, and rigging/tackle techniques). Such technical assistance and in-kind equipment came from individual members of Elegant Ears Mule Association, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, and Pacific Crest Trail Association.
First priority was the restoration of the XP Corral Trailhead near the midpoint of the 47 miles to provide a staging area for work parties and provide public access to the trail.
Youth & Public Education: As soon as the trailhead was functional, Boy Scout troops were invited to learn trail maintenance skills and Leave No Trace practices. In July, Troop 466 from Sunnyvale CA pruned vegetation and added trail markers. In August, Troop 186 from Elk Grove placed riprap (cobble stones) in 5 erosion sensitive areas around the trailhead, three of which protected the seasonal creek. Troop 186 returned in October to finish a 6th area of riprap and clean culverts on 12 miles of the trail they adopted. One of their Eagle Scout candidates is creating a trail map for the USFS to pass out to trail users as part of a new USFS Recreational Opportunity Guide (ROG) for the Pony Express Trail.
MLU then tackled Kyburz Ford where a recent wild fire denuded the mountain above Kyburz CA such that the severe winter of 2016-2017 caused a trail bridge to be totally destroyed by a massive debris slide which closed about 4 miles of trail. Replacement of the bridge was estimated at $70,000 by the US Forest Service and would take several years to implement. As a substitute, environmental approvals were expedited to allow the trail to be relocated 150 yards upstream to a spot suitable for construction of a ford. The 2018 reroute and ford effort required no cash but did expend volunteer resources to reopen that section of trail.
There were also monster log removals due to every winter, trees fall across the single track trail on hillsides that
frequently slope at 30-45 degrees, with vehicle traffic