Our Trails are in Trouble

The Abhayagiri trail map

There are over 5 miles of trails on the Abhayagiri property. Many of these trails are accessible to the general public, and friends and neighbors frequently hike the the 2.5 mile Cool Oaks Loop Trail for pleasure and exercise. This trail system was built almost exclusively through volunteer and community effort over the course of Abhayagiri's 14-year history. Some of these trails have deteriorated over the years, and the Loop Trail between the Goat Creek bridge near the Bumblebee and the waterfall is in particularly poor shape. Liability concerns have caused the Community to consider closing this section of the Loop Trail, but so far we have opted to keep it open.

We face several challenges in preserving our trail system. High-quality trail maintenance requires both strength and skill; well-meaning but inexperienced attempts to shore up trails can actually make them erode faster. Furthermore, the monks' discipline prohibits fully-ordained bhikkhus from digging in soil that might support life, so much trail work must be accomplished by novices, anagarikas and lay guests. In the past, trail maintenance has often taken back seat to the many other tasks that require the attention of the non-bhikkhu Abhayagiri residents.

Because of these challenges, we are actively searching for volunteer support and ideas in order to preserve our trails as a resource for both Abhayagiri residents and visitors. If you have trail maintenance experience, and would like to volunteer your time, please contact us and we will try to arrange overnight accommodations. If you know of any organizations dedicated to maintaining public walking trails in Mendocino County that might want to help us, please also let us know. Finally, please consider participating in our monthly community work days (usually the second Sunday of each month). We plan to devote several community work days to trail maintenance this year. We appreciate any support you are able to offer.