Monroe Truck Trail Restoration Survey

On Saturday the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders joined up with three other volunteers to take a look at the lower one and a half miles of the Monroe Truck Trail to see what maintenance and restoration efforts might be needed (for details about the trail see Dan's web page at http://www.simpsoncity.com/hiking/mystic.html and for photographs of the trail region from last year (24/Jun/07) see Taco's photographs at ( http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/TacoDelRio/20070624%20GRR/)

The trailhead begins on Glendora Mountain Road at North 34 degrees 10.011 by West 117 degrees 50.031 at 1374 feet. There is plenty of parking on both sides of the street and we encountered many hikers and many people on bicycle using the trail along the lower canyons (below 2,000 feet altitude.)

This is a list of some of the things that will be needed to open up and make the hiking, biking, and equestrian trail more useable and safe. Also maintenance is needed to mitigate erosion and other problems which threaten to make the trail impassable.

The items listed are done in the order in which they appear heading up the trail however due to the inability to acquire GPS satellites for most of the canyon, the locations of most problems could not be recorded.

• Tamarisk Removal. There are clumps of tamarisk located within some of the damp areas of the hiking trail around places where the trail crosses the stream at the bottom of the canyon. (For information about tamarisk removal and why it is performed, see the University California Davis web page at http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/mclaughlin/tamarisk/tamarisk_removal.htm) At least three clumps of tamarisk are observed from the trail within the first 1.5 miles.

• Trimming back of brush, bushes, and trees. The start of the trail soon gets in to areas where the growth on both sides of the trail some what impede passage of hikers, greatly impede bicycle usage, and blocks horses from passing. Further up within morning shaded areas of the trail the brush is cut back minimally by hikers to afford a bare minimum of passage space.

  

• Berm and fallen tree removal. There is an area toward the start of the trail where a tree has been felled and limbs have been bucked however the remains have been dropped such that erosion of the trail is taking place. The resulting berm and accumulated branches and leaves need to be removed and rocks must be moved around to restore water flow off of the trail. (No GPS was available.)

• Drainage needs to be established along the west end of one part of the trail where debris has accumulated. The problem exists near where the first stand of non-native tobacco trees can be easily seen along the trail. (No GPS was available. Photographs number 7 and 8.)

• Tobacco Tree removal. It's possible that the invasive wild tobacco trees (Solanum mauritianum) located along the trail could be removed. The plants should be fairly easy to cut and remove since the trunks are readily accessible. (For information about wild tobacco trees see the PDF file http://www.tobacco.pdf)

• Fallen tree removal. There is a 24 inch sycamore which needs to be bucked up in to fairly small pieces so that the whole thing can be carted away from the trail and the creek bed. (No GPS was available. Photograph 9.) Various other tree limbs along the way also need to be bucked up and removed from the trail.

• Painted rocks cleanup. There is one large painted boulder that could be cleaned up either by scraping or by being painted over with gray paint. The San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders may request other volunteer groups to come up and clean it off. (No GPS available. Photographs 10 and 11.)

• Pampas grass removal There are several stands of pampas grass (Cortadena selloana and Cortaderia jubata) which is growing along visible sections of the trail. The grass is invasive and causes problems to native plant species. (For information about Pampas Grass see http://www.nps.gov/archive/redw/pampas.htm) (No GPS was available. Photograph 11.)

• Lots of poison oak. There is a lot of poison oak along the trail however most hikers and bikers will be able to avoid it if they recognize it. A sign posted at the trailhead with a picture of the plant would be very useful.

• Concrete post in the trail. There is a long concrete post embedded in the trail which should probably be removed and be used somewhere else, perhaps to slow down rainwater on the trail. (No GPS was available. Photograph 13.)

  

• Metal garbage. Though the Trailbuilders probably can't do anything about it, there are concentrations of metal garbage located along the canyon bottom which should some day be either removed or get covered by rocks and dirt to eliminate the materials from people's sight. (No GPS was available. Photograph number 14.)

• Unknown grass removal. Photograph 19 shows what appears to be an invasive species of non-native grass which may or may not be a problem. Removal of such colonies of the grass appears to be a difficult project since there are stands located along steep hillsides.

• Fig tree removal. There are non-native fig trees located along the trail which should be cut up and removed. Some of the trees are currently bearing unripe fruit. Removal of the trees should be fairly quick and easy since the trunks are readily accessible. (Photograph samples number 20 and 21.)

• Dirt slides. There are about three or four small dirt slides which need to be cleared from the trail. There are two rock slides with fairly large boulders which also need to be removed from the trail.

• Castor Bean removal. There are three visibly close stands of castor been tree (Ricinus communis) which could conceivably be removed since they are non-native plants. This variety is dark red and consists of fairly straight trunks which should be easy to cut and remove. (For information about Castor Bean planets see U.C. Davis web page http://ucce.ucdavs.edu/datastore/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=69%surveynumber=182 NOTE: That web page is slightly "broken.")

• GPS satellites acquired. At this point in the trail we are at North 34 degrees, 10.296 by West 117 degrees, 50.274 at 1475 feet.

• Drainage culvert cleaning. This is one of the big jobs that must be performed. There are many metal drainage culverts located along the trail within the first 1.5 miles, most of which are clogged and otherwise buried in brush. At least 8 culverts must be cleared, 5 of which have been tagged with bright green tape.

• Major washout. Located at North 34 degrees, 10.182 by West 117 degrees 50.027 (plus or minus 100 feet) at an altitude of 1577 there is a rock face which forms a water fall which is undermining the trail more and more every year. The plunge pool groove that forms every year probably moves back and forth across the trail depending upon the volume of the rainwater. (Photographs 34, 35, and 36.) Hikers have some difficulty climbing down but little difficulty climbing back out. Bicycle riders may or may not ride down and up depending on how safe they feel it is to do so.

  

• Undermined drainage culvert. At North 34 degrees 10.100 by West 117 degrees 50.051 at 1720 feet there is a long drainage culvert that has been undermines and the problem continues to get worse every year. Much work is needed to fill in the gap under the culvert and to fill in the hole being eaten in to the trail so that the drainage culvert starts to work again.

• Lots more brush trimming. There is extensive plant growth along the trail for the first mile and a half which makes parts of the trail difficult to walk through, right up until the trail reaches the ridge line and starts to open up more in to direct sunlight. A small tractor would be the best way to remove a mile of the growth and open the hiking trail wide however several months of week-end volunteering would be needed, I think, for volunteers to fully widen up the trail for the entire length of the canyon.

The trail is a good one affording respite from the filth and stink of the cities below, cities which can be seen from three miles away at some points along the trail.

Also from the amount of use that the trail had today it's clear that the trail is much loved despite being heavily overgrown and not well maintained -- if at all.

Hikers and bicycle riders who use the trail will at times clear back the brush or otherwise do repairs however dedicated efforts by hikers appears to be rare and such efforts by hikers who take the time to perform heavy maintenance when they can are apparently doing so alone or in pairs, or doing it during hiking adventures rather than as a directed maintenance effort.

Also it's great to see such a heavily used trail so clean! The hikers and bikers who use the trail have been keeping the place fairly clean since we encountered only three pieces of highly visible litter along the trail.