Comments I Get While Working on Trails
As a trail worker on one of the busiest Forest Service districts, I get to hear numerous not so witty comments from users. Some are repeated all the time, while others just make me scratch my head as to what they were thinking. Anyway, here is a list...
Digging for gold?... Find any gold yet?... and numerous other variations
Putting in an escalator? Where is the elevator?
[While making crush] What did you do to get that job? You getting paid?
- To be updated -
Digging for gold?... Find any gold yet?... and numerous other variations
Putting in an escalator? Where is the elevator?
[While making crush] What did you do to get that job? You getting paid?
- To be updated -
Forest Service Making Some Sedona Social Trails Official
The Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest is currently adding a few trails into its amazing trail system and making them 'official'. These are trails that already exist in one form or another through repeated use or renegade construction.
I am currently tasked with identifying the problem areas and finding solutions to make these trails more sustainable. For example, I reroute trails in soils identified as having severe erosion limitations or on slopes too steep/flat. Other spots I look for may have a trail down the fall line of the hill. One of the most interesting observations I have made is just how much the history of the trail can tell me about its sustainability. A trail developed through use without any planning is going to be obvious in layout and erosion problems whereas as a trail built by a skilled trail worker will be very different. It will have grade reversals and a nice flowing path instead of straight linear, boring features.
But one of the greatest challenges that I will have to deal with is keeping the current users and even builders happy with any changes. It will not easy to do and will require a good understanding of the trail and its character; how it was built, who uses it, and why is it unique. If I flatten every steep section with a longer reroute it will dramatically change the challenge and the speed a mountain biker may experience. My plan is to hopefully keep these users involved as in the planning and construction so that there may be greater understanding all around. It is always a balance with land management and I simply need to look at many of the other trails on the district that at one time in our districts history were made official. These trails just have too many unsustainable sections to keep up with the maintenance given our budget and they should have never been added in their current layout.
So my goal in this project is to find a routing for these new trails that is sustainable while retaining its original character. Here is a little flow chart which describes my decision process. Wish me luck! Read more about the Sedona Trails Study project.
Trails Currently on My List:
Mescal Trail
Chuck Wagon Trail
Slim Shady Trail
Made in the Shade Trail
Easy Breezy Trail
Lost Watch Trail
Snake Trail
Anaconda Trail
Various short connector trails
I am currently tasked with identifying the problem areas and finding solutions to make these trails more sustainable. For example, I reroute trails in soils identified as having severe erosion limitations or on slopes too steep/flat. Other spots I look for may have a trail down the fall line of the hill. One of the most interesting observations I have made is just how much the history of the trail can tell me about its sustainability. A trail developed through use without any planning is going to be obvious in layout and erosion problems whereas as a trail built by a skilled trail worker will be very different. It will have grade reversals and a nice flowing path instead of straight linear, boring features.
But one of the greatest challenges that I will have to deal with is keeping the current users and even builders happy with any changes. It will not easy to do and will require a good understanding of the trail and its character; how it was built, who uses it, and why is it unique. If I flatten every steep section with a longer reroute it will dramatically change the challenge and the speed a mountain biker may experience. My plan is to hopefully keep these users involved as in the planning and construction so that there may be greater understanding all around. It is always a balance with land management and I simply need to look at many of the other trails on the district that at one time in our districts history were made official. These trails just have too many unsustainable sections to keep up with the maintenance given our budget and they should have never been added in their current layout.
So my goal in this project is to find a routing for these new trails that is sustainable while retaining its original character. Here is a little flow chart which describes my decision process. Wish me luck! Read more about the Sedona Trails Study project.
Trails Currently on My List:
Mescal Trail
Chuck Wagon Trail
Slim Shady Trail
Made in the Shade Trail
Easy Breezy Trail
Lost Watch Trail
Snake Trail
Anaconda Trail
Various short connector trails
Trail Work Volunteers Needed in Sedona
Contact me at jwpoehnelt @ fs . fed. us if you are interested. We will be cutting new trail, moving big rocks and getting some Sedona trails into the Forest Service system. Projects starting in October(when its cool). Check back for more information but feel free to contact me at anytime!
The Most Beautiful Trail Work Locations
Doing trail work allows me to be in some of the most beautiful places. Sedona, AZ where I currently work was just featured as one of the most beautiful places in the United States.
Where have you done trail work?
Where have you done trail work?
Arid Trail Restoration Techniques
Transplanting - Some desert plants can be transplanted such as prickly pear cactus.
Vertical Mulch - Vertical mulch is the planting of dead and downed shrubs and cactus. Vertical mulch creates a barrier to users, camouflage for the site, and a habitat for plant establishment. Vertical mulch is an effective desert restoration technique because it provides partial shade, decompacts the soil, reduces wind speed, increases water infiltration, and reduces runoff.
