Hiking Trail Cleanup

[svk]

Who else does walking trail maintenance?

Number two fall project behind cleaning up yard trees is doing some brush cutting and windfall bucking off a series of trails behind our cabin. My neighbor had been maintaining them for many years and although he recently is retired and in good shape it is apparent that he has also retired from this task.

The area to the west of a section of one trail was recently selectively logged up to and slightly beyond the trail which has caused many oak trees to uproot and also the area is now about with aspen saplings which makes for a bit more work. On the flip side there is a couple cords of blowdown oak that can be scrounged if there is ever time...

Favorite tools for this job are my Dolmar PS-32, Jonsered M361, Husqvarna 39R brush saw, and Fiskars X-15 for maintenance after the heavy work has been done.

I love running the saws but pitching brush is not my idea of a good time!

 

[olyman]

Who else does walking trail maintenance?

Number two fall project behind cleaning up yard trees is doing some brush cutting and windfall bucking off a series of trails behind our cabin. My neighbor had been maintaining them for many years and although he recently is retired and in good shape it is apparent that he has also retired from this task.

The area to the west of a section of one trail was recently selectively logged up to and slightly beyond the trail which has caused many oak trees to uproot and also the area is now about with aspen saplings which makes for a bit more work. On the flip side there is a couple cords of blowdown oak that can be scrounged if there is ever time...

Favorite tools for this job are my Dolmar PS-32, Jonsered M361, Husqvarna 39R brush saw, and Fiskars X-15 for maintenance after the heavy work has been done.

I love running the saws but pitching brush is not my idea of a good time!

skidsteer with grapple forks..................

 

[Philbert]

Pole saw. Especially if trail might be used by horseback riders, mountain bikers, or cross country skiers (elevated on snow).

Grubbing tools if maintenance on the actual trail (widening, erosion control, grass/weed control, etc.) is included: spud bar; pick, mattock or Pulaski; round point shovel; etc. ).

Something to carry all of the tools (wheelbarrow, trailer, etc.).

Philbert

 

[svk]

skidsteer with grapple forks..................

Skid steer would have trouble climbing some of the hills. But great idea!

 

[svk]

Pole saw. Especially if trail might be used by horseback riders, mountain bikers, or cross country skiers (elevated on snow).

Grubbing tools if maintenance on the actual trail (widening, erosion control, grass/weed control, etc.) is included: spud bar; pick, mattock or Pulaski; round point shovel; etc. ).

Something to carry all of the tools (wheelbarrow, trailer, etc.).

Philbert

I'm going to be using my pole saw as well on my ATV trail. No more balsam boughs hitting me in the face!

 

[unclemoustache]

I would love that for a full time job- hiking on trails and clearing/cleaning them.
At least, somewhere west where it's not so humid.

 

[chucker]

I would love that for a full time job- hiking on trails and clearing/cleaning them.
At least, somewhere west where it's not so humid.

"don't move to western Washington state" winter months/rain season sept through may !! ? did I really say that! ?? lol

 

[olyman]

"don't move to western Washington state" winter months/rain season sept through may !! ? did I really say that! ?? lol

careful!! someone will squeal to her self appointed honor,,and youll be strung up...............shes to be exalted....

 

[zogger]

I used to, but then realized it made easy access for the bad guys to sneak into the property on ATVS, etc for nefarious purposes.

 

[unclemoustache]

I already lived in western Washington. Don't worry, I'm not planning on returning! My brother lived in Portland for many years. I don't know how he endured it for so long. I just wither without a regular dose of sun. Southern IL is pretty good for that, but the winters tend to be mostly cloudy. Wish I were in Montana where it's sunny even when it's not sunny!!

 

[svk]

Well my neighbor found that out too. He turned a nice hiking trail into a very nice ATV trail and guess what...ATV traffic up the wazoo. All full of ruts now and if it rains it's a pain to walk on because the ruts fill with water.

Luckily these trails have been kept small. You could drive an ATV down them if needed such as to haul out a deer or haul out that sweet scrounge of oak but the trails are kept narrow and primitive enough to make ATV pleasure riding unenjoyable. There's also a couple of really steep hills which are impassible by ATV.

The other little secret I do is not cut the last 50 yards of the trail down to where it hits the road. Then only the people who know of the trail will know it's there.

 

[Dirtboy]

Years ago when I had a bigger tractor I bush hogged some over grown trails in the woods. Now I am able to keep them clear with a garden tractor and a chainsaw to cut up any downed limbs. Dogs love the trails, as do I. Makes it a lot easier to get to the blow downs and standing dead that supply my heat in the winter.

 

[turnkey4099]

Who else does walking trail maintenance?

Number two fall project behind cleaning up yard trees is doing some brush cutting and windfall bucking off a series of trails behind our cabin. My neighbor had been maintaining them for many years and although he recently is retired and in good shape it is apparent that he has also retired from this task.

The area to the west of a section of one trail was recently selectively logged up to and slightly beyond the trail which has caused many oak trees to uproot and also the area is now about with aspen saplings which makes for a bit more work. On the flip side there is a couple cords of blowdown oak that can be scrounged if there is ever time...

Favorite tools for this job are my Dolmar PS-32, Jonsered M361, Husqvarna 39R brush saw, and Fiskars X-15 for maintenance after the heavy work has been done.

