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We generally
have small work parties each week, scheduled on Monday, for
a weekday and a weekend day. We also run scheduled events
for student, office, civic, church and other other groups.
Currently we are doing fixes on segments of the Tiger
Mountain Trail, and a few odd jobs elsewhere in the Alps. If
you know of a group looking for a volunteer event, or would
like to be informed of our short-notice weekly events,
please contact
Scott Semans,
425-369-1725
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Volunteer
trail maintenance is a vital part of the hiking experience
in the Issaquah Alps. Most of the trail maintenance work
done on Tiger and Squak mountains is done by volunteers,
such as yourself, and volunteers have a valuable role in
helping the park staff on Cougar Mountain as well.
Volunteers in prior decades laid out and built most of the
trails on all three mountains, and without the continued
help and vigilance of dedicated volunteers, many of these
trails would have been long gone (see below). Volunteering
in a trail crew is a great way to preserve Issaquah's
incredible trail network for the future, accomplishing
several objectives: to learn new skills; to meet others; and
to get to know the landscape of the Alps more intimately.
Restoring and upgrading existing trails raises the
confidence level of beginning hikers, and allows them to
move farther into the woodlands, lessening impacts on
over-hiked trails.
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Trail crews
do a wide variety of tasks: clearing summer brush off
overgrown trails, fixing water problems on trails by
constructing ditches and reshaping the tread (surface of the
trail), cutting out trees that have obstructed the trail,
and refurbishing old trails that have languished in neglect.
Sometimes we have the opportunity to build a new trail or
section from scratch. The work is similar to starting a
garden, or landscaping, and is moderately strenuous.
Volunteers are encouraged to work at their own pace, and
take frequent rest breaks.
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Events are scheduled weekly to avoid bad weather.
Contact crew-leader
Scott Semans and advise
what days of the week, or specific dates, you are available. This helps us plan
events that best meet our volunteers' schedules. You will receive weekly emails
advising the dates for that week. Larger groups may schedule specific dates up to
four months in advance.
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If you are
interested in improving or creating a trail somewhre, please
talk to volunteer coordinator Scott Semans, or the Official
Advocate listed on page 2 of The Alpiner, or the appropriate
agency. Simple work such as pruning brush, removing small
windfalls, cleaning and deepening drainage ditches and
culverts is generally welcomed by public land managers.
However, more complex work such as removing brush from
abandoned trails, widening or making new trails, or using
power equipment should be discussed with those who know or
manage the area. Public lands have master plans which set up
a framework for existing and future trails. The IATC has
long-standing relationships with land-managers, owners,
other trails organizations, past trail-builders, and other
stakeholders whose input can be quite valuable. Joining a
trail work party run by IATC, WTA, VOW, or the Greenway is a
good way to learn safe, effective, and environmentally sound
techniques of caring for trails, and ensure that the efforts
you put into trails are appreciated by all who use them.
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From the assembly point we
will carpool to the trailhead, then walk to the work site.
The crew leader will discuss the goals of the project and of
the day's work, demonstrate basic trail work tasks, and
discuss tools and safe work practices. Generally volunteers
work in pairs or small groups, and can share tasks and
advice with their partners. The crew leader or another
experienced volunteer will walk the work site to distribute
tools and answer questions. Many tasks are more strenuous
than hiking, and volunteers are encouraged to work at an
easy pace, take frequent breaks, and rotate tasks to avoid
fatigue. Creating or restoring trails ranges from ordinary
gardening and yard work to serious landscaping or ditch
digging. Think of preparing a new lawn or garden along a 3
to 6 foot strip. Depending on the work site, volunteers may
or may not be able to return to cars during the course of
the event, or leave early.
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 Always wear gloves. The crew
leader will demonstrate the proper and safe use of all
tools. In general, tools should be carried at the sides,
with the sharp end pointing down. In use, maintain a good
distance from other workers, announce yourself when passing
someone with a tool, stop working when someone is passing
you, and lay the tool down with the head off the trail,
sharp side into the ground. Keep your knees bent when using
long-handle tools and never bring a tool head above your
waist when chopping or digging. Pruning saws cut on the
pull stroke only and are extremely sharp; lift the saw
slightly when pushing it forward.
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Some trails were never up to
modern standards and others have narrowed over time through
natural processes. Our job is to remove plants from the
high side, which push hikers to the downside, then scrape
off the "living" or black soil, and shape the underlying
mineral soil to a wider trail tread that will shed water
naturally. Plants intruding on the trail are pruned or
removed.
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The most difficult skill to
teach new trail work volunteers is soil discrimination.
Trail work is all about separating living "organic" soils
(usually black) from underlying "mineral" soils (usually
yellow-brown or gray. The living soil, along with leaves,
sticks, and small plants, must be carefully scraped up and
moved well away from the trail. Underlying roots must be
pulled up and cut away, often revealing more pockets of
organics. As found, rocks should be collected in one spot
or a bucket. Usually this stage of careful scraping and
hands-&-knees work will be 80% of the work. Only when this
is done can the underlying hard mineral soil and rock be
shaped into the final tread of the trail.
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Our main tool is the mcleod, a
long-handled kind of rake/scraper developed for fighting
wildfires. It can move large amounts of soil and rock, or
do very fine leveling work. Several volunteers have been so
impressed that they've purchased mcleads for their own yard
work. Other commonly used tools include the pick/mattock
for aggressive digging and rock breaking, a pulaski or
fire-axe, rock bar, and good old shovels and buckets.
Pruning saws and clippers are used to remove limbs and
roots.
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When we need to make a small
bridge, steps, or curbing to hold soil in place against a
hillside, we work with materials at hand. The original
loggers in the 1920s and earlier took the big cedars, but
left abundant "slash" or pieces too large or small to be
taken out. Eighty-plus years later this amazing wood is
still usable. We will excavate it (if buried), cut to size,
and use draw knives to clean any rot from the surface, then
position and pin it in place.
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Whether cutting new trail or
widening old, the main plant to be dealt with is the common
sword fern. They are fairly easy to dig up. We preserve
the roots, and give them a new home on the down side of the
trail (keeping feet away from the fragile low edge) or
nearby in the woods, rather than leave them too close to the
trail to be cut back every season.
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Not every job requires this,
but when there is too much soil in one spot and not enough
in another, or rocky soil is needed to pave over clay, it's
shovel and bucket time. We use small buckets so folks
unaccustomed to carrying loads will not try to be heroes and
strain muscles.
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Rocks are even better for
building than cedar, so someone may be delegated to comb the
slopes for loose rocks or mine out rocky spots for building
material.
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Individuals or teams are given
a certain length of trail to work, and those unlucky enough
to get a stump, a huge rock, or a buried, rotted redwood log
on their turf will attract volunteers from other teams who
enjoy a challenge! Chopping, cutting, prying, hauling away
the rotten wood - whatever it takes to clear the corridor
down to mineral soil. Crewleader will generally supervise
to ensure safe tool use.
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| The finished trail should be
free of trip hazards, brush, and overhead branches. The
surface should be even and compact with grade (up and down)
reasonable and slope (across the trail) very slightly
downhill to allow water to run off easily. Loose roots
should be clipped from the surface, and ferns or "uglies"
(rock, stump, log) placed to deflect hikers from the fragile
downhill edge. |
