Congratulations and a big thanks to all 11 people who showed up for Sunday's work party in Swale Canyon. The crew removed many tons of logs and branches from the supports of two trestles that are about halfway between Wakiacus and Harms Rd. This debris had been piled there in the 1996 floods and was both a fire and flood hazard.

We met at the Harms Road trail head at 9:00 A.M., biked over 5 miles to the first trestle, and spent about 1-1/2 hours removing debris. Then we biked two miles to the second trestle, ate lunch and worked another 3 hours. The debris on the downstream end of this second trestle was piled 10 feet high. Then came the hard part. We had to bike (or walk our bikes) 7 or 8 miles uphill back to Harms Rd. The last of us straggled out shortly after 6:00 P.M.

Wildlife spotted along the way included many deer, three or four rattlesnakes, and a cougar seen stalking several of the deer.

This work party, without doubt the most difficult we have ever done, was a huge success. We finished both trestles and got back to Harms Rd. with no life flights required and only one flat tire, discovered at the very end.