These first one at of the back side and top of Mud Creek. He helped me mark them up this morning so my readers can tell what they are seeing. Doesn’t look like much to the uninitiated, and I admit, some of it I couldn’t see until he pointed it out. Look closely.
Roadside pics below were taken at the line behind the ridge and are posted below in a slide show. The arrow below that shows the direction of movement. The ? Is where Ralph thinks what Cal Trans is identifying as a “new spring” is coming from, but he can’t be certain without hiking it, which his knees no longer allow. In any event, it is probably not a “new” Spring but an “old” spring that has reactivated.
The slide show below is of photos Rock Knocker took yesterday. These markings are my own, after he and I looked at the photos together. I am not an expert. I may not have identified them all, and some of them may not be identified correctly, but I just based my markings on what I could see and what Rock Knocker has pointed out to me over the last 25 years of road watching. I hope this gives you some idea of what is going on.
This next slide show does not need markings for you to recognize what you are seeing:
Great photos! The mark ups really help clarify the dynamics of the situation.
Thanks, Suzi.
bigsurkate
Can these springs or slide areas have unseen consequences like follow earthquake faults and trigger earth movements below the water table?
Thank you very much…very informative and very scary.
Nice, informative.
bsk – are you a Mac or PC person? Was wondering which app you decided to go with…
I do everything on an iPad Pro. A friend recommended the SnapPen app. It is not complicated, does one thing only, and while I usually choose “free” in this case 99 cents was fine.
Andrew, I am not a geologist, and never even took it in school, but if my understanding is accurate, these springs and slide areas are a result of the earthquake fault lines, not the cause of them. I recommend a google or Wikipedia search for a easy and shallow answer, and a geology website for a more in depth one.
There are some good-sized “slumps” up above, it looks like. Any conjecture on what it would take for the whole thing to ‘go’? Looks like it could and take the road with it.
Great photos and GREAT mark-ups, BTW. Thanks.
Yes, that is the concern. It could take “nothing” or it could take some time and water. No way to predict, but it is not looking good.
bigsurkate
Ergo, do springs indicate Mother Nature’s way of fracking- was where my line of reasoning and inquisition was leading to..Geo team come back… : (
Sorry BSK, but, thanks for the continued mastery of ongoing storm and its affects stories..
Andrew, I was not trying to be flippant. The Geo team has never left. They are an ongoing part of this process. They are the ones most worried, besides Rock Knocker and I, that is.
bigsurkate
With all this impact above the slide area and roadside complications has the cliff side to the ocean along the Central Coast’s heavy surf had any trouble staying strong & stable?
We did not see any issues there, BUT the big thing is water across the road in many, many places, there at Mud Creek, and in one going into one of the cracks, and in another eroding the west side of the road, so it might be just a matter of time if they can’t get that culvert in. People underestimate the power of water.
bigsurkate
Those road cracks look like what happened to Gorda years ago before it all went, missing the buildings but taking out the road! I don’t remember how long the road was closed on that one. My husband got to work on building the Gorda Wall after that, nice and close to home and the state/feds didn’t even make Gorda pay for it!! Ah, those were the good ole days…
Oh, yeah, Little Philly, that was a fun one. I don’t remember how long it took, either, but it was a while!! Red Tail might remember. Rock Knocker would, but he doesn’t internet in any form. Still flip phone.
bigsurkate
BSK, Do you feel the county has enough escape roads in these wilderness areas in case all these roads are compromised? Have new road projects been suggested in the past or is that a mute subject for residents?
How would that be done? This highway was built on air, where would the others be or go? So much is wilderness, not conducive to a road, nor would anyone want one built to rape the land. We locals know this is the cost of living here. Mostly we are self-sufficient, and are “preppers” against the mood swings of Mother Nature. We go where she takes us. Every few winters, that is on an inward journey where there is no escape.
bigsurkate
You do make a plain and simple rebuttal only curious if there has ever been one that residents could agree on or propose w/o getting a stink eye from the keep it as is majority?
Andrew, that’s when the “trapped” hunker down and hope they have all they need (preppers). We haven’t experienced the “big one” yet, as in earthquake, so these road issues are just an inconvenience and perhaps a test run for us. We never know what’s in store for us! Oh…and have residents agree on something…thank you for the humor on a gray day!
Not that I know of in the 35 years I have been in Big Sur. And residents agree on anything?? LOL you don’t know Big Sur.
bigsurkate
Little Philly, I just wrote the same thing … residents agree?? LOL (lots of laughs) and LOL (lots of luck.)
bigsurkate
Andrew-
There is no physical possibility of alternative route road building in this terrain. It has nothing to do with locals agreeing on a plan to build, it’s all about what the geological reality is here. Truth is, Highway One never should have been built where it was built in the first place. The trails through these hills that were used first by the natives and then by the locals that eventually became dirt roads from one ridge to another around, through and over all kinds of obstacles, have always suffered from impermanence, not because of a lack of will to make them more stable, but because of the composition of the soil, rock, sediment and steepness of the terrain, as well as the amount of water in the creeks and precipitation.
Nice explanation, Suzi. Thank you.
bigsurkate
Love you Suzi, thanks for the cold heart facts, it does make one reflect on a lot of history and ingenuity not compatible when topography is its main enemy in all its glory. Simplicity has never been much of an anchor in the wilderness.
BSK, next wave of spotty rain has moved into the village.
AND it started pouring here at 2:57 am!
bigsurkate
You’re right, the under-earth water can move a hillside.
To tap into the water source, divert & control its course could stop the slide.
But, how to get the digging equipment behind the slide to do that?
Perhaps impossible.
I don’t see any way to do it there. Digging a new culvert to divert under the road as they did at Duck Pond might work, but, like with Duck Pond I don’t see it happening until after the rains – just not safe until the movement stops.
bigsurkate
Yes, not safe at this time.
Perhaps the location of the spring(s) could be determined, while flowing currently.
Then, later when it dries out, horizontal drilling (like a well-drilling rig) could bore, and place perforated drainage pipes to relieve the water stress.
Good work- likely another modest example where a loan citizen is more keenly aware then those on the ‘payroll’ who have the responsibility to know yet lack the courage, the insight or fortitude to look deep.
Thanks, Canyon. I had forgotten I had posted those a bit over 3 and a half months before all hell broke loose there. Nice reminder. We were paying attention, but the “experts” couldn’t predict this was going to happen.
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