You heard me right. We are now trained plastic surgeons. Except instead of using Botox and catering to the Californian elite, we used grass transplantation for the penniless Mt. Massive.
We took two groups (WRV [Wildlands Restoration Volunteers] and CDTA [Continental Divide Trail Alliance]) into the Massive wilderness for separate backpacking trips. Both of these groups focused on restoring the recently rerouted unsustainable trail scar still visible from 13,200 ft to 13,600. While “Trail Closed for Restoration” signs were placed at the top and bottom of the old trail, footprints indicate that some rebels were still impacting the closed trail.
These two pictures are from the top section of the trail.
And this next one is from the bottom of the same portion of trail.
In all three of these pictures you can tell that the trail is not only visibly present, but it is also littered with rocks that make natural revegetation nearly impossible to achieve. At the top junction we corrected this by building a small natural wall to delineate and divert the new trail away from the old, and then added dense plug coverage for the first 90 feet of the trail. This helped to disguise the trail and provide a physical barrier that will hopefully deter the wayward hiker.
After sufficiently covering both the top and bottom junctions of the trail scar, we continued to plant grass plugs in the trail and build check dams at the particularly steep sections. This one-two restorative punch will hopefully prevent erosion and bring back the youthful complexion of the mountain’s natural tones.
From the top site.
In both of these pictures, notice how the once visible trail is now difficult to pick out from the surrounding landscape. This was, of course, our goal. Now from the bottom site.
We completed nearly 500 linear feet of trail restoration with both groups, an impressive feat when one considers that each plug is spaced a mere 8-12 inches from the next. And we have our volunteers to thank for that.
First, WRV! Come on down!
That’s it. Take a bow.
And now… drum-roll please… CDTA!
Thanks to everybody!
–Ev and France
