Trail Clearing Antics

[elsietee]

Tevis trail workers have been scrambling around trying to keep the trail free of obstacles - as fast as they move them, more reappear. 

A few examples of "trail clearing antics" over the past weeks:

A couple of weekends ago, Greg Kimler had a report of a large tree down across the trail in the Granite Chief Wilderness area. Because of its wilderness designation, no power tools are allowed - only hand tools. So Greg schlepped a 5-foot-long hand saw in to clear the tree. When he arrived, the tree was 6 ft in diameter. No way to saw the tree. He ended up having to reroute the trail - after a fashion - around it (and thankfully that was possible, which it isn't in all locations).

Around that time, two trees fell across the narrow drop-off singletrack trail on the way down to Swinging Bridge. Thankfully, the Forestry guys volunteered to go in and clear those.

Then last weekend, Steve Hallmark and his wife Pat hiked down towards Swinging Bridge from the Devil's Thumb side - there was a tree across the trail. It was low enough for a horse to step over, but could have caused a problem for a tired horse.

And just now I got a call from a local rider about an eyeball-skewer branch that had flopped over the trail between hw-49 crossing and No-Hands Bridge. It wasn't bad in daylight, but at night you can guarantee someone would manage to poke their eye out. I called Lynn Seeley, left him a message, he called me back within minutes and said he'd try and get in there this afternoon to take it out. Talk about service.

It seems that because of the drought, trees are dropping like flies, particularly the oaks. I was riding up in the mountains over 4th July and heard a crash - came around a corner and a tree that hadn't been there the day before was suddenly blocking the trail. It's a little disconcerting :) 

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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT ponyhill DOT org
Sierra Foothills, California