While the SCG Tree Series is dedicated to educating our geofriends about some of the interesting trees and vines that can be seen along this section of the Spring Creek Greenway (SCG) trail, we felt this feature was worthy of telling the tale. Reading the descriptions and searching for the containers BEFORE you read the hints is strongly encouraged! Please note that SCG trail hours are dawn to dusk, and replace all containers as you found them.
This series is dedicated to educating our geofriends about some of the interesting trees and vines that can be seen along this newest section of the Spring Creek Greenway (SCG) trail. When complete, the Spring Creek Greenway will encompass 12,000 acres and over 40 linear miles, from Highway 59 at the San Jacinto River to Spring Creek Park west of Tomball. This section of trail begins at Pundt Park and extends almost 6 miles to I-45 (no access at the end though!); and this now brings the completed SCG trail length to over 16 miles, from Highway 59 in Humble, through Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center , Carter Park, Pundt Park, Dennis Johnston Park, and all the way to I-45! Please note that SCG trail hours are dawn to dusk, and replace all containers as you found them.
This section of the Spring Creek Greenway trail has been completely washed out on multiple occasions over the past several years due to multiple extreme flooding events along Spring Creek. The trail was first washed out during the Tax Day flood in 2015, with the entire bank of trees on this side of Spring Creek AND the land where the trail was originally located being completely eroded. Even so, there was still enough property owned by Harris County for the county to relocate and rebuild the trail section. In the process, the bank was stabilized, and the entire process was completed in less than 30 days. Kudos to the Harris County PRecinct 4 Parks Department for this monumental task! However, those who lived in the area back then also recall that the Memorial Day flood came in on the heels of the Tax Day flood...and about two weeks after the trail repairs were complete. This time, the flooding and water power was so severe that it completely washed away the trail and property almost to the Harris County property line! Fortunately, the county has the authority to conduct emergancy repairs to repair/replace county assets; and although the entire bank needed to be rebuilt, the work was completed, and the trail is open once again!
This time the bank was not just stabilized, but a mix of riprap (concrete blocks) and cement stabilized sand was used like bricks and mortar, to provide a much more stable situation. In fact, this method was so stable that 2017's Hurricane Harvey (yet another flooding event of near-biblical proportions!) didn't even phase this section of the trail. This methodology has now become one of the 'go-to' methods for stabilizing creek sections when necessary.