Last week I had the pleasure of being a work skills instructor for the Student Conservation Association. I was one of two instructors for a 15 member AmeriCorps program on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. It was a great experience to teach and share some of the trail maintenance and construction skills I have gained through the years.

I led a rock station and we started with the basic... selecting rocks, moving rocks, using rockbars, dry masonry techniques, trail structures and more. My station rebuilt two switchbacks that were no longer suitable for horse use and beginning to fail.

Some of my rules for rock work.

Lightly on the Land: The Sca Trail Building And Maintenance Manual

Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance

IMBA Trail Solutions

Here is a 1 minute time lapse video I put together for a bridge that a crew of mine constructed in 2008 on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. The bridge was completed in just over a week using native materials. It is located on Kane Lake Trail.

A video time lapse of a timber turnpike constructed to raise the tread of the trail out of the water. Get the water off the trail or the trail out of the water... There is a mini bridge(5ft) in the middle of the turnpike.

My trail crew recently replaced a bridge on Kane Lake Trail in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. The old bridge had collapsed into the stream and a hiker had recently broken a leg trying to cross over it.
We started by removing the old bridge and then building two large timber abutments to reduce the length of the bridge from about 30 feet to 22 feet. This involved a large retaining wall made of timber and filled in with large rocks and crush.
After completing the abutments and placing the sills, we started on the stringers. We made some amazing saddle notches in the stringers that were nearly 20 inches in diameter on the fat end.