December 2020 Mount Vernon Trail Events

[SarahBee]

I rode on Trollheim for the first time in a while today. What a difference already! Thank you friends of MVT and volunteers!!!

[Judd]

Giving the remaining December events a bump. I need a few more volunteers for both of these events to avoid having to schedule follow on events to complete the work.

Thursday, December 17th – Help replace broken and deteriorating deck boards on Trollheim Bridge. Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/130708473563

Saturday, December 19th – Help clean Bridge 1 near Mount Vernon Estates. This bridge has been the site of multiple crashes due to slippery deck boards. Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/130729572671

[secstate]

Really appreciate all the work you and others have put into this important project. I think about it every time I ride Trollheim! It is surprising to me that it’s left to volunteers given that the bridges have been known safety issues for a long time, though I recognize that NPS has limited resources.

I’ll be glad to pitch in on Saturday. See you then!

[Judd]

@secstate 203013 wrote:

Really appreciate all the work you and others have put into this important project. I think about it every time I ride Trollheim! It is surprising to me that it’s left to volunteers given that the bridges have been known safety issues for a long time, though I recognize that NPS has limited resources.

I’ll be glad to pitch in on Saturday. See you then!

Saw your registration come through. Thank you for signing up.

It’s certainly frustrating when things on the trail don’t get fixed. The NPS staff that I’ve worked with have all been great and supportive and genuinely care about the NPS. I have a stack of tools in my living room right now that the Friends are borrowing from NPS which have enabled many of the current projects. GWMP has about a $13 million operating budget and 120 employees to care for a major highway, a major trail and 31ish sites some of which are pretty darn unique (it’s hard to keep a carillon maintenance person on staff, I’m sure.) There’s also sometimes constraints on the trail that make maintenance difficult like lack of nearby water sources. It’s all stuff that can be overcome, but I think most government agencies tend to focus on the thing that is most on fire at any given point and defer preventative maintenance.

Philosophical me has lots of thoughts that are good fodder for happy hour talk. Practical me is super happy to be a partner with GWMP and be able to take care of things that matter to trail users. I’m a firm believer that doing good things has a snowball effect and that building a strong Friends group will help enable GWMP in obtaining additional resources.

[Judd]

Big thanks to secstate, komorebi and rootchopper for coming out on Saturday to power wash Bridge 1. We were able to get half the bridge done before the water ran out. Secstate and komorebi were awesome and helped schlep 70 gallons of water from our staging area to the bridge. We got the worst part of the bridge done and will return for the other half in the spring when NPS turns the water back on at the nearest spigot.

This picture shows the difference between the slimy uncleaned deck on the left and the cleaned deck on the right.
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komorebi with one of the yard signs we use to let trail users know we’re working on the trail.
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Wide shot of the cleaned bridge.
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Close up of the cleaned decking.
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[Judd]

The Friends of Mount Vernon Trail also power washed the curve on the bridge by Marina Towers this month. A Marina Towers resident who stopped to chat on the trail told me that they refer to this part of the bridge as “Deadman’s Curve” because they’ve seen so many crashes here. Volunteers also screwed down loose boards and hammered nail pops back down. If you ride through you might notice that the bridge is much quieter. Some of the nice Marina Towers residents raised the possibility of running a hose and extension cord from their building down to the trail so it may be possible to power wash the whole bridge in the spring.

This curve will get a non-skid treatment applied once the weather is warm enough. This treatment along with our battery powered power washer is made possible through contributions made to our GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-crash-free-trollheim

The cleaned versus uncleaned difference is pretty stark.
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