Volunteers at Sierra del Norte Trailhead, finishing off the wayfinding signage in the North section of Dale Ball Trails on Nov. 2
Four work days in November and one more in December were dedicated to finishing off the supplemental arrow signs that inform City trail users which junction lies ahead. Thanks go to the City Parks Dept. as well as the Trails Alliance of Santa Fe for supporting the purchase of signage. We scrambled to get sign posts in before the ground froze, and benefited from a warm snap in mid-December.
“Junction 14 ahead,” Dale Ball Trails Central Section, Nov. 9
In addition to putting up 34 new Dale Ball junction signs in September and October, we have now finished installing dozens of new arrow signs around these junctions in city-owned parts of Dale Ball Trails, including North, Central, and South sections. The County will continue the work in Dale Ball Trails’ South Section as well as on the La Piedra Trail and Little Tesuque Trail, in early 2017.
The new junction signs and arrows should be especially helpful to new users. On our final day of work, in December, we met a family of three from Monterrey MX, via San Antonio TX, who rode the Dale Ball Trails three consecutive days in their visit to Santa Fe. (In the background of this photo, Mom is chasing teenage son and Dad up the “luge.”)
Trail users should have a far easier time finding their way around the system now!
Running out of new arrows in November: We’ll be back!
A tough spot to put in a sign post, but it should help trail users stay on track at Junction 25 (Nov. 18)
Ken Howard finds a soft spot among the ponderosa pines at Junction 30, Nov. 18. Thanks to Patti Jenkins for donating a beefier post-hole digger!
Mind the Cholla! Keeping new sign posts out of harm’s way on Dec. 15
This five-person crew of volunteers put in 12 arrow posts around a final set of five junctions on a balmy mid-December afternoon. Photo is at Junction 12, at the top of the “luge,” Dec. 15.