Decreasing Erosion on Trails
Stewart Runyon
Background
Trail erosion is a huge problem on all hiking
trails. Bratton et Al. (1979) of the Department of
the Interior found that water erosion is the
most prominent problem, with 15% of the
Appalachian Trail affected. Even places such as
Kennesaw Mountain with dedicated trail clubs
for maintenance have severe problems with
erosion. The most common way to prevent trail
erosion on hiking trails is by using a 5% slope
going outwards. The problem with this method
is that it must be done on a new trail and is
impossible on pre-existing trails. Even on new
trails if there are rocks in the way or the soil has
high amounts of clay, trail work can be very
hard to complete. This project would allow for
minimal future trail work and can fix preexisting
trails. This project will allow for more trails to be
built in more areas without the need for
constant trail work.
Objectives
⬜The prototype must be able to
survive in well used trails.
⬜The prototype must be able to be
set up within roughly 2-4 hours with
about 4 people.
⬜The prototype must be of a
reasonable price (less than $20 per
system).
⬜The prototype must efficiently
remove water from trails.
Material and Methods
Materials: 25cmx50cm plywood or other flat,
sturdy material, garden hose with shower setting*,
46cm 3.2cm diameter (1¼”) PVC pipe x2,
70cmx20cm screen door mesh, staple gun, ~8
staples, eight screws, drill, drill bit smaller than the
screws, screw bit, ~700cm3 mulch or topsoil*,
table saw**, protractor, two sturdy wedges,
measuring tape.  moved down the pipe. This project shows
*Only needed for testing, only 350 cm3 topsoil.  
**If used, also have safety glasses and gloves. The
saw is only needed to cut plywood and PV. Many
hardware stores offer it as a service.  research is to study how the prototype holds
1.Cut plywood and PVC to size. Cut the PVC down
the center to be not one continuous tube. 
2.Place cut PVC on one side of the plywood, side
to side. Drill a hole on each end of all PVC pipes
through the pipe and board. Place the end of the
mesh between the board and PVC on the outer
pieces and screw into both. There should be
excess on the open end. Staple the excess to the
board. 
Soil (cm3)
3.With a protractor, angle the board to 20° with
both wedges. Once completed, add the soil. The
soil should be 46cmx18cmx2.5cm. Add soil on
top of the prototype and to the side of the
prototype, disconnected. Compact the soil.  1000
4.Spray both sides with water continuously for 30
seconds. 
5.Measure the remaining soil, noting any missing
material.  Bratton, S. P., Hickler, M. G., & Graves, J. H. (1979, September). Trail erosion patterns in great
Experimental Set Up
Figure 1, setup Figure 2, setup with
without dirt dirt
Results
After the tests were concluded, all results
were very consistent. The prototype made
significant improvements to the amount of
soil lost from water. The prototype allowed
the water to drain efficiently without
significant amounts of soil being lost. On
average, the prototype retained about 90%
of soil compared to an average of 69% of
loss without.
2500 Use of Prototype vs. Soil Erosion
2000
1500
500
0
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
Table 1. Use of Prototype vs. Soil Erosion.
Generated by Stewart Runyon
Conclusion
The results from this test were fully
supported by the hypothesis. The reason
that the prototype had such an
improvement was because the water had no
chance to move with the dirt, instead it
how water moving on soil affects the
amount of soil lost. The next step to this
up to the regular use from trails. One of the
biggest advantages to this design is how
simple it is. Anybody can set it up so new
personnel could do the work that would
normally take much more experience. In the
future, some trails may replace the existing
methods for pipes.
Beginning
With Prototype
Without Prototype
References
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