MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE One of the aspects that I enjoy most about trail maintenance is the challenge of problem solving. Almost every situation that I come across as a trail maintainer is a unique variation on a theme. Each problem must be analyzed and a plan arrived at before the actual work is begun. Many maintainers work alone at places far removed from a trail head and help and where cell phone reception is poor and I feel that safety can not be emphasized more. All risk must be analyzed, minimized and its avoidance included in your plan. I have found that a few minutes (or seconds) of planning actually reduces the amount of time and work required to tackle any one single problem. Here is a before and after shot of the removal of a tree (Approx 10 in height) across the trail at a point were the trail is squeezed between a cliff on the right of frame and a large chunk of conglomerate rock on the left. The tree had slid off of the cliff and still had roots attaching it to a pad of soil-right of frame- and was also trapped between the chunk of rock and another living tree. Here are some of the steps that I went through to remove this tree. 1)Assessment; Does that tree interfere with the publics use of the trail and can I as an individual handle it safely? 2)How stable is this tree- where is it attached, is it still alive, and most importantly, where is the tension in the tree? Will cutting it or even moving it release, suddenly, a lot of energy? Think spring pole If it falls, where do I want it to fall (assuming I have an option) and where will the tree go once I free it up. 3) If I decide it must come out, how would I achieve this safely. These steps only take a minute or so but they are very important. I decided to tackle this. I felt that I was able to do the work, that the tree was an impediment to the hiking public, being placed where there was no possibility of going around it and clearing it warranted the time and effort to do so. I saw that the tree was dead, was caught up between the roots at the bottom (believe it or not, sometimes the roots end up at the top, if the tree topples off a cliff, for instance, and I had to deal with just that situation several years ago and at this very place in the trail when several trees slid off the same cliff and landed across the trail, roots up and the tree crowns down.) and the top of the main stem was pinched between the rock on the left and another, living, tree. I saw no tension along the length of the stem. I saw a place where I could get the section that I wanted to cut free off of the trail. This last was a consideration as this section of trail was very tight- between that cliff on the right and a thick growth of conifers and that big block of rock on the left. 1)Clear your work area: I cut the branches off of the live tree growing next to the rock so that I could access the main stem of the fallen tree. 2)Do it: With a cleared working area I then cut free the top of the fallen tree about 7 feet up the the bottom. Then I cut free the roots. 2)Clear away cuttings; the freed up section of dead tree was wrangled off the trail and deposited in a space between rocks and off trail. The root ball removed and the soil tamped down and all cuttings also cleared off of the trail. The top of the fallen tree remained on the top of the chunk of rock. Its still there and I am sure that no one will even see it. Total work time for this one problem- half an hour.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 17:03:36 +0000