- Dig a deep hole sufficient for the size of plant.
- Arrange multiple branches, grasses, in a natural setting.
- Fill the hole with small rocks to keep the branches in place.
- Create small pits around vertical mulch planting.
Horizontal Mulch - Placement of dead brush, trees, etc.
Decompaction - Decompaction of trail tread and berms to encourage plant establishment.
Pitting - Similar to Decompaction but a series of small holes.
Contouring - Changing the contour of entrenched or rutted trails to a more natural setting. This technique is necessary to remove heavily eroded trails with sight lines that cannot be removed with other techniques. It is also useful to prevent additional erosion.
Seeding
Vertical Mulch - Vertical mulch is the planting of dead and downed shrubs and cactus. Vertical mulch creates a barrier to users, camouflage for the site, and a habitat for plant establishment. Vertical mulch is an effective desert restoration technique because it provides partial shade, decompacts the soil, reduces wind speed, increases water infiltration, and reduces runoff.
- Dig a deep hole sufficient for the size of plant.
- Arrange multiple branches, grasses, in a natural setting.
- Fill the hole with small rocks to keep the branches in place.
- Create small pits around vertical mulch planting.
Horizontal Mulch - Placement of dead brush, trees, etc.
Decompaction - Decompaction of trail tread and berms to encourage plant establishment.
Pitting - Similar to Decompaction but a series of small holes.
Contouring - Changing the contour of entrenched or rutted trails to a more natural setting. This technique is necessary to remove heavily eroded trails with sight lines that cannot be removed with other techniques. It is also useful to prevent additional erosion.
Seeding
Mescal Trail - Tread Bench Problem and Solutions
Tread Bench - Although bedrock works well for a trail surface and is one of the features of this trail, problems will result in locations where the bedrock outslope is too great for hikers. In these locations users will find a path that is less steep and easier to walk. These sites will require one of the following solutions:
Pinch Points - A pinch point or gargoyle is the use of native materials to funnel users through a more narrow section of trail by making areas off trail less desirable. This option is likely to be more short term <5 years but is far less time consuming. It does not address the underlying tread issues.
Crib Wall (Rubble or Stacked) - A crib wall can be constructed to provide support for the tread. The use of a rubble wall is acceptable when the slope is less significant. This option is likely to have a lifespan > 5 years, but may vary significantly as will the time for construction depending on site slope and materials.
Modification of Bedrock - The bedrock can be permanently altered to create a more ideal walking and riding surface with the use of chisels, rock saws, rock drills, etc. This option is permanent but potentially time consuming.
Pinch Points - A pinch point or gargoyle is the use of native materials to funnel users through a more narrow section of trail by making areas off trail less desirable. This option is likely to be more short term <5 years but is far less time consuming. It does not address the underlying tread issues.
Crib Wall (Rubble or Stacked) - A crib wall can be constructed to provide support for the tread. The use of a rubble wall is acceptable when the slope is less significant. This option is likely to have a lifespan > 5 years, but may vary significantly as will the time for construction depending on site slope and materials.
Modification of Bedrock - The bedrock can be permanently altered to create a more ideal walking and riding surface with the use of chisels, rock saws, rock drills, etc. This option is permanent but potentially time consuming.
Guide to Building Trails by Gifford Pinchot
Here is a 1906 memo from Gifford Pinchot on trail building...
To Forest Officers in Charge:
In the construction of trails on the forest reserve lands under your supervision you will be guided by the following points:
1. For purposes of protection and patrol, (and wherever the lands are inaccessible without trails,) the main point is to make the necessary trails at once; make them good enough to get over quickly and easily, and then later on finish them up in first-class shape. They should be made good enough for every-day practical use at once, and later on, as the funds allow, they can be made permanent, They should now be planned and built with the idea of furnishing a good means of communication between all important points, and the quickest possible transportation in case of fire.
2. Every trail built should be carefully planned out as a part of the whole trail system of the reserve. A general system of trails for the whole reserve should first be decided upon, and those tails of greatest immediate importance should be constructed at once.
3. The most important part of trail work is in the laying out. Never begin to build a trail until the ground has been thoroughly gone over and the best route decided upon. It is an absolute waste of money to build a trial without a very definite idea of the best possible line to follow. Never entrust the laying out of a trail to a man who is not thoroughly familiar with the subject. Always use your best trail man for the laying out.
