NEW Map, Work Plans - LOTS to read here

Hey gang! The plan for the weekend is to cut corridor and tread where Mike left off today. Mike cut up to the ravine climb dubbed "Dub Step" (if you are unfamiliar, get hip). We will focus on the section in red. The section in red is definitely simplified in the "map" above, there are several hours of work in this section including a LOT of tree trimming.

IMPORTANT
With regards to what is flagged - Mike walked what I continued to flag after he left - we talked it out on the phone while he was walking it and he agrees it's good the way it's flagged. He checked out the 2 areas I was concerned with (off camber ravine and the tight turn after) and he agrees they will work. I wanted to use the ravine and the rock feature after the ravine and the line we have is as good as it gets. The point I would like to make is that we have a lot of people helping on the trail now, perhaps with different ideas. Mike and I generally consult each other when we are flagging and we look at things from different angles, speeds, skills, likes, drainage, etc and we come to an agreement before the final flagging is done, especially if we question our original individual choices. He isn't shy about telling me a turn isn't going to work and I'm not shy telling him that's a "pussy line" - what we have seems to be working well, because so far everyone seems to be very pleased with the trail. I don't want this to come off high and mighty or bitchy, but it needed to be said.

There is a ravine run that will need lots of cutting and some benching. It's a run that goes along the ravine on an off camber, but should work nicely. After that is a tight turn that will require a massive pruning of the myrtle on the inside shoulder. There's another heavily wooded section with some rocks and a big oak, after that as memory serves me it's very open.

We will be working relatively close to the houses, out of sight, but not out of ear shot. However, with the typical lawn mowing, weed eating, etc we should be drowned out a bit, but we should still be relatively quite. The rock raking, sawing a lopping shouldn't be a big issue, but if we start shouting that will most likely draw attention - just keep it in mind. Mike and I dropped to a whisper when we got to the top of Dub Step to scout the area yesterday. Goods news, the red section is really light on the cactus, right up until the end, then it's cactus hell again.

The dark thin blue line after the red is the proposed line we will continue after the red is done. It's a nice long downhill that crosses the creek again and heads up to the end of Snake Ridge before doubling back. We will try to double back a couple of more times to get several fast runs through the ravine, before snaking up near the flood pond and finally punching across the top of the big ravine and Snake and Jaggers.

We may be able to get a few more runs in this expanse - the view in the map doesn't really show the vastness of it, it has to be seen to really understand the scale. When you reach the end of the red section and look to the left and straight across it feels like you are a mile away from the houses on the far side.

I will be out on the trail:

• Sat is questionable, but planning to get there by 8, but only out 2 hours
• Sun 8-12 - hopefully I will have "Lloyd Bridges" with me and will need help hauling it in.

Can we get an RSVP with head count. Brian is in for Sat with 2 others I believe. 

Brian - can you email or text me your cell number - I might need to call to get help hauling in Lloyd Bridges from Dodge Cattle. He will be 8'x1' (2"x6"x8' supports and 1' wide 5/4 slats).

Mike - any word on Kevin coming back out?

David has pussitis, I mean a sprain wrist.

Joe is kind of non-committal.

I guess Chel is just in it to use the fruits of our labor.

See you guys soon!
Eric