The NPS spent another $5,000 in 1931 to widen the lower portion another two feet after first building the slightly longer upper section six feet wide. Robertson explained that six feet allowed for operation of a mechanical oiler intended to reduce dust on the trail. Crews also built smaller trails between two and four feet in width at several prominent viewpoints. These totaled roughly 800 feet in length and included rest stations with stone seats, all “carefully selected for the beautiful and interesting views to be had of the lake and surrounding country.”75 In addition to the rest stations, Solinsky also commented on the precautions taken to protect vegetation along the new route, measures which included leaving at least one live whitebark pine in the trail. Like Robertson, he supported applying road oil to reduce dust, since a “very large” percentage of visitors were seen to take the route.76
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| Portion of the Watchman Trail that has been oiled and shows edge treatment with boulders, 1932. National Park Service photo. |
Only the Garfield Peak and Crater Wall routes were oiled at first (a move intended to prevent losing the tread surface during rainy weather or from melting snow), but the NPS expanded this practice upon completion of trails to the Watchman and Discovery Point in 1932.77 Planning for a trail to the Watchman’s summit started in 1931, when Sager and Robertson agreed that the location of a temporary route used to haul construction materials for a new fire lookout should be utilized as much as possible for a permanent hiking trail.78 When work on the permanent trail began the following summer, Sager wrote that the crew did the same good work as had characterized construction of the Garfield Peak Trail.79
The new trail to Watchman started from a point where the old Rim Road crested on a southwest slope as it went around the peak and from there, the summit trail ran some 2,750 feet with a maximum grade of 15 percent.80 Intended to be five feet wide except at switchbacks, the trail incorporated features similar to those on the Garfield Peak route. These included dry-laid retaining walls, considerable benching, and a couple of stone seats intended as rest stations. The crew also placed singular rocks on its outer edge at irregular intervals as a way of minimizing the trail’s visual impact as seen from a distance, though the practice did not extend to a section of the old Rim Road which effectively became part of the trail. Its trailhead also migrated down to the Watchman Overlook because construction of the new Rim Drive followed a lower line around the peak than the old road, which the NPS subsequently closed to vehicle traffic.81
