Recently, we’ve been redoubling our volunteer maintenance efforts at the Montini Preserve by instituting a monthly trail work day in association with staff from Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Sonoma Ecology Center.

One of the jobs we wanted to tackle early on was a particularly sketchy spot that had narrowed from a rock falling out of the trail. This was just above a steep hill that if someone fell, they could really get hurt. On the first work day the team determined a wall, or more accurately a buttress, would need to be built up from some distance below the trail to support the trail and enable us to widen it safely.

The job took some ingenuity, which the team quickly provided. We knew we would need to bring large rocks up the hill to the job site, so Scotty Lawyer from Sugarloaf swung into action and made two wooden sleds suitable for bringing big rocks up the hill. Roy brought out his rafting “wrap kit” (ropes, pulleys, locking carabiners, webbing, etc., normally used to pull wrapped rafts off rocks in a river) and set up a mechanical advantage to make it easier to drag the sleds up the hill. We anchored the setup to a large oak tree above the work site.

Over three work days, we sledded rocks up and placed them in layers, slowly building the buttress up to the trail. Today, we made it to the top and were able to resurface the trail as the cherry on top. This stretch is now free of tripping hazards, smooth, and angled outward so rain water should just flow off the trail and prevent ditching.

This was the largest project we’ve tackled with volunteers on either the Montini or Overlook properties. Kudos to all who helped!