Yes, fall is approaching and all trail workers alike know what that means,,,LEAVES! Leaves can be the enemy but in some cases they can be our ally in the search of the greatest trails.
As a trail builder I can tell you maintaining trails in the fall/winder can be a chore. We are getting close to that 10 mile mark and there are just not enough day lite hours to get it done and keep it done however with some great volunteers we always manage to keep our trails in tip top shape. This brings me to the next part and perhaps the most important part of trail maintenance.
As many of you know there are two types of trails, hand built (by far the best) and machine built (can be as good) Hand built trails are built just like it sounds, by hand, machine built using the trail machine . Many times as has been the case at MLT, volunteers are sometimes hard to come by so we use our Trail Machine to expedite the work. This often leads to wider then we would like trails but with proper after care these trails can “close in” and in no time look for the most part like hand built.
Fresh cut VS 6 months later
One of the keys to making a machine built trail look like a hand cut is to blow the leaves pr0perly. Many times blowers blow a 5′ path through the woods thinking the leaves wont come back as quick, they will anyway till the trees stop shedding. We always suggest that you ONLY blow of the tread of any trail as to clearly define the riding walking path to be followed by people. When blowing a section of tread that has been bench cut either by hand or machine blow the leaves so they pile up on the slope of the actual bench. Over time, this material will decompose and create new soil making that bench appear more natural, the way we all want it.
We could always use some help on the trails so if you would like to volunteer please give Bob a call @ 1-276-340-9144
