[pct-l] Bike Spring

[gary at hbfun.org]

I-Beam, thanks for what you do!

When I locate them, I'll check my old guides, but it seems like Bike 
Springs has always been described as unreliable going back to the '80s.

Gary


On 21.02.2021 15:07, JimLBanks at verizon.net wrote:
> Hi everyone, I-Beam here.  I have a question for the really old timers 
> on
> this list.  As many of you know I am a crew leader for the Cajon Pass
> Chapter of the Trail Gorillas.  We are looking into trying to 
> rehabilitate
> old springs along the PCT that have fallen into disrepair and/or dried 
> up
> and are no longer in use.  One such spring is Bike Spring at mile 
> 347.3.
> This is ½ mile trail north of Swarthout Canyon Road.  I first hiked 
> that
> section in 2008 and it was out of repair and had no water then and 
> since
> then there has been no water.  Half-mile’s trail notes has always 
> indicated
> that it was “always dry.”  The spring is only twenty yards or so off 
> the
> trail and it is right across from the trail register box.  There is a
> concrete box where a pipe comes in from uphill, but no water.    We 
> think
> the water source may still be viable because the brush is much thicker
> there, indicating some ground water.  So my question to everyone is:  
> When
> was the last time this spring had water?  We are trying to work with 
> the
> Forest Service to get some background information about this spring, 
> but
> there doesn’t seem to be much interest in helping us.  We are hoping to
> instigate a renewed interest in rehabbing springs all up and down the 
> trial
> so we can get rid of some of the water caches.
> 
> 
> 
> We cleaned up and rehabilitated Guffy Spring last year just before we 
> got
> shut down because of Covid.  We also did some maintenance on the side 
> trail
> that leads down to the spring from the PCT.  It is a steep trail.  We 
> are
> going to focus on trying to keep Guffy Spring maintained.
> 
> 
> 
> Also just to let you know, 2020 was a tough year for trail maintenance
> because of Covid.  We were able to work on an off and on basis 
> depending on
> the shut-down level.  With all the restrictions we have not been able 
> to
> have large crews.  From March of 2020 to current all the maintenance in 
> our
> section has been done by the three crew leaders.  We were able to brush 
> the
> 16.7 miles from Swarthout Canyon Road to the boundary of the San 
> Bernardino
> NF and the Angeles NF.  We had to stop there because the Angeles NF has 
> shut
> down all maintenance since March, 2020.  It was a huge undertaking for 
> 3
> guys.  This section had not been brushed in 10 years and there were 
> many
> areas with Poodle Dog Bush and poison oak.  But it is in good shape now 
> for
> this year’s hikers.  We are currently working on the section between 
> the 15
> Freeway and Swarthout Canyon Road.
> 
> 
> 
> If anyone has any information about Bike spring, please let me know.
> Thanks,
> 
> I-Beam
> 
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