Maude Lake Watershed & Trails Improvement Project

Desolation Wilderness 2009

The California Alpine Club Foundation grant to the Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association (ENFIA) provided pack support for Eldorado N.F. Wilderness/Trails staff, Student conservation Association crew members, Wilderness Volunteers and Desolation Wilderness Volunteer project partners. The grant facilitated the transport and return of 300 lbs. Of trail construction tools and base camp supplies from the rockbound Trailhead to our project site at Maude Lake in Desolation Wilderness, a total of 12 miles.

The 2009 project was a continuation of the effort begun in 2008 by our volunteer partner, the Wilderness Volunteers (National organization) working under the supervision of the Eldorado N.F. trails engineer and Pacific Ranger District Wilderness/Trails staff. Trail construction projects in congressionally designated Wilderness areas require the use of primitive tools to protect the wilderness character and resource. Unique and innovative trail construction applications are developed and implemented. Pre-project planning involved the layout and design of the new trail sections, location of native material and locating and safely dropping appropriate lodgepole pine turnpike retainer sections.

100 feet of log turnpike trail section and hardened drainage culverts, constructed in the 1980's were removed and replaced. The existing turnpike trail sections had eroded and deteriorated and were creating obstructions to slope drainage and runoff thru the meadow/wetland. Trail users were bypassing the muddy sections, creating new crossings, widening and braiding trail sections and accelerating trail tread erosion. Turnpikes elevate a trail above wet ground and create a stable trail base. This technique uses fill material from parallel side ditches and from offsite borrow pits to build up the trail base higher than the water table.

Project crew members removed the existing lodgepole pine retainer log sections and dug out drainage ditches on either side of the planned raised area. Once the retainer sections were limbed and bark removed, they were transported to the trail site by log-carriers. Other crewmembers were involved in locating a borrow pit, a site that has suitable tread material close to the work site, and transporting the fill material to the work site.

In addition, small well-graded angular rocks were quarried and placed inside the retainer sections prior to fill. Existing runnoff/drainage areas were defined and re-established. Existing culverts were repositioned and secured by rock retainers. A rock culvert, with settling basin was constructed at the north-east end of the turnpike, offering project crewmembers a chance to display their considerable trail building skills. A check dam was installed at the end of a 90 ft turnpike that had been constructed the year before.

Volunteers and students from across the nation came away from their week in the Desolation Wilderness with a greater appreciation of the hard work necessary to continue our stewardship efforts to preserve and protect our wild lands...