Blow-Down & Trail / Road Damage Reporting

Admin Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:24 am

I see a lot of blow-down and erosion etc. on-trail nearly every time I go out into the forest. Generally, I’ll try to fix it up the best I can, drag trees out of the way, cut what I’m able etc., but sometimes I happen upon something that is just beyond my means due to lack of powered-hardware. I will generally GPS mark the item so I can return at a later date and have a go at it. Those of you who don’t have GPS devices can always simply describe the item at fault, estimate the distance from a trailhead or make note of an odometer reading. You’d be surprised at who will go to that site and cut a massive tree out of the way - if only they are made aware of it... At any rate, if you see something beyond your capabilities to repair, please post it here and I am sure that someone will respond to the call (so to speak). You’d be amazed at how many trail-maintainers live in the valley!

Also, in general its a great idea to carry a folding saw or hand-saw with sheath in your back-pack anyway; don’t scrimp on quality – the cheap ones are flimsy and dangerous. Also, don't purchase a saw with less than a 9" blade - anything shorter will reduce your capabilities in what you can cut through to a significant degree. Sure you can cut a 6” diameter tree with a 6” saw blade - but you’ll be at it for a long time as your saw-stroke with be short and pathetic - and after sweating over it for a half-hour, it’ll be the last time you’ll ever want to do it again! Additionally, if you are on a maintenance ride, carry a very small bottle of vegetable oil with you; a few drops on the blade will significantly enhance ease of stroke when cutting through larger, fresh/sappy blow-down.

Andrew D.