Trail Maintenance Best Practices (Do This)

Looking at the photos I would think a reroute around the uphill side of the root ball would be easiest. But, climbing over a 3ft dia. log isn't easy so if a reroute hasn't already formed by itself over the last 6 years perhaps a reroute is more difficult than it looks.
 
Patrick said:
Shrinking the problem by trimming all those roots and bucking up the trunk seems like your best start. Might provide a clue about what it wants to do.
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Thinking the same thing. And after the latest round of pics you’re gonna burn a few chains in the process I imagine.
 
Wanted to get opinions on what may be another touchy subject. It’s pretty apparent that most of the ash trees are going to die and other species are also on their way out. The longer they are standing dead, the more brittle they become and more likely they are to just snap, even without external forces. If you are out there on a trail with a saw anyway and come across a standing dead tree leaning towards/over the trail, do you cut it? Not cutting every dead tree, but selectively choosing the most likely candidates if ones stand out as a greater hazard.
Also going to skip over the whole certification thing, as yes I know most people only have the bucking/limbing clearances.
 
mtn said:
Wanted to get opinions on what may be another touchy subject. It’s pretty apparent that most of the ash trees are going to die and other species are also on their way out. The longer they are standing dead, the more brittle they become and more likely they are to just snap, even without external forces. If you are out there on a trail with a saw anyway and come across a standing dead tree leaning towards/over the trail, do you cut it? Not cutting every dead tree, but selectively choosing the most likely candidates if ones stand out as a greater hazard.
Also going to skip over the whole certification thing, as yes I know most people only have the bucking/limbing clearances.
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This would require coordination with the land manager to determine how they want to approach. Personal i dont cut trees until they start to fall/lean and present and immediate hazard.
 
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Ive been using the weedwacker this year more than i typically do. It is a pet peave of mine when people who weedwack leave all of the clippings on the trail. I often do a pass with the stting at an angle after the main trimming is done to clear the trail tread, even if it is just on the corners.
 
There is a point in every spring where the leaves on the trails go from a benefit to the trail tread to just debris,. Also, in drainage areas, they go from soaking up water to just clogging up drainage. Based on my observations at baldpdate, waterco and nesh this week, it would appear we have crossed that threshold for the year. Time to break out the metal leaf rakes..
 
stb222 said:
There is a point in every spring where the leaves on the trails go from a benefit to the trail tread to just debris,. Also, in drainage areas, they go from soaking up water to just clogging up drainage. Based on my observations at baldpdate, waterco and nesh this week, it would appear we have crossed that threshold for the year. Time to break out the metal leaf rakes..
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And we're also at the point where sweet gum balls on the trail are dangerous.
 
stb222 said:
Appeared to be a bumper year for those but not many on my locals.
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A collection off trail took me down in the local town park a few weeks ago. Last night at Belmont, it was hard to maintain traction on a climb in a section that requires momentum to clean the last section. And today during my lunch walk, almost rolled my ankle. Had 3 sweet gum trees in my yard, no more.
 
stb222 said:
There is a point in every spring where the leaves on the trails go from a benefit to the trail tread to just debris,. Also, in drainage areas, they go from soaking up water to just clogging up drainage. Based on my observations at baldpdate, waterco and nesh this week, it would appear we have crossed that threshold for the year. Time to break out the metal leaf rakes..
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Serious question… Is this actually ok to do?

I live near Mahlon Dickerson, Allamuchy, Kittatiny Valley, Stephens… with rare exception, I’ve generally been told that blowing/raking the leaves off the trails is a massive NO, but there is SO much debris and leaf “litter” on the trails that it’s hazardous in some areas. Lumpy Bumpy was downright terrifying in some spots today because of it. We cleaned as much of the big branches out as we could, but…

What’s the actual ruling on raking leaves off the trails? I don’t want to end up over on the other thread 😆
 
The Worst said:
Serious question… Is this actually ok to do?

I live near Mahlon Dickerson, Allamuchy, Kittatiny Valley, Stephens… with rare exception, I’ve generally been told that blowing/raking the leaves off the trails is a massive NO, but there is SO much debris and leaf “litter” on the trails that it’s hazardous in some areas. Lumpy Bumpy was downright terrifying in some spots today because of it. We cleaned as much of the big branches out as we could, but…

What’s the actual ruling on raking leaves off the trails? I don’t want to end up over on the other thread 😆
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It depends on the dirt and it is generally frowned upon before the winter as the leaves help protect the tread. There are varying opinions but where the dirt is suitable, raking can make the trail tread significantly better.
 
stb222 said:
It depends on the dirt and it is generally frowned upon before the winter as the leaves help protect the tread. There are varying opinions but where the dirt is suitable, raking can make the trail tread significantly better.
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Ok. So since we are not right before winter, and I mentioned the northern nj parks… can I bring a rake and get after it?
 
Another thing to consider regarding raking is trail usage. If there is a trail that doesn't see much traffic (bike, foot, or otherwise), raking a bit sooner isn't a bad idea. There are some trails that see such little traffic that come March they still have a full mat of leaves on top of them with little breakdown occurring.
 
The Worst said:
Ok. So since we are not right before winter, and I mentioned the northern nj parks… can I bring a rake and get after it?
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It can be a good idea to rake when sections are holding water.

You can do a little test.. Rake a couple hundred feet and then skip the nex couple of 100. GO back in 6 months to see what if any change occured.
 
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