4. Use your own judgment about the width of a trail. Where a trail is easy to make, and requires but little time and money, make it wide enough for all comfort and emergency. On difficult and expensive ground make it just wide enough to serve practical purposes. "See that clean work is done with the ax and brush-hook. Never leave the trail in such shape that it is necessary for an animal to turn out for logs, snags, or brush, time after time, when a very little work would clear things out. The way in which trails are kept 'brushed out' is a pretty sure indication of whether the Rangers are asleep or awake.
5. Do not allow a grade of over 20 percent on any part of a trail unless the expense of bringing it down to this grade is prohibitive. As a rule, the maximum grade should not go over 15 percent. In all eases get the best possible grade which can be built for the money allowed. Do not waste time and money on a long, roundabout line merely to get a nice, low, easy grade of 5 or 6 percent; on the other hand, never take short cuts up or down a steep slope when by a little lengthening out an easy grade could be made. In short, use common sense, and get the best possible grade under the conditions. "6. Be careful to make good, wide turns, or 'switchbacks,' and always build them on a level when practicable. Construct them so that pack or saddle animals can make a sure and easy turn.
7. In localities where the soil is loose and easily washed out, put in cross gutters or obstructions when the grade requires them, to prevent the water running down the trail for any considerable distance. As a general thing brush and earth, a log, or a board, placed obliquely across the trail, answer the purpose. The number of gutters or obstructions will depend on the steepness of the trail and the amount of water to be fumed aside, Always put enough of them to guard fully against serious washouts and the consequent waste of work, and construct them as the trail is built, not afterwards.
8. Most trails can be laid out and built without the help of instruments. Any experienced Ranger who knows a good trail from a bad one can tell by his eye just about what grade he is running. He knows, at least, the point where a good grade stops and a too-steep grade commences, and that is the main thing.
If conditions justify a more careful survey, use a common hand-level or pocket compass with level attachment.
9. The money to be expended on a trail will depend, first, on the nature of the ground, and second, on the importance of the trail and the use it is to be put to. It is not practicable to fix the average cost of trail work for the reserves as a whole. Base your estimates, so far as possible, on the results of trails previously built, and let them cost just what you think they are worth, and no more. Do not put a lot of money into a trail which will be but little used. On the other hand, when a trail is to be one of the main routes of travel build it well. Do not waste time end money by letting a man or two do a little at it now and then. Put a crew in charge of a Ranger who knows his business, and who can get work out of his men, and finish the work up promptly, never send men out to do trail work without giving some one man full charge of the work. Avoid blasting and rock work as much as possible. When it has to be done, do it well and make it permanent. This also applies to breastwork construction. Put money into bridges only when the stream can not be regularly forded.
10. See that your Rangers are equipped with a full supply of mattocks, shovels, axes, picks, saws, crowbars, brushhooks, sledges, cant hooks, drills, files, and other necessary tools, and that those tools are kept in first-class shape. Provide, also, for a suitable distribution of tools at convenient paints throughout the reserve, so that they will: be immediately available for fire and trail work. If you need more tools or cabins to store them in, say so at once.
11. It is not the intention of this Office to give you detailed instructions about laying out and building trails. The practical part of it must be settled by the men on the ground. You should make a special point to train up your Rangers in trail work under the practical supervision of a man who knows the business. Good work must be brought about almost entirely from practical experience. You will personally inspect and report upon all trail work in your reserve, and see that the general principles outlined above are carried out.
CABINS
In making recommendations for the construction of cabins, provide first for suitable Rangers' headquarters and central and convenient stations for the storing of tools. Make your estimates on log cabins, unless conditions are such that construction by sawed timber is cheaper. See that your reserve is well supplied with cabins and these cabins are of substantial construction and comfortable.
Please instruct your Rangers to keep them thoroughly clean and in a neat condition. This applies also to the ground surrounding them. Have rubbish buried or burned. The condition of cabins and their surroundings will be inspected and reported upon frequently. You can not insist that others shall keep their camps in decent order unless your own Rangers do so.
(Signed) Gifford Pinchot Forester
To Forest Officers in Charge:
In the construction of trails on the forest reserve lands under your supervision you will be guided by the following points:
1. For purposes of protection and patrol, (and wherever the lands are inaccessible without trails,) the main point is to make the necessary trails at once; make them good enough to get over quickly and easily, and then later on finish them up in first-class shape. They should be made good enough for every-day practical use at once, and later on, as the funds allow, they can be made permanent, They should now be planned and built with the idea of furnishing a good means of communication between all important points, and the quickest possible transportation in case of fire.
2. Every trail built should be carefully planned out as a part of the whole trail system of the reserve. A general system of trails for the whole reserve should first be decided upon, and those tails of greatest immediate importance should be constructed at once.
