Trail maintenance etiquette

[Ken MacGray]

As I'm getting more into trail maintenance, a question...

Recently I noticed a trail conditions report where the author performed what I would call significant maintenance on a trail that they did not adopt (I know the adopters and they were unaware the work had been done).

Is this cool or not cool?

 

[NorthShore]

Just my opinion but it takes a village, especially for a volunteer endeavor.

That being said, common sense is a rare commodity, even among those who want to do good and I've seen some horrible things done to trails. There is something to be said for proper training and not letting idiots play with sharp tools.

Sorry, I don't think I have answered the question.

 

[Raven]

As I'm getting more into trail maintenance, a question...

Recently I noticed a trail conditions report where the author performed what I would call significant maintenance on a trail that they did not adopt (I know the adopters and they were unaware the work had been done).

Is this cool or not cool?

There is a thread here on this very thing if you search. If I find it, I will post.

it seems to me the line should be drawn at the use of tools.

 

[wardsgirl]

Trail maintenance is performed to protect the resource - the treadway, of the trail. Blazing, drainage cleaning, and brushing are done with this objective in mind. Preventing erosion by directing the water flow off the treadway, installing step stones and building rock staircases to keep the hikers on the treadway is key to maintaining trails. If someone cleaned waterbars on my trail, I would want to know about it. It would save me from carrying those heavy tools on my next trip and I could focus more on the trail's other needs.

 

[Rainman]

Not cool.
I have seen many water bars undermined by those with, I will assume were, good intentions.
I have also seen many cases of sharp points left, ready to stab passersby.
There are many ways to help, by volunteering for a day, a week, adopting, etc.
Please do not do trail work ad hoc.

 

[Ken MacGray]

If someone cleaned waterbars on my trail, I would want to know about it. It would save me from carrying those heavy tools on my next trip and I could focus more on the trail's other needs.

An excellent point, thank you.

 

[TJsName]

There is a thread here on this very thing if you search. If I find it, I will post.

it seems to me the line should be drawn at the use of tools.

Perhaps it was this one: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?39801-Trail-Maintainence-in-the-Whites-what-s-Ok

 

[sierra]

Not cool.
I have seen many water bars undermined by those with, I will assume were, good intentions.
I have also seen many cases of sharp points left, ready to stab passersby.
There are many ways to help, by volunteering for a day, a week, adopting, etc.
Please do not do trail work ad hoc.

I confess to cleaning a lot of waterbars over the year's, a practice I still continue. I'm not talking the use of tools, I'm talking mostly the ends that get dammed up, causing overflow on the trail. I've cleaned them on the ascent and have noticed all the pooled water gone by the time I return. I welcome your feedback on this. I never would have thought it was a bad thing, but you clearly think it is. I respect the heck out of trial maintainers and don't want to undercut their work, but I fail to see the negative in what I'm doing. Go ahead and let know your take on this. I also move sticks and blowdowns ( no tools used).

 

[Rainman]

I was responding to the OP "significant maintenance".
I certainly have no objection to someone kicking free a clogged water bar, and have done so many times myself.

 

[JCarter]

I confess to cleaning a lot of waterbars over the year's, a practice I still continue. I'm not talking the use of tools, I'm talking mostly the ends that get dammed up, causing overflow on the trail. I've cleaned them on the ascent and have noticed all the pooled water gone by the time I return. I welcome your feedback on this. I never would have thought it was a bad thing, but you clearly think it is. I respect the heck out of trial maintainers and don't want to undercut their work, but I fail to see the negative in what I'm doing. Go ahead and let know your take on this. I also move sticks and blowdowns ( no tools used).

I think the "tools" is a good guideline. Fine with me for people to pick up debris/blowdowns and heave them into the woods on the trail I have adopted. If they start trimming brush (loppers or saw), there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, I'd rather supervise. If done poorly, it can actually make more work for the maintainer (sounds surprising, but sometimes we don't cut certain brush intentionally)

Using a boot to kick a pile of leaves aside that are blocking a waterbar is probably fine, but it's on the line. It may depend on the waterbar itself (rock, wood, or earthen). I haven't personally experienced people "damaging" the waterbars I'm responsible for, but every trail is different.


