Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama, Spring 2023Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama, Spring 2023Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama, Spring 2023Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama, Spring 2023Check dams improperly spaced become waterfalls, leading to erosion and undercuttingPeople don’t like steps if they can go around.Classic fall line Trail. Water runs straight down the trail, eroding the tread, eventually cutting a gully.Classic legacy trail, trail in a gully. No way to get water off the trail. Trail needs to be relocated.Trail too step, Non SET steps, tread erosionClassic non SET water bar. Ineffective for getting water off the trail as well as being hiker obstacle. Not effective, not traversable.Poor practice of lining the trail with timbers or logs, holds water on the trail.Water bar with no drain. Water washes over, around, and on down the tail.Trail in old road bed should be avoided, but is common. Has nowhere to drainClassic bad water bars, neither sustainable, nor effective, nor traversableClassic steps set too far apart vertically, with no water control, water coming over steps erodes and undercuts.Rough trail. Planning trail improvements.Classic steps that are too tall and too narrow, users go around.Retaining wall with no anchoring.Flat area with nowhere for trail to drain causes puddles. People don’t want to walk in puddles, they go around, trail gets wider, more disturbance.Washed out poorly constructed stepsClassic water bar that is too narrow. Hikers and water go around.
Process
This sample Trail Assessment shows the steps that we take before beginning any project.
