Clearing the way

So this morning I packed the chainsaw up to The Woodlot in the early am to clear out some fallen trees on Snakes and Ladders. In total there were about a dozen trees that fell in one short section on the trail.

The removal of these trees was not your standard deal though. All of the trees involved were snagged on each other and involved several dead hanging, dead standing and few up rooted trees. With each cut I needed to determine which way the trees would move, snap and rebound once cut and how they would affect one another. This is something I always do, but each tree took 10 minutes to figure out, 30 seconds to cut and a few more more minutes to clear once they were on the ground.



In the end I was able to make the trail safe to ride and all the trees were cleared off the trail. I was covered in saw dust when I was done and the smell of fresh cut wood is an intoxicating aroma to me that usually signals it is time to hit a newly built trail feature. But in this case it signalled it was time to ride home on a cleared trail. So I packed up the saw and rode down the trail taking the easier lines and I finished off with a mellow ride to my car down Shotgun.

I would have loved to of gone for a ride today as the weather was spectacular, but the trails needed some maintenance and without it trails cease to function.

The trails are needing help, please volunteer to help keep our trails in tip top shape. Join the FVMBA and start helping the existing builders keep the trails running well.