Ben A'an
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The lower section of Ben A'an welcomed us with its dauntingly steep gradient, towering step risers and a slowly migrating surface that when climbing it, left me in no doubt that I was nowhere near as fit as I thought I was. The path was uncomfortable to walk on and had considerable scarring from where struggling people had lost their battle with the hill’s path and deviated off to the sides in hope of avoiding the conflict altogether. The path had become widened by the resulting erosion and in some places the vegetation was completely worn away. Armed with pinch bars, mattocks, spades, and shovels, digging bars, hammers, chisels and a winch, we arrived at our work site ready to tackle the task of creating a new, more comfortable route. The plan was to remove the steep, eroded section of existing path, re-route it and create a much more gentle and comfortable path that then joined up with the current path further along the way. The resulting path was 1 meter wide and the aggregate surfacing material had been won from borrow pits to create a natural looking walkway. Anchor bars were installed to prevent material migrating down the slope. Block stone pitching was also constructed as a hard wearing surface on steeper gradients where aggregate was impractical. Drainage features included water bars which were added to shed water off the path and a cross drain to channel water from above the path to the lower side. Drainage ditches were also dug to collect water and direct it away from the path. We used revetment for embankment and edge stabilisation, site restoration including re-vegetation and natural landscaping to make the ground look as if it had never been touched. Although our time on Be A’an was productive, it was also limited and the final section of pitching will land in the hands of a contractor. Once their work is complete, the new path will meet up with its older counterpart, ready for the public to conquer.