3. The most important part of trail work is in the laying out. Never begin to build a trail until the ground has been thoroughly gone over and the best route decided upon. It is an absolute waste of money to build a trial without a very definite idea of the best possible line to follow. Never entrust the laying out of a trail to a man who is not thoroughly familiar with the subject. Always use your best trail man for the laying out.
4. Use your own judgment about the width of a trail. Where a trail is easy to make, and requires but little time and money, make it wide enough for all comfort and emergency. On difficult and expensive ground make it just wide enough to serve practical purposes. "See that clean work is done with the ax and brush-hook. Never leave the trail in such shape that it is necessary for an animal to turn out for logs, snags, or brush, time after time, when a very little work would clear things out. The way in which trails are kept 'brushed out' is a pretty sure indication of whether the Rangers are asleep or awake.
5. Do not allow a grade of over 20 percent on any part of a trail unless the expense of bringing it down to this grade is prohibitive. As a rule, the maximum grade should not go over 15 percent. In all eases get the best possible grade which can be built for the money allowed. Do not waste time and money on a long, roundabout line merely to get a nice, low, easy grade of 5 or 6 percent; on the other hand, never take short cuts up or down a steep slope when by a little lengthening out an easy grade could be made. In short, use common sense, and get the best possible grade under the conditions. "6. Be careful to make good, wide turns, or 'switchbacks,' and always build them on a level when practicable. Construct them so that pack or saddle animals can make a sure and easy turn.
7. In localities where the soil is loose and easily washed out, put in cross gutters or obstructions when the grade requires them, to prevent the water running down the trail for any considerable distance. As a general thing brush and earth, a log, or a board, placed obliquely across the trail, answer the purpose. The number of gutters or obstructions will depend on the steepness of the trail and the amount of water to be fumed aside, Always put enough of them to guard fully against serious washouts and the consequent waste of work, and construct them as the trail is built, not afterwards.
8. Most trails can be laid out and built without the help of instruments. Any experienced Ranger who knows a good trail from a bad one can tell by his eye just about what grade he is running. He knows, at least, the point where a good grade stops and a too-steep grade commences, and that is the main thing.
If conditions justify a more careful survey, use a common hand-level or pocket compass with level attachment.
9. The money to be expended on a trail will depend, first, on the nature of the ground, and second, on the importance of the trail and the use it is to be put to. It is not practicable to fix the average cost of trail work for the reserves as a whole. Base your estimates, so far as possible, on the results of trails previously built, and let them cost just what you think they are worth, and no more. Do not put a lot of money into a trail which will be but little used. On the other hand, when a trail is to be one of the main routes of travel build it well. Do not waste time end money by letting a man or two do a little at it now and then. Put a crew in charge of a Ranger who knows his business, and who can get work out of his men, and finish the work up promptly, never send men out to do trail work without giving some one man full charge of the work. Avoid blasting and rock work as much as possible. When it has to be done, do it well and make it permanent. This also applies to breastwork construction. Put money into bridges only when the stream can not be regularly forded.
10. See that your Rangers are equipped with a full supply of mattocks, shovels, axes, picks, saws, crowbars, brushhooks, sledges, cant hooks, drills, files, and other necessary tools, and that those tools are kept in first-class shape. Provide, also, for a suitable distribution of tools at convenient paints throughout the reserve, so that they will: be immediately available for fire and trail work. If you need more tools or cabins to store them in, say so at once.
11. It is not the intention of this Office to give you detailed instructions about laying out and building trails. The practical part of it must be settled by the men on the ground. You should make a special point to train up your Rangers in trail work under the practical supervision of a man who knows the business. Good work must be brought about almost entirely from practical experience. You will personally inspect and report upon all trail work in your reserve, and see that the general principles outlined above are carried out.
CABINS
In making recommendations for the construction of cabins, provide first for suitable Rangers' headquarters and central and convenient stations for the storing of tools. Make your estimates on log cabins, unless conditions are such that construction by sawed timber is cheaper. See that your reserve is well supplied with cabins and these cabins are of substantial construction and comfortable.
Please instruct your Rangers to keep them thoroughly clean and in a neat condition. This applies also to the ground surrounding them. Have rubbish buried or burned. The condition of cabins and their surroundings will be inspected and reported upon frequently. You can not insist that others shall keep their camps in decent order unless your own Rangers do so.
(Signed) Gifford Pinchot Forester
Trailhead Improvements
I've spent the entire week of work so far without doing any actual trail maintenance. Yeah I know the trailhead is part of the trail, but I have been working to make platforms for several picnic tables at our busiest trailheads. It has been a nice change of pace(especially with the high 90s for temperatures) but I want to get out and build some rock structures again.
What is your favorite trail tool?
My favorite trail tool is probably a rock bar. The tool I am most likely to have with me is a pick mattock.