Lake Isabel Repairs

[lupinsea]

Saturday I met up with KatJK and Ronda and we checked out the was out area on the Lake Isabel Trail. Impressive. There's a big gash that is about 10 ft lower than the previous stream crossing and it's big enough to swallow a Jeep.

Last I had seen Kat, Ronda (and Leo?) had dragged a stump into the hole to temporarily provide some support. But I'm thinking at some point a more permanent strategy would be good to formulate.

Near as I can see it looks tricky getting past the washout. As mentioned in another thread you can cross it no problem but then on the far side there's a rocky outcropping at the edge of the hole. Any rig crossing will start to high-side it and thus lean out over the 10 ft drop. Finally, the passenger front tire is likely to drop into a pocket just as the high-side tire would be climbing higher likely inducing a roll-over situation. Not "usually" a problem on flat ground but this is right above the 10 ft drop.

Suffice to say, this looks like it might require some bridging of sorts for safety reasons. Anyone have any ideas?

Bridging
We were thinking of either bridging straight across the hole but I think it would require building up "landing" on the far side.

Shoring
Another option is to some how shore up or build up the steeply slopped drop to allow vehicle passage.

Leveling
Finally, maybe chipping down the high-side just enough to keep the vehicles from leaning over too far. This would probably be a more permanent solution but might be the most effort.



Thoughts?


Found these idea on the net:


http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/issues/1994-02-01/142-026-01-illustrate_01.jpg



http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/issues/1994-02-01/142-026-01-pix1.jpg


The log bridge idea is intriguing but the far side bank is uneven and would require some work to level it out.






Eco-group's log bridge building how-to. (http://www.motherearthnews.com/UnCategorized/1984-05-01/Homestead-Handbook-How-To-Build-a-Simple-Log-Bridge.aspx) Something from the granola crowd that could be useful. The information seems reasonable and there are accompaning formulas for doing some rough sizing calculations for log diameter for long bridges.



Minnesota Best Management Practices for Timber Bridge Construction (http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD7005.html)

[jruz]

I had posted on another thread that I can help haul supplies out to the washout in the UNIMOG. It's rated at 1.5t for the payload, and would do fine on the trail leading up to the washout.

Seeing as how it washed out in the first place, it seems like the bridge idea is on the right track. Whatever the solution is, it should account for that potential water flow...

Just my 2-cents
Jim

[Comet]

The pics are no longer here, and I forget exactly what it looks like, but another option to think about might be to dig away on the uphil side and re-route the trail. It would take a lot of hand work, but with enough people could be done pretty quickly. The dirt could be used to fill the hole. Again, I don't recall how it looks, so this is just another idea.

[Comet]

I had posted on another thread that I can help haul supplies out to the washout in the UNIMOG. It's rated at 1.5t for the payload, and would do fine on the trail leading up to the washout.

Seeing as how it washed out in the first place, it seems like the bridge idea is on the right track. Whatever the solution is, it should account for that potential water flow...

Just my 2-cents
Jim

Hmmm, there is a thread on the need for a heavy hauler for eco blocks on sac up....

[Kat JK]

I will be at the meeting tonight with my laptop with all the videos and pictures we have taken.

Kat

[jruz]

Hmmm, there is a thread on the need for a heavy hauler for eco blocks on sac up....

To be honest I've only ever been on Isabel at Reiter, so I tend to just keep an eye on these threads. I'll have a look-see for this Sac Up thread... :D

[lupinsea]

The pics are no longer here, and I forget exactly what it looks like, but another option to think about might be to dig away on the uphil side and re-route the trail. It would take a lot of hand work, but with enough people could be done pretty quickly. The dirt could be used to fill the hole. Again, I don't recall how it looks, so this is just another idea.

At this point I think a bridge is a bit ambitious as we'd need good, solid cribbing on both side. The far side is where we'd have to build things up more.

So far, though, I'm liking the idea of digging away the uphill side a bit. I was half-heartedly chipping away at the rock to see what it was like and in short order I had a decent pile of rubble. It should chip reasonably easily.

Then, too, if someone had a decent generator to haul up there I have an HD Milwaukee rotary hammer that could do some chipping. I'd be curious to see how well that would work. And if other had rotary hamers, too, it'd probably make short work of the uphill rock chipping. One generator to support 2-3 rotary hammers?

[lupinsea]

To be honest I've only ever been on Isabel at Reiter, so I tend to just keep an eye on these threads. I'll have a look-see for this Sac Up thread... :D

Jruz, thanks for the offer of your Unimog. That 3,000 lb. payload is certainly much more than our little Jeeps can haul.

[Kat JK]

Well Rhonda, I and a couple of others finished the middle May Creek crossing where it was washed out and are able to cross it with a VERY slightly modified rig. We went up ferther and took down a tree that was crossing the trail at a stock Rubicon roof height and kept going till we could not go any more. The rock crawling area is pretty good and sustained very little to no damage. Above that where you hear May creek and see it running just below the log bridge there is a major washout as far as we can tell with about 2 feet of snow in it, need to see it better in the spring time to tell how bad it is. We got within 1/2 mile of the log bridge from as far as i can guess.

I will get photos posted later,
Kat

p.s. people can now get to SOL
http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff229/JKkat/ Look here for the most recient photos. Even has Rhonda crossing it in her new Little Red RubyJeep

[Comet]

Good work Kat and everyone. I am sure the DNR appreciates it as well.

[Scoundrel]

I'm not sure from the thread so far whether the freshly washed out portion (that someone suggested bridging) is crossable now or not. Did someone find a way around, or have things shifted enough to drive through it?

Someone mentioned not having pictures here anymore to remember what it looked like. See these ones taken on 12-08-2007:

http://www.wahlnut.com/dirtriding/2007-12-08_ReiterPit/slides/IMG_0816.html
http://www.wahlnut.com/dirtriding/2007-12-08_ReiterPit/slides/IMG_0823.html
http://www.wahlnut.com/dirtriding/2007-12-08_ReiterPit/slides/IMG_0824.html

Would someone please let me know if this is passable again?

Thanks!

[Kat JK]

It is passable.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff229/JKkat/100_1543.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff229/JKkat/100_1539.jpg

[Scoundrel]

It is passable.


Wow. You are a brave soul.

Don't get me wrong, I respect the amount of effort that went into dragging those logs across the gap. Call me chicken, but I still don't know if I would cross it.

I saw some possible plans in the works to effect a more permanent solution, and I'd be interested in helping out with that. Please let me know if I can help. I don't have a big truck to haul heavy stuff out there, but I'm handy with tools and an extra set of hands can be a good thing.