Main Street 2025-02-08
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Volunteers
Darshan Ahluwalia
Mike Fitzgerald
Chris Heck
Dwight Woodward
Approximate person hours (car-to-car): 20 hours
Summary
Darshan hedged two overgrown sections: one halfway up the trail and the other the trail entrance near Main Divide. Darshan removed a sleeping bag and other abandoned camping gear from near the top of the trail. Dwight, Chris, and Mike trimmed the lower part of the trail from about a quarter of the way up to a little less than halfway up. They also removed large trash items (traffic cones, irrigation, carpet remnants, etc.) Details below:
Detailed Description
On Saturday, 3 volunteers--Mike Fitzgerald (who's joined us twice before), Chris Heck (who I met for the first time) and Dwight Woodward (who I also met for the first time and does a lot of trail work on the Skyline Drive trails)--joined me on a last-minute invitation to help trim and clean up Main Street (Pleasant's Peak). I posted on Friday night, so it was surprising to see three responses.
We were at the trailhead at 730/8AM. We worked for 5 hours total. I trimmed a heavily overgrown section of trail about halfway up the mountain. The others worked from about a third of the way up. After I finished with the overgrown section in the middle, I hiked to the top to remove an abandoned sleeping bag/camp that had been up there for a few weeks now. While up there, I trimmed the entrance to the trail. On our way out we all carried trash off the mountain. Some of the trash had been up there as long as I had first started riding the trail 3 or 4 years ago.
The set of photos in the middle is the overgrown part that I worked. The set of photos at the top near Main Divide is where the sleeping bag and the entrance to the trail is.
The overgrown part in the middle is now widened. Should last for a couple of years.
A nice sleeping spot, at the top of the mountain. Thanks for leaving your crap, asshole!
You can see the very top of Pleasant's Peak in the upper right hand corner. Modjeska/Santiago is in the distance. The pines is the entrance to the ridgeline trail off of Main Divide.
The entrance, now with 100% fewer handlebar snaggers
The gentleman's sleeping bag, belongings and trash packed away.
On my way back down, I met Robert who was descending Main St for the first time. He encountered me at the bushy part I trimmed earlier as I was starting to pull the cuttings off the trail. I kindly asked him for his help and he gave me a hand. Also, I met a hiker whom I gave a grocery bag to pick up trash on her way out. When we returned, we saw she filled that bag up and left it at my car.
Chris and Mike hauling junk off the mountain. The cone was stuffed with carpet remnants that were left out there, which were very waterlogged. A heavy haul.
My haul, which includes this beautiful old steel stove that would not latch, so I had to carry it from the top tucked under one arm. This was my Misery Briefcase, which I filled with cans and bottles.
Dwight of Skyline Drive Trails wins the prize for the most depressing Santa Clause. No one wants what's in his sack.
No, we didn't haul that Sofa off the mountain. The bottom is a real dump. You don't want to know what Blaine discovered there this morning amongst needles, rubber gloves and other bathroom sundries (it rhymes with "Bilbo"). At least the mountain is virgin.
This was a successful Saturday! I am very grateful for Mike, Chris and Dwight for helping with this trim and clean up effort, especially considering the invite was very last minute. Chris, Mike and I saw each other this morning to ride Main Street and we were all quite sore from hiking and hauling the trash off the mountain. I'm guessing Dwight was feeling it too. Great job guys and thank you once again!!
