stoney brook report - prognosis negative

[Pow on the Mao]

hello everyone... yesterday i scouted the stoney brook pod which has not opened this summer. my goal was to assess and report out the damage and condition. i knew it would be bad since it hasn't opened, but want to share with everyone what the exact issues are. i went up the road and down the trails with a lot of required walking to not ruin things. there were a few muddy tracks, but mostly it seems the closed status is being respected.

first, there is nothing catastrophic. but 2/3 of what was open last year has continuous problems / washouts. here is the report in trail sections, starting with the good news -

Bottom section (below plum creek road)
-this section is in pretty good shape and could open, but might temp people to go higher where its much worse
-2 washouts on top two banked turns on the inside of the turns. will require some infill of material. not wet, but inside corners are washed out. still ridable.
the perfectly packed dirt track is now gravely with all the small stones coming to the top from all the rain. at high speed on the way down the stones are making it a little more skiddish than the perfect dirt was. careful on that last right turn up to the ridge above the parking lot..
-moss is growing which is great. mostly on the lowest section, but this will really lock in the trail.
-parking lot looks great. privy and signage not complete yet.

middle section (btw plum creek and power lines)
-very muddy below the boardwalk. always is. needs stone infill in troughs. like every trough. 1 very deep puddle, like 12" deep, after boardwalk. will take some labor to place stone pads in these troughs
-banked turns at bottom of this section are ok. minor washout issues on interiors.

power line climb
-muddy before you hit power lines. but not too bad
-power line steep section is ok
-very muddy above power lines. too muddy to ride in almost every trough. trail crew buckets and spades on-site

climb after plum creek crossing
-plum creek road, one tire track completely washed out. deep.
- this climb section is ok

top descent
-super mud. too muddy to ride.
-mostly below the initial wiggle, just as it turns to jumps and flow, super mud. big mud in all low spots.
-washout at transition to bridge
-mud in powerline section, deep mud.

overall, the thing that made this trail so perfect is the thing that made is susceptible to washouts... its all packed loam and this super wet summer took its toll. don't get me wrong, there is lots of painstaking stone work. but its going to take a lot of infill material to restore the washouts, and a lot of small stone to fill in the mud pits. i think its a whole season of restoration work.

still not ready to ride (mostly)
i think we need a trail volunteer day.