New Gravel!

[qmhill]

Throwing gravel on top of a rutted road accomplishes little in a high-traffic area. You have to grade the base first, then spread dense grade aggregate on top for it to last, especially with a bunch of idiot climber-drivers around in mommy's car. The hard work and effort is much appreciated regardless.

Agreed. If anything the fresh gravel makes the idea of taking your civic down the hill seem less ridiculous, and encourages the same. But the gravel that we spread in the actual parking lot will hopefully improve things, at least in the short term.

[J-Ru]

Throwing gravel on top of a rutted road accomplishes little in a high-traffic area. You have to grade the base first, then spread dense grade agggregate on top. The hard work and effort is much appreciated regardless.

+1
... we tried to break down the high spots on the hill from Sore Heel to get some leveling, but in reality it would take a chain gang a week to get it graded. One of the big problems we found were large buried rocks that keep the high spots high -- we took out 7 or 8 big ones. We need a road grader or trailer grader or something.

[Josephine]

J-Ru - you two were AMAZING!!!

We don't have have machinery to properly grade it. I had an idea but we were not able to do it because of the large amount of cars coming out behind us (leaving the trail day). If those who know how to drive can go up/down the hill 2 or 3 extra times, that might help pack it down. That's the best I could come up with.

[dustonian]

We should consult with James Neukam on this next time, he's a gravel road maintenance expert.

[DrRockso]

Dustin, we (the gravel crew) spent a couple hours Saturday picking away at the high spots on the sore heel hill, I don't know how much good it did but it is definitely better than it was before. The gravel they put down looked coarser than the previous stuff but without some heavy machinery to pack it down I don't have any other ideas. It looks like the bottom where the gravel drains into the creek could use some railroad ties to keep the hill from degrading. Next trail day maybe?

[weber]

We should consult with James Neukam on this next time, he's a gravel road maintenance expert.

+1

Took us a while to finally get it right with gravel road building and maintenance at Muir. We now have over 3.2 miles in excellent condition. Dense grade, which is made up of gravel and fine limestone powder, instead of loose gravel does wonders to fill potholes and stays put. Packs like concrete. Geotextile material laid down first on new road construction saves huge costs in future graveling - keeps the stuff from working its way to China.

[DriskellHR]

Cool how about someone else take the lead on it then. Clearly I did not do enough in the last 4 weeks.............

And rick dense grade did jack shit. We covered the hill in it last fall Matt and I spent an entire day grading and packing by hand and machine. Its worse now than it ever was. You should let everyone drive to the valley floor and see how that road holds up then, id be curious to know how it works out for you.

[dustonian]

I think 90% of the damage is done during the 3 rainiest weeks of the year (Feb this year), when all the roads turn to complete diarrhea, and mostly by off-roaders/big oil trucks/ATVers. Too bad there's not a way to selectively close the road during that short period to prevent damage.

Thanks again for the amazing effort Mike, not meaning to criticize at all, just looking for solutions. Trails AND roads are way too much for one person IMO, it's really a job that should be contracted out. Or honestly, just let the road go and make the fuckers park in Flat Holler and walk in.

[cliftongifford]

Cool how about someone else take the lead on it then. Clearly I did not do enough in the last 4 weeks.............

And rick dense grade did jack shit. We covered the hill in it last fall Matt and I spent an entire day grading and packing by hand and machine. Its worse now than it ever was. You should let everyone drive to the valley floor and see how that road holds up then, id be curious to know how it works out for you.

I'm pretty sure Rick is trying to help with excellent advice. The steep valley floor road in Muir has been a huge success, with several ppl using it on a daily basis, it's held up very well with little to no maintenance. Nobody is saying you didn't do enough, you did more than enough, way more than most are willing.... Everybody knows that, and very much appreciates your hard work!

[weber]

Cool how about someone else take the lead on it then. Clearly I did not do enough in the last 4 weeks.............

And rick dense grade did jack shit. We covered the hill in it last fall Matt and I spent an entire day grading and packing by hand and machine. Its worse now than it ever was. You should let everyone drive to the valley floor and see how that road holds up then, id be curious to know how it works out for you.

Mike, I'm sure everyone appreciates the hard work you have put into the Sore Heel steep section of road. And you are right, dense grade is only part of the solution. The steep road going down into the Muir Parking lot and the Valley Floor road need to be graded weekly - yes weekly, to keep them passable. Flatlanders just do not know how to drive up steep roads without creating washboarding in a very short period of time. A little tractor with a grader box might be a good investment for the Coalition, now that the place is paid for.