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HEARN GULCH PROJECT MOVES FORWARD
If you have driven by or visited Hearn Gulch lately, you will have noticed many signs
of work in progress. In the few short weeks since RCLC received the final approval
to make improvements, the trail to the beach has been widened and a new trail to
the edge of the headland has been dug. Bollards and chains have been installed to
define the parking area and several signposts have also been placed.
Local contractor Ken Spacek carved the main headland trail and the upper portion
of the beach trail with his mini-Bobcat. Then he and RCLC project coordinator
David Scholz spread 17 cubic yards of brown shale along the trails.
RCLC volunteers George Anderson, Ray Jackman and George Marshall spread
several cubic yards of small six-inch rocks along lower portions of the beach trail to
help control erosion.
Work on the trails and signs will continue, as weather permits, through the spring,
when RCLC plans to start work on improving the last section of the beach trail, a steep
sixty-foot slope down to the beach.
Mendocino County, the California Coastal Commission and CalTrans have worked
together with RCLC to provide improved public access at Hearn Gulch while
protecting sensitive habitat from unnecessary disturbance. Much of the native
vegetation on the bluff has already started to recover now that vehicles no longer
have access to the headlands.
RCLC would like to thank the State Coastal Conservancy, CalTrans,
Mendocino Community Foundation, and the many RCLC contributors
who have provided funds for this project.
Hearn Gulch is located on Highway One between Iverson Road and Schooner Gulch.
Photos by David Scholz.
GUALALA BLUFF TRAIL PROJECT ON HOLD
The Gualala Bluff Trail is once again on hold as landowner John Bower's proposal to
build an extensive retaining wall along the bluff is under review.
RCLC was dismayed to learn at a recent hearing that building the wall may delay
completion of the trail for as long as two or three years.
Building this segment of the trail had been on hold since February 2005, when Mr. Bower
filed a lawsuit contesting the validity of the trail easement. This past spring, after RCLC
and the Coastal Commission successfully defended the easement's validity, RCLC
volunteers were finally able to begin work on the trail across the north part of the parking
area behind the Surf Super building complex.
Now, further work on the trail has been halted until the retaining wall issue is settled.
Mr. Bower is required to replace the retaining wall behind Surf Super, which failed in
February 2006 because of poor maintenance. Its failure tore away part of the trail easement.
Instead of just replacing the 105-foot retaining wall, Mr. Bower has submitted
a permit application to build a much longer wall which will extend 390 feet along the full
length of the bluff. The longer retaining wall is part of Mr. Bower's long-term plans for
adding buildings and more parking on the bluff top.
On November 19th, Mr. Bower's application for the wall received initial approval by
Mendocino County. Local environmental groups, who are questioning the necessity for
such a large retaining wall and the lack of a full environmental review for a project of this
scale, are planning to appeal the decision.
Although the trail is not yet completed, visitors can still walk the length of the trail, which
extends along the bluff from the north end of Seacliff Center to the south end of
Oceansong restaurant.
Photo by Craig Tooley.
WORK BEGINS ON COOKS BEACH / BONHAM TRAIL PROJECT
With all the appropriate permits in place, work has begun at Cooks Beach and the
Bonham Trail. Eleven volunteers from the local neighborhood, Anchor Bay, and
The Sea Ranch have cheerfully provided the tools, manpower and enthusiasm to help
develop this lovely trail and scenic overview.
The first task was to dig the existing trail down four inches and widen it to four feet.
The "platform", a 20 x 20 foot area at the top of the bluff, was also excavated (all this
by shovel and hoe!) and leveled until the trail and the bluff top area were ready for weed
cloth and brown shale. Although we had wheelbarrows and strong backs willing to haul
7 1/2 cubic yards of shale, a local equipment operator, Mike Taylor, was hired to help distribute
and compact it, so that we have a smooth and professional looking trail from the beach to
the bluff top.
A bench is being ordered to provide a resting spot at the scenic overview
so that those who don't have the time or are not able to walk to the beach
can enjoy the magnificent view. The next phase will be to complete the trail
down to the beach and work with the contractor to construct steps to the beach.
As word has spread about Cooks Beach, its popularity has grown. One day there were
six surfers, eight observers on the bluff, and another eight or so people on the beach!
RCLC is grateful and thankful that most visitors, local and tourists, appreciate this beautiful
area and clean up after themselves and their pets. Local residents who monitor the beach
and trail each week report few problems, ourside of an occasional dead seal or dead birds
on the beach.
If you haven't visited Cooks in a while, or maybe never have, stop by and check it out for
yourself. Hours are dawn to dusk.
Cooks Beach is on Old Redwood Highway just north of Gualala.
Photos by Irene Leidner.
VIEWING PLATFORM PLANNED FOR ST. ORRES PROJECT
Access to St. Orres beach continues to be one of the most difficult challenges not only
for RCLC, but for the State Coastal Conservancy, CalTrans, and our local geologist Mike Lane
as well. The upper part of the trail poses no problem for improvement, but the lower part
has eroded to such a degree that only the most limber may reach the beach itself.
Mike has suggested, and RCLC agrees, that attempting to widen the current trail is not
feasible, due to the steep slope and insufficient bedrock. The construction of a cantilevered
walkway, even if financially feasible, also poses problems because of the steep slope.
The possibility of rockfalls, and even more importantly, the issue of maintaining such a
trail or walkway in such a sloping area, presents little hope for beach access at this time.
Nevertheless, because this is such a beautiful cove, and there are no other places along Highway One
between Iverson Road and Cooks Beach to pull off the road and enjoy the view, the
RCLC Board has decided to develop and maintain a trail from the parking pullout just
south of the St. Orres beach across to the current trail and down to a spot where a
platform will be constructed. Interpretive signs about the unique geologic formations,
the flora and fauna along the creek, and the tidal effects in the cove will be placed
on the platform, along with benches where visitors may sit and admire the view, away
from traffic on Highway One.
Once the platform is engineered, permits issued, and contractors and volunteers aligned,
RCLC can -- finally -- begin to improve this trail. After the platform is built, the possibility
of accessing the beach by means of steps from the platform will be studied, engineered
if possible, and then the project can complete its initial purpose. We remain optimistic;
coastal access is a priority for California, and we believe St. Orres to be a unique access
point.
St. Orres Cove is across from St. Orres restaurant north of Gualala.
Photo by Leigh Mueller.
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