Trail Maintenance Best Practices (Do This)

stb222

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
We have a TM don't do this thread and it is easy to point at the things not to do. It isn't easy to put to things you can do to make the trails better. This thread is the place to do that.

One thing I has always harped on is trimming smarter not harder. This year I have started being a bit more targeted in removing some stuff like multi-floral vines so they arent an issue for the remainder of the season:



Using this method, all of those branches that will become hangers across the trail are eliminated. In this case, the main vine was easy to see and sometimes you cant' get. In those cases I just cut the vine where I can and trim the stuff hanging into the trail.

In any case, post your best practices here.
 
So in general, it is a best practices to make sure a race doesn’t happen where you do TM. However since racing has some value to the scene, it is a necessary evil. Post wet race repairs, let the muddy stuff dry a bit before you start repairing. When the mud is diarrhea like, there isn’t a whole lot you can do.
This section of trail was perfect and hard pack before the race last week and 300 laps
later after heavy rain during the first race, it wasn’t too bad but needed a touch up. You figure all of the dirt came from this area so you just need to smooth it out and clear the draining edge. For this I used a flat head shovel to scrape along the trail tread and then raked it level. After some tamping/smacking, repeated the process. Invite all the locals to grove it in. Touch up as needed.
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Citytrikeguy said:
Trim branches flush to tree so they don’t poke anyone.
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I wouldn’t necessarily say this should always be done. Depends on the tree and how close it is to the trail. If it’s a long, deciduous branch encroaching, cut it a couple feet off trail at the nearest healthy stem. That will let the tree put energy into that stem, which should grow away from the trail for a while at least.

But no, I’m over here clear cutting the forest apparently.
 
Perhaps this can be where we show our efforts of improving the trails around here.
I’ll start.
Got called into the watershed trails in PJ. One of the bigger, more precarious trees I’ve cut and my 261 didn’t like it. Ended up working top down as usual, as even using wedges, I didn’t want to cut that tree on the ground with compression while my bar was buried. Worked out well and standing tree/root placement made me not concerned about my safety. Thankfully I caught someone in time on another trail to help me move the y piece as it was super heavy, wet red oak.
 

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mtn said:
As someone who is rather confident in my abilities and who has only walked away from a tree once, I am once again puzzled.
I have an idea of what to do, but nothing set in stone. I really should go back and ponder the weight distribution and such for an hour. Any input on what to do? The trail has to be clear for singletrack.
For reference, facing downhill on the trail. Upslope on right. Downslope on left.

Due to location, come along not really an option and to be honest, I doubt it’d budge a cut stump. However, maybe it’s worth bringing a mule or making two trips.

So what are your thoughts?
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are the roots in the ground "sprung" enough to lift the stump back into place if the trunk is cut above the trail?

Bring a 12v winch in, and pull it downhill, or back into place, if it can be cut free?

I don't have a maasdam large enough for that.
 
mtn said:
As someone who is rather confident in my abilities and who has only walked away from a tree once, I am once again puzzled.
I have an idea of what to do, but nothing set in stone. I really should go back and ponder the weight distribution and such for an hour. Any input on what to do? The trail has to be clear for singletrack.
For reference, facing downhill on the trail. Upslope on right. Downslope on left.

Due to location, come along not really an option and to be honest, I doubt it’d budge a cut stump. However, maybe it’s worth bringing a mule or making two trips.

So what are your thoughts?
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Thought #1: Is re-routing the trail up and around the root ball an option?

Thought #2: Cutting a flat into the log and ramping it to make it easier to get over?
 
That’s a biggn’. 🫣

Not saying this is correct, but my first instinct is to start thinning out the exposed rootball. Partially to take weight off the back and partially to reduce the number of things that can grab you should things go sideways.

Next I’d buck the downhill portion of trunk in the section that is suspended off the trail to the again remove weight and observe how the tree reacts.

If stable, I’d make my cut in the elevated section just to the left of the remaining root ball.

You should be able to do a series of 2/3rd cuts and cant it over to cut the remaining.
 
mtn said:
As someone who is rather confident in my abilities and who has only walked away from a tree once, I am once again puzzled.
I have an idea of what to do, but nothing set in stone. I really should go back and ponder the weight distribution and such for an hour. Any input on what to do? The trail has to be clear for singletrack.
For reference, facing downhill on the trail. Upslope on right. Downslope on left.

Due to location, come along not really an option and to be honest, I doubt it’d budge a cut stump. However, maybe it’s worth bringing a mule or making two trips.

So what are your thoughts?
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Is the question how to remove the tree?

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Assuming the blue is the trail.

Undercut near the stump first 3/4 way through, mostly because it is accessible and easy to get to. the tension is likely on the top of the trunk so you can make a cut on both side of the undercut, 1/2 way through. Before you finish that cut, remove the trunk on the left side of the trail, maybe cut 1’ from the edge of trail. Then go back and finish the other cut being mindful of if the stump will move
 
mtn said:
Tree is from 2018, so I believe the tension on the roots has been lost. But that’s another thing… will the roots snap if the tree is cut at the stump? That would do away with the possibility of pulling it upright.

Maybe I should purchase a bottle jack to put under the trunk and two 2x4s or similar propped up agsinst either side of the stump to keep it from shifting. That way I can cut it free without risking it falling on me. Then figuring out what to do with the stump after.
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after 6 years i think its a trail feature now.

that said, looks to me that the tension is on the top of it, and that the root ball will want to fall onto the trail without some sort of support. Bottle jack idea sounds to me like it has some potential, but keep in mind bottle jacks are fairly unstable so it wouldnt take much shift for the tree to fall off it, I would want to lift it with the jack and then put it down on something else for the sake of stability.
 
mtn said:
Definitely hard to tell where the tension and compression are on it, even in person. Two contact points. But it is a definite that the root ball will fall over into the trail unfortunately. Maybe I’ll get some better pictures at some point.
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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.

I could come up if you want extra eyes, hands, and a safety person.
 
If it's been there for 6 years, I agree there likely isn't a lot of tension left.

Without seeing it in person, I still vote for ramping over it if it looks like cutting it out is too dangerous or difficult to predict. If that root ball decides it wants to go down the slope after cutting the tree from it getting out of the way may be challenging... and a life-threatening one at that.
 
I wouldn't mess with root ball, if it falls into trail, then mess with it, but i think it will sit where it is.

This is what I would do. Bring a wedge just to ensure you don't pinch bar.
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Wedge a big log closer to the ball so that it will not rotate downward when you cut, doesn't need to be tight, just enough so once the ball wants to rotate toward the ground it will have nowhere to go. Then it should be pretty standard, wedge on the top and cut from the bottom, since most of the tree seems already on the ground it shouldn't moe. The part laying on the ground like @pooriggy says dig some so you don't dull you chain.

But again, hard to tell from a picture.
 
Hmm... the part of me that loves technical log-overs would prefer just a bit of ramping and it could be a fun, challenging feature... but with a bit of work it could be feature just about anyone could ride. Something like this:

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...with a similar ramp on the other side.
 
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