In reality, the most helpful thing you can do is post a TC report on newenglandtrailconditions.com, or any other website picked up by trailsnh.com. I get e-mail alerts for all reports on my trail, and it helps me know about changing conditions so I can plan trips and work parties.

 

[Ken MacGray]

To clarify my original post after reading the replies here, I'm OK with folks picking up branches and minor blowdowns and moving them out of the way. I do this myself. But as someone upthread mentioned, if someone is out there on my trail using tools to do any work, then I guess that's where I'd draw the line too. The intention may be good, but it's not your place to do that if you are not the maintainer. And if it is done, I'd want to know about it.

 

[JCarter]

As I'm getting more into trail maintenance, a question...

Recently I noticed a trail conditions report where the author performed what I would call significant maintenance on a trail that they did not adopt (I know the adopters and they were unaware the work had been done).

Is this cool or not cool?

To answer the original question: If it sounds like "significant maintenance", then I'd have to classify it as uncool. That implies someone took tools out with them on the trail to do this maintenance, but couldn't be bothered to find and communicate with the official maintainer. Adopters get training for a reason, and we plan our time and efforts around what our trail needs.

Curious if you have a link to the specific TC report...

 

[Ken MacGray]

Curious if you have a link to the specific TC report...

I do, but I also believe the author is a member of the local hiking forums and my intent is not to call anyone out specifically. My intent is to ask more about the etiquette involved because this is a new area for me.

 

[Grey J]

Slightly off thread but I noticed that you are the trail adopter for Mt Tremont trail. That's on my list for this year's sojourn in NH. How's your trail looking?

 

[Ken MacGray]

Slightly off thread but I noticed that you are the trail adopter for Mt Tremont trail. That's on my list for this year's sojourn in NH. How's your trail looking?

I just took it over from the illustrious 1HappyHiker, and actually haven't personally inspected it all the way up yet this year. He did one final spring cleanup a couple of weeks ago before I took the reins and he reports it is in good shape. It was neglected for many years before he took it over and he's done a great job bringing it back to life. It's a rough, steep trail higher up, with some eroded areas that I'm not sure can be avoided. Last time I hiked it was in 2014. There are still a couple of minor stepover blowdowns, but nothing that is impeding travel. I popped up the trail about 0.1 mi. over the weekend, but the bugs were ridiculous and I retreated, so I'll be back soon.

 

[TJsName]

To clarify my original post after reading the replies here, I'm OK with folks picking up branches and minor blowdowns and moving them out of the way. I do this myself. But as someone upthread mentioned, if someone is out there on my trail using tools to do any work, then I guess that's where I'd draw the line too. The intention may be good, but it's not your place to do that if you are not the maintainer. And if it is done, I'd want to know about it.

I bring a saw on some hikes and most overnights if I think I might run into blow downs I could help clear, but that's usually based on knowledge of the trail being rough from prior reports. I'll also clear out a clogged water bar on occasion, but nothing major - just trying to prevent extra heard paths and erosion with minimal effort. I wouldn't describe anything I've done as 'major work' though. I'll note what I do in a trip report when I talk about the trail conditions, and I do that with trail maintainers in mind. I've had several reach out to me for clarification on things in my reports, so perhaps it is helpful! I know I read other reports on the trail I adopt and find them helpful.

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

I agree that it is OK for hikers to throw fallen branches off the trail, and to kick leaf dams out of ditches especially if that restores and untended waterbar that is so clogged that it has failed and water flows down the trail. I am even OK with hikers building small cairns right next to the trail at treeline; if nothing else, they have gathered rocks for us to use in bigger ones.
I carry a folding saw and have used it on trails tended by others to reduce or remove blowdowns rather than have herd paths erode forest soil. One time on the West Highland Way in Glen Nevis I removed a spruce across the trail because the trail was floated on deep peat and the herd path was looking a bit boggy...