I love running the saws but pitching brush is not my idea of a good time!

I'm not familiar with all those saws but if one of them is not a top handle you are working harder than needed at that type job. I will never be without one again, waited way too long to buy one. The day my 192T got broken (only the clutch cover) I dropped it off at a mr. fixit and shopped for another one. Had one on the counter waiting to be paid for when my credit card came up missing. Had that not happened I would have had two top handles...hmmm...I wonder what one in each hand could accomplish

 

[Sandhill Crane]

nefarious

Had to check Webster's...

We maintain a 'deer path' style walking trail on a seventy plus acre nature sanctuary owned by The Michigan Nature Association. They, the MNA, own and maintain (almost exclusively through volunteers) over one hundred and seventy sanctuaries in Michigan's upper and lower peninsula, open to the public for limited use. Here we placed the trail markers every 200' because during some seasons the path is obscured by leaves or snow. Small, less than 18", tree dead falls are left across the trail to step over and deter motor bikes from using the trail. The brush is cleared of course. Cross country skiers have disliked that choice, but it is a sanctuary not a recreation area. For larger dead fall we have moved the path. One fall a neighbor began leaf blowing a 3' wide path so she could run on the trail. Her intension was good, but the practice was discouraged.
Mostly we just clear brush, pull invasive plants, and pick up whatever garbage people (and garbage trucks) leave along the road.

 

[svk]

I'm not familiar with all those saws but if one of them is not a top handle you are working harder than needed at that type job. I will never be without one again, waited way too long to buy one. The day my 192T got broken (only the clutch cover) I dropped it off at a mr. fixit and shopped for another one. Had one on the counter waiting to be paid for when my credit card came up missing. Had that not happened I would have had two top handles...hmmm...I wonder what one in each hand could accomplish

I do have a top handle that I bought for $10 but it's not yet running.

 

[turnkey4099]

I do have a top handle that I bought for $10 but it's not yet running.

View attachment 527326

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I also have one of them...non-running and it was leaking oil badly when last used (20 years ago). If you want it for a parts saw, PM me. I think mine is a early model though.

 

[NSMaple1]

Had to check Webster's...
View attachment 527328 View attachment 527329
We maintain a 'deer path' style walking trail on a seventy plus acre nature sanctuary owned by The Michigan Nature Association. They, the MNA, own and maintain (almost exclusively through volunteers) over one hundred and seventy sanctuaries in Michigan's upper and lower peninsula, open to the public for limited use. Here we placed the trail markers every 200' because during some seasons the path is obscured by leaves or snow. Small, less than 18", tree dead falls are left across the trail to step over and deter motor bikes from using the trail. The brush is cleared of course. Cross country skiers have disliked that choice, but it is a sanctuary not a recreation area. For larger dead fall we have moved the path. One fall a neighbor began leaf blowing a 3' wide path so she could run on the trail. Her intension was good, but the practice was discouraged.
Mostly we just clear brush, pull invasive plants, and what pick up whatever garbage people (and garbage trucks) leave along the road.

If a sanctuary is really not a recreation area, then it should not be maintained at all by anybody & should be closed to all.

 

[slowp]

I would love that for a full time job- hiking on trails and clearing/cleaning them.
At least, somewhere west where it's not so humid.

Yup, lots of people think that way about "trail crew". Then they find out that they are not just going to work on the sunny, nice days. You'd be working on the nasty days and getting wet and muddy and cold. In fact that's the whole thing about our outdoor work. You see the nice pictures of clean, smiling people on a sunny day in a park tossing a few sticks off a trail. The reality is that it's just like any other work. There are expectations and quotas and you have to go out into some unpleasant weather.

I shall quote a hooktender. We were climbing up a steep ridge (no trail) to pick out tail trees for downhill yarding. I'd had to already cut a tree that had blown across a road just to get there. The wind was blowing and the rain was slamming in hard. He said that we had to embrace the weather to work that day. So, could you embrace the kind of weather that keeps you chilly and damp and camp out in it?

Most of the trailwork here is done in the wilderness--no chainsaws or motorized equipment is allowed. If one is lucky, equipment is packed in by horse or mule, but otherwise you pack it in. I was lucky and worked a weekend where we camped by a lake in a campground on the wilderness boundary, then hiked in to work with hand tools. It is interesting to see and use actual antiques. There is some new technology. One of the guys in charge of the work was also an engineer and machinist or had access to the latter, and had an underbucker tool made out of a lighter than usual metal. An underbucker is a wheel attached to a small spud which has a slider on it and is hammered into the underside of a log. The crosscut saw is upside down to cut the underside and the smooth edge is rested on the wheel. The wheel can be moved up to hold the saw as the cut deepens. That's just one trick learned from working with those guys. There's an art to it all.

 

[AT sawyer]

I work my Virginia AT sections year-round, but much prefer clearing deadfalls from October-May when the weather is nicer. Crosscut saw and axe are my go-to tools. Axe handle makes a good underbuck if you can stick the axe head solidly.

 

[Philbert]

It is interesting to see and use actual antiques. . . . There's an art to it all.

Yeah, they did not realize that they were 'antiques' at the time. Just the most modern technology ('cutting edge', if you will forgive me).

Philbert