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Trail Maintenance
Going Green
Going Green: Trail Maintenance
When you hear about people doing trail maintenance, here is what they're doing in the fall of the year. The ESF soccer teams volunteered to clean up the trail on Goodnow Mountain in the Adirondacks and that means a lot of raking because leaves on a trail create a serious problem. After instructions, the volunteers take their tools and head up the trail.
“The trail is not always in the best shape at this time of the year because the leaves fall and get in the way preventing water from draining off. There is a ditch right in front of me and all of the water that has been sitting on the trail is now draining freely. That's much better for the integrity of the trail to keep it less muddy so people aren't eroding the trail as much. When trails get muddy, people tend to create new trails around the mud so we're trying to prevent that,” said Erin Vinson, Education Specialist.
One of the key areas to clean is a log used as a water bar, to direct water off the trail.
“You'll notice here, towards the end of the bar, there's a buildup of dirt. What we need to do is clear some of this dirt out. You can use a fire rake to do it, or a shovel, or a grub hoe,” said Mike Gooden, Forester at Huntington Wildlife Forest.
Then the water is directed to the downhill side of the trail. This is how the grub hoe helps the process, building the ditch to move the water away from the trail.
It's muddy work, but it's easy to tell when you've done it right.
