Spring trailwork

I volunteered for the spring meeting trailwork day and joined one of the 46er crews working on the Indian Pass trail for the day. Our job was to clear all the debris from drainages so that standing water on the trails (there was a lot) would have a way to drane off the trail. It was a stellar day for cleaning drainages as there was plenty of wet dark water on the trail so you could see an immediate result of your work when you cleared a channel and the water poured through. After a few hours we came upon the one of the blowdown crews who were struggling with a beast of a tree that had fallen across the trail. This was an opportunity to use some real tools. I had a go with the two man saw as well as an axe. Even when the saw had cut clear through on both sides it took a lot of man power and a little brain power to finally dislodge the section of tree trunk and move it off the trail.

It was a fun group of people to spend the day with and a lot of work. I was surprised that it took us about 4.5 hours to do the 2+ miles from the LOJ to Rocky Falls. We stopped for lunch at Rocky Falls and were rewarded with a roaring brook. We went for another couple of hours before turning around and heading back. Good timing as most of the walk back was in heavy rain and the sound of distant thunder. Not good weather for the guy I met in the parking lot who was hiking MacNaughton via Wallface Ponds in order to "legitimize" the 46er certificate he was to receive the next day.

Certainly a worthwile experience and I will do it again. What more fun can you have than whacking away with an axe or unblocking little creeks in the mud with a shovel.