Natural History Wanderings

“This project has been needed for a long time. Decades of erosion, rockfall damage, tree fall, and use have damaged the trail to the point where annual maintenance is unsustainable,” Marsha McCabe, the park’s public information officer, told SFGATE. “Retaining and support walls are failing, can no longer be repaired, and must be completely replaced.”

There are stretches where the trail has noticeably deteriorated, creating real safety concerns for visitors who aren’t as sure-footed. In places, gaps in the tree line reveal the scars of rockslides and tree falls, their debris cleared but not forgotten. Even the sections rebuilt by trail crews this summer, sturdy as they are, stand out as bright reminders of just how fragile and precarious this route has become.