New Trail at Northshore

During my run today I noticed that DORBA is in the process of cutting a new portion of the trail. Heading north from the MADD shelter, it is located just at the top of the hill by the wood fence (I think some call this emu hill), about a half mile in from the MADD shelter. This is the current end of the one way trail where you can either keep running on a two way, or turn left, go down the hill, and head back to the MADD shelter.

The new portion runs off to the right, just under where I wrote "HERE!"
Click on the picture for a larger version.

I could tell that DORBA is still in the process of finishing the trail. The first part is very well groomed. They have done an excellent job cutting the trail through the woods and the path is already well established.

Completed portion of the new trail.

However, they still have some work to do, and I'm not sure about the approach they've taken in a couple of areas, specifically the creek crossings. The first I came to has a small wood bridge. However, the bridge is only about a foot over the water. I suspect that even a small amount of rain will raise the water level enough to blow out this bridge. But I could be wrong. Time will tell.

First small creek crossing with wood bridge.

The trail starts to degrade from here on. The further I went the harder it was to tell where the trail was. But I'm not concerned about that. I know DORBA is still working on it.

By the time I reached the second creek, it became clear that DORBA hasn't reached this far with developing the trail. I couldn't see a clear path across the creek, and I had to spend a little time on the other side to find the trail. But again, I know this will change as they work on the trail.

Second creek crossing, no bridge built yet.

Once on the other side of the creek, I ran into a couple of hikers enjoying the new portion of the trail. I attempted to strike up a conversation, but they weren't very chatty.

The hikers I met on the trail!

From here out the trail pretty much vanished, with the exception of red flags placed to mark the future route of the trail. The trail then joins up with the original trail at the Sleepy Lagoon trail access path.

Trail marked by red flags but not developed yet.
Click to enlarge!

On the way back I also noticed another portion of the trail that by-passes the peak of emu hill. The new path is very short and just cuts along the side of the hill and joins back up with the trail at the bottom of emu hill. I didn't see any other changes from there.

New trail cuts to the right and joins back at bottom of hill.

Other than the concerns I expressed about the creek crossings, I think these changes are good. I am hoping that over time DORBA continues to work north-west to extend the one way portion of the trail. After they finish this portion they will have about 3 miles left to do. That's still a lot of work!