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| Pictured: a crewman quarries construction material for the Palisade Plunge Trail. |
It has been 47 weeks since the construction of Phase 1 of the Palisade Plunge Trail first got underway. On Monday, Aug. 3, seven employees from contractor, Singletrack Trails, left Phase 2 and resumed work on Phase 1 to connect the two lower portions of the trail from about milepost (MP) 27.15 to MP 27.30. The area will require a large amount of rock work (retaining walls, benching, and armoring).
During their first week back, they constructed about 300 feet of trail and built 220 feet of wall. For some of the wall construction, crew members had to rappel off the side of the cliff and stack rocks while dangling on the end of a rope.
Near the end of the week, they began constructing the switchback under a keyhole rock feature, which leaves the finished trail at around MP 27.23. Once the connection is complete, the crew will head up to the Blowout area, where they will complete the remaining section between MP 23.3 and MP 24.5, which was previously off-limits due to raptor restrictions.
About 15.93 miles of trail has been completed on Phase 1, leaving about 1.23 miles to go before completion.
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| Pictured here is the retaining wall that crew members rappel. |
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| A Palisade Plunge Trail crew began constructing the switchback under a keyhole rock feature, which leaves the finished trail at around MP 27.23. |
Phase 2 (Week 5):
The Western Colorado Conservation Corps (WCCC) joined Phase 2 efforts on Monday, Aug. 3. For the first couple of days, the Singletrack crew organized and trained the WCCC crew on which systems and construction techniques work best for the portion of the trail. Each day, the Singletrack Trail crew saw considerable improvements, and the WCCC crew members started developing an eye for the style and feel of Phase 2. These combined forces managed to rough-in 5,000 feet of new trail and finished 4,708 feet of that total — bringing Phase 2 to approximately MP 6.9.
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| The Shirtail parking lot is nearing completion. Boulders have been placed to mark the perimeter of the parking lot. |
Construction on the Shirttail parking lot continues as planned with a completion date of Sept. 1. K&D Construction has completed placing and compacting 12 inches of base material and will begin hauling and placing the top 4 inches of 1 1/2 inch gravel.
Boulders have been placed to mark the perimeter of the parking lot, and riprap was added to drainage ditches and outflows. Signs will soon be installed.
To date, a total of about 4.67 miles of total finished trail has been completed, leaving approximately 10.07 miles to go before the completion of Phase 2.