This document is a draft report prepared by forest service staff.
It has not been adopted or approved by forest service management.
Date:
04/15/2004
Forest Service In Attendance:
Bill Nelson - District Ranger
Tim Grantham - Non-Rec Lands/Mining/Military
Pete Gallagher - Biology
Jeff Hovermale - Lands/Minerals/Special Uses
Gary Morrison - Engineering
Dana Butler - Hydrology
Where:
1 mile up the Manitou Incline; 2,000 feet elevation gain; down the BARR trail.
The purpose of the trip was to evaluate what needs to be done to prevent further resource degradation and evaluate the feasibility of doing this if the trail is kept open or decommissioned. The current situation is an officially closed trail, however the trail is used quite a bit by locals and also maintained by locals. A lot of the maintenance by the locals is attributed to an effort to promote safety and environmental protection. The trail is comprised of railroad ties that are spaced 2-4 feet apart on slopes that reach 68%. Some of the railroad ties are anchored into the ground with very long pieces of rebar; some of the railroad ties are not anchored. The locals have mitigated some safety concerns where railroad ties are moving downslope and have repositioned them and some are tied together. Some of the railroad ties are being undermined at the ends of the ties. These railroad ties would likely move in a large flood event.
The Colorado Springs Utilities has a water pipeline along the trail to the side of the railroad ties. In the past this pipe has been exposed and erosion was occurring around the pipe. The Colorado Springs Utilities completed some erosion mitigation in 1996. Their efforts included using several different types of sediment catchment basins. There was a large flood event soon after that filled most of the sediment catchment basins. The erosion control measures are effective at slopes up to 40%. On slopes greater than 40%, other erosion control measures should be attempted
The safety and drainage concerns can be mitigated using mostly community labor. Some materials would be needed, such as coverings for slots in the drainage culverts. Many of the culverts will need to be cleaned out. Drainage lead out ditches are needed to move water away from the incline. Additional culverts are necessary to get water off of the trail at much more frequent intervals. Getting the water off of the trail more often will prevent a concentration of erosive flow. Social trails providing several entry points need to be blocked and obliterated. If the incline is opened, than one well-marked trail should be constructed, complete with signs, waterbars and switchbacks. The sediment catchment basins would fail in a large event. More frequent sediment catchments and ones that are lower (holding less material) will be less likely to fail. The material to make up these catchments should be massive. Railroad ties would work great. Placing riprap or railroad ties along the edges of the currently eroding and undermining railroad ties would help prevent the erosion from continuing. Any opportunity to plant native vegetation would improve the aesthetics and help in erosion control. Native vegetation proliferates well along much of the trail, which is surprising considering the number of visitors to this site. Decommissioning and removing all of the railroad ties would require a huge effort. An enormous effort to replant the incline would be required to have the growth necessary to prevent erosion onto the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad Parking lot and beyond. If the incline is closed, all of the trails should be obliterated and native vegetation planted. Considering the social and recreational value of this trail, it seems to be more practical to work towards making this resource safe and environmentally stable rather than decommission it.
Dana Butler - Pike NF Hydrologist
Pete Gallagher - Forest Fish Technician
Gary Morrison - Engineer