However, these are incidental to hiking. Someone who carries tools to a trail tended by others and does a lot of work without the adopter's consent is not doing anyone a favor. They do not understand that maintainers have reasons for every action, or failure to act. They also do not know that trail tenders have to prioritize work according to their first duty of protecting the land from the hiker's boots. Last winter someone took it upon themselves to brush a trail we tend by cutting off the branches several inches from the tree trunks, leaving hundreds of sharp stubs to impale a falling hiker. They never tried to ask us, when they would have found that the job was on the list for 2016, or we would have welcomed them onto the crew and trained them to do the work according to the guidelines we have to follow. We have been trimming them as we can, but haven't had the time to fix that among the other problems on our 15 miles of trail on Mt. Cardigan and Mt. Sunapee.

So here is a way to lessen this problem: arrange with the landowner if needed, but otherwise just post a small sign at the beginning of your section to say that you monitor netc.com for trail conditions, and invite them to join you and learn the whys and hows of doing the job right the first time

 

[Raven]

I carry a folding saw and have used it on trails tended by others to reduce or remove blowdowns rather than have herd paths erode forest soil. One time on the West Highland Way in Glen Nevis I removed a spruce across the trail because the trail was floated on deep peat and the herd path was looking a bit boggy...

This is a case I am also on the fence about. There are people I know who do this as well, or they simply cut the branches off a fallen tree over the trail. In this case, I think it is beneficial to the trail and no standing trees are cut. I suppose I see no harm done if someone screws up a blow down. Live trees should probably be left alone.

Creag has also brought up another good point that was mentioned earlier, the fact that maintainers plan their trips. It has happened where I have carried a tool a few miles up Ammo Ravine to only find out the work had already been done. Knowing that ahead of time would allow me to carry a more useful tool and work on different tasks. A maintenance trip is usually a well planned, all-day affair. It can be "disappointing" to drive a few hours, hike a few miles to find out the tool one thought one needed based on the last trip report is no longer necessary. The next trip could be a month or two away.

 

[alexmtn]

Another component to be aware of is that several agencies conduct acts of maintenance or cleanup on a random basis because they're there on a given day and see something that needs doing: staff from USFS, AMC, RMC, WODC, DOC, etc. And just getting started: USFS backcountry patrol volunteers.

Such contributions may or may or may not involve tools, but they all know what they're doing. To the concern about water bars all getting cleaned by surprise: that won't happen, as only the adopter will be inclined focus on this from the top to the bottom of their trail section. Intervention by the above types of folks will more be to deal with individual problems they encounter while in a given area. Perhaps it's eliminating unwanted campsites, clearing an individual water bar or blowdown, straightening a sign, etc. If you're the adopter an come armed with your tools, worry not, you'll always have use for them.

Also, in a situation where these agencies do something significant, there is communication between the agency doing a specific piece of work and the agency responsible for maintaining a given trail (the busiest interface: AMC-USFS, both of whom use and can alert adopters), but I'm sure it's not 100% perfect.

Alex

 

[DayTrip]

I think the "tools" is a good guideline. Fine with me for people to pick up debris/blowdowns and heave them into the woods on the trail I have adopted. If they start trimming brush (loppers or saw), there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, I'd rather supervise. If done poorly, it can actually make more work for the maintainer (sounds surprising, but sometimes we don't cut certain brush intentionally)

Using a boot to kick a pile of leaves aside that are blocking a waterbar is probably fine, but it's on the line. It may depend on the waterbar itself (rock, wood, or earthen). I haven't personally experienced people "damaging" the waterbars I'm responsible for, but every trail is different.


In reality, the most helpful thing you can do is post a TC report on newenglandtrailconditions.com, or any other website picked up by trailsnh.com. I get e-mail alerts for all reports on my trail, and it helps me know about changing conditions so I can plan trips and work parties.

To this point, I usually leave very detailed trip reports with details. I was emailed a few times early on in my trip reporting by adopters looking for additional details on observations I made. I now leave very detailed points on whatever I can, with elevation and/or GPS coordinates on significant issues, in the hopes that it helps dial in the efforts of trail maintainers.